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Austin Russell has a net worth of billions of dollars has agreed to purchase an 82% ownership stake in Forbes.

by Swati Gupta

May 13, 2023 25

Austin Russell, CEO of Luminar Technologies, made headlines in 2020 as the youngest self-made billionaire when his self-driving technology company was listed on Nasdaq. At just 25 years old, Russell’s success story caught the attention of Forbes, which regularly lists the world’s richest people. Now, at the age of 28, Russell is set to own a significant stake in Forbes Global Media Holdings.

According to a statement shared with Reuters on Friday, Austin Russell will acquire a majority stake in Forbes Global Media Holdings in a deal that values the business news publisher at nearly $800 million. The agreement includes the remaining portion of the company owned by the Forbes family, and Russell will acquire 82% of Forbes in total. The joint statement was released by Austin Russell and Integrated Whale Media (IWM).

The acquisition will mark a significant shift in ownership for Forbes, which has been owned by the Forbes family for over a century. Steve Forbes, the chairman and editor-in-chief of Forbes, said in a statement that the family is “delighted” to welcome Russell and IWM as partners in Forbes’ next chapter.

For Austin Russell, the deal presents an opportunity to leverage Forbes’ global reach and reputation to further his own vision for the future of transportation. Luminar Technologies, which he founded in 2012, specializes in developing lidar sensors that enable self-driving cars to “see” their surroundings. Lidar is a key technology in the development of autonomous vehicles, which are widely expected to transform the transportation industry in the coming years.

Austin Russell believes that Luminar’s lidar technology can help accelerate the adoption of self-driving cars by making them safer and more reliable. By acquiring a majority stake in Forbes, Russell hopes to build a media platform that will help promote the benefits of self-driving cars and other advanced transportation technologies.

Luminar Technologies, Russell’s self-driving technology company, develops lidar sensors that help autonomous vehicles “see” the world around them. The company went public in December 2020 through a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merger with Gores Metropoulos Inc., which valued Luminar at around $3.4 billion.

In a statement, Russell said that he sees Forbes as an “iconic” media brand that has played a critical role in shaping public discourse on business and technology for over a century. He added that he is excited to work with Forbes to “continue driving the dialogue” on the future of transportation and technology.

The acquisition comes at a time of significant disruption in the media industry. Traditional news outlets, including business publications like Forbes, have struggled to adapt to the rise of digital media and the decline of print advertising. Meanwhile, tech giants like Facebook and Google have come under fire for siphoning off advertising revenue from publishers.

Russell’s acquisition of Forbes suggests that he sees an opportunity to capitalize on the changing media landscape by leveraging Forbes’ brand and global reach to build a new kind of media platform. In an interview with Forbes, Russell said that he sees a “big need” for a media outlet that can “understand the impact” of new technologies and help “bring it to a broader audience.”

The acquisition is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2021, subject to regulatory approval. Russell will become the latest in a long line of wealthy entrepreneurs who have acquired media outlets in recent years, including Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, who purchased The Washington Post in 2013.

Forbes, which was founded in 1917, has a circulation of over 2.5 million and is read by an estimated 120 million people worldwide. The publication has long been known for its coverage of business and finance, as well as its annual list of the world’s richest people. With Russell at the helm, Forbes could be poised to become a key player in the coverage of advanced transportation technologies and the future of the automotive industry.