Palmer Luckey

Luckey was born and raised in Long Beach, California, with three younger sisters.{{cite news |last1=Lang |first1=Ben |title=Q&A With Palmer Luckey, Creator of the Oculus Rift |url=http://www.roadtovr.com/palmer-luckey-oculus-rift-interview |access-date=June 21, 2014 |website=Road to VR |date=October 16, 2012}}{{Cite web |last1=Stone |first1=Madeline |last2=D'Onfro |first2=Jilian |date=September 15, 2015 |title=The spectacularly successful life of Palmer Luckey, the 22-year-old who sold his startup to Facebook for $2 billion |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/the-life-of-palmer-luckey-founder-of-oculus-2015-9 |website=Business Insider}} His father worked at a car dealership.{{cite news |last1=Purchese |first1=Robert |title=Happy Go Luckey: Meet the 20-year-old creator of Oculus Rift |url=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-07-11-happy-go-luckey-meet-the-20-year-old-creator-of-oculus-rift |access-date=June 15, 2014 |website=Eurogamer.net |date=July 11, 2013}}

As a child he was homeschooled by his mother, took sailing lessons, and developed an intense interest in electronics and engineering. He took courses at Golden West College and Long Beach City College beginning at the age of 14 or 15, and then at California State University, Long Beach in 2010. He later majored in journalism{{cite video

| title = Palmer Luckey - Superhuman Soldiers, AI Missiles and Exoskeletons in Warzones

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| date = 2025-02-14

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}} at CSU Long Beach, where he also wrote and was Online Editor for the university's student-run newspaper, the Daily 49er.{{cite web |url=http://www.daily49er.com/staff/?writer=Palmer%20Luckey |title=Daily 49er |website=Daily 49er |access-date=September 8, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129022646/http://www.daily49er.com/staff/?writer=Palmer%20Luckey|archive-date=2014-11-29}}

During his childhood and teenage years, Luckey experimented with a variety of complex electronics projects including railguns, Tesla coils, and lasers, with some of these projects resulting in serious injuries. He built a PC gaming "rig" worth tens of thousands of U.S. dollars{{cite magazine |last1=Peckham |first1=Matt |title=The Inside Story of Oculus Rift and How Virtual Reality Became Reality |url=https://www.wired.com/2014/05/oculus-rift-4 |access-date=June 15, 2014 |magazine=Wired |date=May 20, 2014}} with an elaborate six-monitor setup.{{cite news |last1=Graham |first1=Jefferson |title=The real world of Oculus VR founder Palmer Luckey |url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/video/talking-tech--the-real-world-of-oculus-vr-founder-palmer-luckey/3070090399001 |access-date=June 19, 2014 |newspaper=USA Today |date=June 20, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140622022047/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/video/talking-tech--the-real-world-of-oculus-vr-founder-palmer-luckey/3070090399001 |archive-date=June 22, 2014}}

In 2009, he founded the ModRetro Forums with a friend, creating an online community for "portabilization", a hobby that revolves around turning old hardware devices such as game consoles and PCs into self-contained portable units mixing new and old technology.{{cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jenniferwang/2015/11/18/americas-richest-self-made-entrepreneurs-in-their-20s/#13775b6567a5 |title=America's Richest Self-Made Entrepreneurs In Their 20s |first=Jennifer |last=Wang |date=November 18, 2015 |website=Forbes |access-date=May 24, 2017}}

While attending college, he also worked part-time as an engineer in the Mixed Reality Lab (MxR) of the Institute for Creative Technologies (ICT) at the University of Southern California designing cost-effective virtual reality systems for BRAVEMIND, a U.S. Army Research Laboratory effort to treat veterans suffering from PTSD.

File:ENx9KkOU8AAAXtj.jpg

In 2009, when he was 16, he began building VR headsets of his own design. Existing head-mounted displays in the market suffered from low contrast and field-of-view, high latency and cost, and extreme bulk and weight. He completed his first prototype, called PR1, at age 17 in his parents' garage, which featured a 90-degree field of view, low latency, and built-in haptic feedback. Ultimately, he built more than 50 head-mounted displays.{{refn|Headsets in his collection include the Vuzix iWear VR920, eMagin Z800 3DVisor, Fakespace Push, Liquid Image Corporation MRG2, Visionics LVES, and a heavily modified Sony HMZ-T1.}} To fund these projects, he earned at least US$36,000 by fixing and reselling damaged iPhones and working part-time as a groundskeeper, youth sailing coach, and computer repair technician.

Luckey developed a series of prototypes exploring features like 3D stereoscopy, wireless, and extreme 270-degree field-of-view, while also decreasing the size and weight of his systems. He shared regular updates on his progress on MTBS3D, a forum frequented by a small number of virtual reality enthusiasts. He called his 6th-generation unit the "Oculus Rift", which was intended to be sold as a do-it-yourself kit on Kickstarter to fellow enthusiasts.{{cite web |last1= Luckey |first1=Palmer |title=Oculus "Rift" : An open-source HMD for Kickstarter |url= http://www.mtbs3d.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=140&t=14777 |website= MTBS3D.com |date=August 21, 2009 |access-date=June 19, 2014}} He launched Oculus VR in April 2012 to facilitate the official launch of the Kickstarter campaign.

