Palmer Luckey is an American entrepreneur and billionaire. He is best known for founding the virtual reality company Oculus VR (now Reality Labs) and the defense technology company Anduril Industries. He was the designer of the groundbreaking Oculus Rift headset, which is credited with reviving the virtual reality industry. Palmer Luckey sold Oculus VR to Facebook in 2014 and then left Facebook in 2016.
A year later, Luckey founded Anduril Industries, a defense technology company focused on developing advanced hardware and software solutions for military and national security.
Palmer Luckey has founded two immensely successful, billion-dollar companies. As of 2024, Anduril Industries is valued at $8.5 billion, however, it sought a valuation of around $12 billion.
In 2014, he received the American Ingenuity Award for Youth from Smithsonian magazine. Also, in 2016, Luckey was awarded the Royal Photographic Society Progress Medal and Honorary Fellowship. He was listed in Forbes Magazine’s List of America’s Richest Entrepreneurs Under 40 in 2016.
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Palmer Luckey Net Worth
As of 2024, Palmer Luckey’s net worth is $2.3 billion. In the span of a year, Luckey almost doubled his net worth. In 2023, Forbes reported his net worth to be $1.7 billion and now it is more than $2 billion.Â
A portion of his wealth comes from selling Oculus VR to Facebook for $2 billion in cash and stock; however, it is unclear how much of it went to him. Another significant source of his wealth is his founding of Anduril Industries, a defense technology company that has secured contracts with the U.S. government.
According to Forbes, Luckey owns at least 11% of the billion-dollar defense company as the founder and chief technology officer (CTO). Â
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Education
Palmer Freeman Luckey Palmer Luckey, born and raised in Long Beach, California, was interested in electronics and engineering from a young age. Homeschooled by his mother, Luckey’s passion for technology led him to experiment with various complex electronics projects, including railguns, Tesla coils, and lasers.
He built an elaborate PC gaming setup worth tens of thousands of dollars. At the age of 14 or 15, he began taking courses at Golden West College and Long Beach City College.
Luckey later went to California State University, Long Beach in 2010.
While at the university, he wrote for the student-run newspaper, the Daily 49er. In 2009, he co-founded the ModRetro Forums, an online community focused on turning old hardware into portable units.
During his college years, he also worked part-time as an engineer in the Mixed Reality Lab (MxR) at the University of Southern California’s Institute for Creative Technologies, where he contributed to designing cost-effective virtual reality systems for the BRAVEMIND project, a U.S. Army initiative to treat veterans with PTSD.
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Career
In 2009, at age 16, Palmer Luckey began building his own VR headsets, addressing issues such as low contrast, high latency, and bulkiness in existing displays.
By 17, he completed his first prototype, PR1, in his parents’ garage. To fund his projects, he earned $36,000 by fixing and reselling damaged iPhones. Luckey also worked part-time jobs as a groundskeeper, youth sailing coach, and computer repair technician.Â
Luckey developed over 50 head-mounted displays, experimenting with features like 3D stereoscopy and wireless connectivity. He shared his progress on the MTBS3D forum and named his sixth-generation prototype “Oculus Rift.”
In April 2012, he launched Oculus VR and started a Kickstarter campaign for the Rift, gaining endorsements from industry figures like John Carmack and Gabe Newell. The campaign raised $2.4 million.
In 2014, he sold Oculus VR to Facebook for $2 billion. He was called “the face of virtual reality in gaming” and was considered a celebrity among virtual reality enthusiasts.Â
Palmer Luckey left Facebook in 2016.
In June 2017, Luckey founded Anduril Industries, a defense technology company. Anduril began a pilot program for the US government in 2018 and later secured significant contracts, including a $967 million contract for the Advanced Battle Management Systems and a $1 billion contract for counter-unmanned systems work for SOCOM.
In 2022, Anduril entered commercial negotiations with the Australian military for a $100 million program and raised $1.5 billion, valuing the company at $8.5 billion.
Latest Updates
Anduril Industries announced $1.48 billion in Series E funding, bringing the company’s valuation to $8.48 billion. This nearly doubles its previous valuation from June 2021. The funding will be used to accelerate research and development for new autonomous defense technologies and to expand its existing business with the US Department of Defense and international allies.
The funding round was led by Valor Equity Partners, with additional participation from Andreessen Horowitz, Elad Gil, Human Capital, Lightspeed Ventures, Thomas Tull’s US Innovative Technology Fund (USIT), and others.
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Is Palmer Luckey a billionaire?
Yes, Palmer Luckey is a billionaire. As of 2024, Luckey is one of the richest entrepreneurs under 40 with a net worth of $2.3 billion.Â
How much did Palmer Luckey make from selling Oculus?
In 2014, Palmer Luckey sold Oculus VR to Facebook for $2 billion in cash and stock. However, it is unknown how much of it went to Luckey.
How did Palmer Luckey make his money?
Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in 2012 and then sold it to Facebook in 2014 for $2 billion. A year later, he founded Anduril Industries, a defense technology company that receives billion-dollar contracts from the military and government.
