Florida’s Youngest Self-Made Billionaire Is 28 And Single
“Florida’s youngest billionaire is 28 and single.” Ladies, if you’re like me, you clicked on this article super fast. Florida is home to many billionaires but I thought they were all older and married. I was wrong, there is a 28-year-old billionaire who lives in Winter Park which is about 2 hours from where I live in St. Petersburg. Have any ideas who he is? Well, you will for sure find out below.
Florida’s Youngest Self-Made Billionaire Is 28 And Single
Austin Russell who is Florida’s youngest self-made billionaire, is the founder of Luminar Technologies. If you have not heard of that company, their technology specializes in machine perception technologies which are mostly used to build autonomous cars. It’s basically software to help power self-driving cars. This company went public in a SPAC merger in 2020 giving him the title of self-made billionaire.
According to the Wall Street Journal Russell lives in Winter Park, and his company Luminar Technologies is located in Orlando. Reports tell us that Russell dropped out of college after receiving $100k from a program that helped young people who want to build things ( Theil Fellowship.) With that money he pursued his passion! It’s a good thing he did, because he now has a net worth of $1.6B.
Is Austin Russell Married?
According to his bio, no. It seems like he is dedicated to his company and philanthropy. In 2021 he donated $70M to the central Florida foundation. What is the central Florida Foundation? According to their website they “Serve as a launchpad for high-impact philanthropy. We coordinate the commitment and investment of multiple philanthropists, nonprofits, and community partners to target today’s most critical challenges and those on the horizon to truly transform our community.”
Russell seems like a great guy and plus he is a Pisces born on March 14th! Sorry ladies, I could not find a social media account for him. You may have to attend one of his speaking engagements.
Tampa's 5 Richest Billionaires
#1: Ronald Waneck of St. Pete
His name probably isn’t familiar to you. But chances are you’ve driven by an Ashley Furniture store lately. St. Pete’s Ronald Waneck founded the company. Forbes says he’s worth a cool $5.3 billion! That’s a lotta ottomans. The Tampa Bay Times reported Wanek has a $3.7 million waterfront estate in Treasure Island with a 600 bottle wine room, home theater and an Italian pool with a swim up bar.
(Photo by Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images for DFS)
#2: Robert Duggan of Clearwater
Worth almost $4 billion, this businessman invested in a drug to fight cancer after his son died from brain cancer, according to Fox 13. It was a smart investment as they say it made him a billionaire.
(Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
#3: Edward DeBartolo Jr. of Tampa
A real estate success story. DeBartolo also owned the NFL’s San Francisco 49’ers for quite a long time. He was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 2016 but after getting into some legal trouble on bribery charges, he was given a pardon by Donald Trump in 2020.
TAMPA, FL – DECEMBER 15: Former owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr. of the San Francisco 49ers watches warmups before play against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers December 15, 2013 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. The 49ers won 33 – 14. (Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)
#4: Todd Christopher of Clearwater
One of the younger billionaires on the list, Todd is worth $3.2 billion, according to Forbes. Not bad for a high school dropout huh? He started a line of hair care products in 1987 and eventually sold it to Johnson & Johnson.
Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images
#5: Todd Waneck of St. Pete
Name sound familiar? Yup. Todd is the son of the one that came in at #1. Todd is Ashley Furniture’s current CEO. In 2006, according to Wikipedia, Todd received the Spirit of Life award for his fundraising for cancer research.
Todd just edges out Sarasota’s Kenneth Feld of Feld Entertainment (the ones behind Disney on Ice, Monster Jam and other live events) to take the last spot in the top 5.
(Photo by China Photos/Getty Images)