File:Oculus-Rift-CV1-Headset-Front.jpg, the first commercial VR headset released by Oculus VR]] John Carmack of id Software, a game developer famous for his work on the Doom and Quake video game series, requested a prototype headset from Luckey, who lent it to Carmack free of charge. Carmack used it to demonstrate id Software's Doom 3: BFG Edition on the device at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2012. With the resulting attention of thousands of people suddenly drawn to the Rift, Luckey dropped out of university to focus on it full-time.

Luckey also demonstrated the unit to Valve, and received a Kickstarter endorsement from Valve's managing director Gabe Newell, who said, "It looks incredibly exciting. If anybody is going to tackle this set of hard problems, we think that Palmer is going to do it. We strongly encourage you to support this Kickstarter." When Luckey launched his Kickstarter campaign for the Oculus Rift, it also contained recorded endorsements from other prominent figures in the game industry, including Cliff Bleszinski, David Helgason, and Michael Abrash.

During the Kickstarter campaign, Luckey demonstrated the Rift to gamers and the press at many gaming conventions, including PAX, Gamescom, and QuakeCon 2012. The Kickstarter campaign was successful, raising US$2.4 million, or 974% of its original target. After raising more than $1 million, Luckey hired Brendan Iribe in August 2012 to be CEO of Oculus. Oculus VR expanded, taking on more employees and a larger office space. Luckey described his day-to-day process as not having "changed all that much," remaining a "slow plod towards making this thing a reality." Luckey continued to work on all aspects of the business, saying, "I have my hands in everything, from product engineering to game development to marketing," Later, he shifted his focus towards virtual reality input hardware, calling it a "pet project" that eventually culminated in the Oculus Touch spatial controller.{{cite web |url=http://www.vrfocus.com/2015/05/vr-input-palmer-luckeys-pet-project |title=VR Input is Palmer Luckey's 'pet project' |first=Jamie |last=Feltham |date=May 6, 2015 |website=VR Focus}}

Oculus VR was acquired by Facebook in March 2014 for US$2 billion.{{Cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2017/01/17/oculus-cost-3-billion-mark-zuckerberg-trial-dallas/96676848/ |title=Oculus cost $3B not $2B, Zuckerberg says in trial |first=Marco |last=della Cava |date=January 17, 2017 |newspaper=USA Today}} Although Luckey's share was not made public, Forbes magazine estimated the founder's net worth to be $700 million in 2015.{{cite news |last1=Whitehouse |first1=Kaja |title=Oculus founder, just 21, 'never imagined' $2B Facebook deal |url=https://nypost.com/2014/03/26/oculus-vr-founder-just-21-sells-to-zuckerberg-for-2-billion/ |access-date=June 19, 2014 |newspaper=New York Post |date=March 26, 2014}}

{{Main|ZeniMax v. Oculus}}

Shortly after the acquisition, ZeniMax Media filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas. The lawsuit contended that Luckey and Oculus used ZeniMax's "trade secrets, copyrighted computer code, and technical know-how relating to virtual reality technology", and sought financial damages for breach of contract, copyright infringement, and unfair competition.{{cite web |url=https://www.engadget.com/2014/05/21/oculus-vr-lawsuit |title=Oculus VR and Palmer Luckey being sued by CTO's former employer |first=Ben |last=Gilbert |date=May 21, 2014 |access-date=February 1, 2017 |website=Engadget}}{{Cite web |url= https://www.theverge.com/2014/5/21/5739086/oculus-vr-and-its-founder-sued-by-zenimax-and-id-software |title=Oculus VR and its founder sued by ZeniMax and id Software |first=Josh |last=Lowensohn |date=May 21, 2014 |access-date=February 1, 2017 |website= The Verge}} ZeniMax claimed it had invested "tens of millions of dollars in research and development" into VR technology, and that "Oculus and Luckey lacked the necessary expertise and technical know-how to create a viable virtual reality headset".

The jury trial completed on February 2, 2017. The jury found that Luckey had violated a non-disclosure agreement he had with ZeniMax, but awarded zero damages on this charge, judging the harm as de minimis.{{cite news |last1=Orland |first1=Kyle |title=Oculus, execs liable for $500 million in ZeniMax VR trial |url=https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2017/02/oculus-execs-liable-for-500-million-in-zenimax-vr-trial/ |access-date=1 February 2017 |website=Ars Technica |date=1 February 2017}}{{cite web |url= https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/occverdict-1.pdf |title=Court's Charge to the Jury: Zenimax Media & ID Software v. Oculus Rift, Palmer Luckey et. al. |date=1 February 2017 |website=Ars Technica}} Though the jury found that Oculus, Facebook, Palmer Luckey, Brendan Iribe, and John Carmack did not misappropriate or steal trade secrets and technology,{{cite web |url=http://www.polygon.com/2017/2/1/14474198/oculus-lawsuit-verdict |title=Oculus lawsuit ends with half billion dollar judgment awarded to ZeniMax |first1=Timothy |last1=Poon |first2=Brian |last2=Crecente |date= February 1, 2017 |access-date= February 2, 2017 |website=Polygon}} they awarded a combined total of $500 million in damages for copyright infringement related to the marketing of the Oculus Rift, with Luckey responsible for $50 million of the total.

