>be Palmer Luckey >born 1992, Long Beach, California >homeschooled by mom, dad's a car salesman >build railguns, Tesla coils, lasers in the garage as a teenager >electrocute yourself, burn a gray spot into your own vision cleaning a laser >no regrets >start college courses at 14 >build a six-monitor gaming rig worth tens of thousands of dollars >collect 43 VR headsets by the time you're 18 >largest private collection in the world 2009: >found ModRetro Forums at 17 >turn old game consoles into portable units for fun >work part-time at USC's Mixed Reality Lab designing VR for veterans with PTSD 2012: >build the Oculus Rift prototype in your parents' garage at 19 >drop out of college >John Carmack (Doom creator) demos your headset at E3 >Gabe Newell endorses it >launch Kickstarter asking for $250K >raise $2.4 million 2014: >Mark Zuckerberg shows up >Facebook acquires Oculus for $2 billion >you're 21 years old >Forbes estimates your net worth at $700 million >described as "the face of virtual reality" 2016: >donate $10K to a pro-Trump group >post anti-Hillary memes on Reddit under a pseudonym >get exposed >game developers boycott Oculus >Facebook pressures you to publicly endorse Gary Johnson instead >refuse 2017: >get fired from your own company >Zuckerberg won't say why >negotiate $100 million+ payout for wrongful termination >immediately found Anduril Industries >name it after Aragorn's sword from Lord of the Rings >partner with Peter Thiel >start building autonomous weapons and AI defense systems 2020-2024: >win $1 billion contract with U.S. Special Operations Command >drones deployed to Ukraine >revenue doubles to $1 billion >take over Microsoft's $22 billion military headset contract >Pentagon can't stop writing you checks 2022: >build a VR headset that literally kills you if you die in-game >inspired by Sword Art Online >three explosive charges aimed at your forehead >call it "office art" >"it won't be the last" 2025: >Anduril valued at $30.5 billion >announce plans to build Arsenal-1 >5 million square foot weapons factory in Ohio >autonomous fighter jets, missiles, torpedoes >China sanctions you personally >net worth hits $3.5 billion >pay yourself $100K salary >still wearing Hawaiian shirts and flip-flops to Pentagon meetings >own a submarine, helicopters, and a PT boat >keep one of the world's largest video game collections underground >married a woman who sews historically accurate Tudor costumes >won first place at Texas Renaissance Festival dressed as Henry VIII >Sword Art Online author drew your wedding gift from garage tinkerer to youngest self-made billionaire to America's most important defense contractor all while looking like he's headed to a beach party