In June 2018, the judge overseeing the case dismissed all damages owed by Luckey{{why|date=October 2024}} and reduced the amount owed by other parties to $250 million.{{cite web |url= https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-27/facebook-oculus-virtual-reality-stolen-tech-damages-are-halved |title=Facebook Payout in Oculus Copyright Spat Cut to $250 Million |first=Tom |last=Korosec |date= June 27, 2018 |access-date= June 28, 2018 |website=Bloomberg L.P.}}

In September 2016, it was reported that Luckey had donated $10,000 to Nimble America, a pro-Donald Trump group that ran a billboard depicting 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton with the caption "Too Big to Jail".{{cite web |url= http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/09/22/palmer-luckey-the-facebook-billionaire-secretly-funding-trump-s-meme-machine.html |title= Palmer Luckey: The Facebook Near-Billionaire Secretly Funding Trump's Meme Machine |last1=Resnick |first1=Gideon |last2=Collins |first2=Ben |date=September 23, 2016 |website= The Daily Beast |access-date=February 3, 2017}}{{cite web |url= https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/heck-going-palmer-luckey-171958553.html |title=Facebook's $2 billion bet on the future is in jeopardy because of Palmer Luckey |first=Ben |last=Gilbert |date=29 September 2016 |website=Yahoo! Finance |access-date=May 15, 2017}}{{cite news |url= https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/sep/23/oculus-rift-vr-palmer-luckey-trump-shitposts |title=Oculus Rift founder Palmer Luckey spends fortune backing pro-Trump 'shitposts' |first=Alex |last=Hern |date=September 23, 2016 |newspaper=The Guardian}}{{cite web |url= https://www.usatoday.com/videos/money/2016/09/27/91114136 |title=Oculus founder admits he gave $10,000 to Nimble America |date=September 27, 2016 |website=USA Today |access-date=February 3, 2017}} This caused a small number of developers to temporarily cancel plans to support Oculus, including Scruta Games, which announced it would cancel Oculus's support in their games unless Luckey stepped down.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/sep/27/vr-developers-oculus-rift-pro-trump-support |title=VR developers turn against Oculus Rift over founder's pro-Trump support |first=Samuel |last=Gibbs |date= September 27, 2016 |newspaper=The Guardian}}{{cite magazine |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/09/oculus-founder-damage-control-outing-himself-pro-trump-donor |title=Oculus Founder Does Damage Control After Outing Himself as Pro–Trump Donor |first=Maya |last=Kosoff |magazine=Vanity Fair |date=September 2016 |access-date=February 3, 2017}} Tomorrow Today Labs said they would not support the Oculus Touch as long as Luckey is employed by Oculus. Tomorrow Today Labs later reversed this position, saying they "failed to find any evidence backing up the Daily Beast’s claim that Luckey paid for hate speech. Only a lame billboard."{{cite web |url= https://medium.com/@TTLabs/business-and-politics-f61c40a24e2e#.7oly6qcv9 |author= Tomorrow Today Labs |title=Business and Politics |date=2016-10-26 |website= Medium.com |access-date= 2017-02-05}}

In March 2017, Palmer Luckey left Facebook, and stopped his involvement with Oculus VR.{{cite web |last1= Orland |first1=Kyle |title=Oculus co-founder Palmer Luckey leaves Facebook |url= https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2017/03/oculus-co-founder-palmer-luckey-leaves-facebook/ |access-date=30 March 2017 |website=Ars Technica |date=30 March 2017}} No explanation for the departure was given by either party.{{cite news |first=Alex |last=Hern |url= https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/mar/31/palmer-luckey-trump-supporting-vr-pioneer-leaves-facebook |title=Palmer Luckey: Trump-supporting Oculus founder leaves Facebook |newspaper=The Guardian |date=2017-03-31 |access-date=2017-08-08}}{{cite news |first=Nick |last= Wingfield |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/08/technology/the-culture-wars-have-come-to-silicon-valley.html |title=The Culture Wars Have Come to Silicon Valley |newspaper=The New York Times |date=2017-08-08 |access-date=2017-08-08}} As part of testimony before the United States Senate in April 2018, Senator Ted Cruz asked Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, "Why was Palmer Luckey fired?" Zuckerberg refused to get into the "specific personnel matter", saying only that "it was not because of a political view".{{cite web |title= Mark Zuckerberg says he didn't fire Palmer Luckey out of anti-conservative bias |url= https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/10/17221042/mark-zuckerberg-palmer-luckey-ted-cruz-senate-hearing-political-bias-firing |website=The Verge |first=Adi |last=Robertson |date=April 10, 2018}}

In November 2018, The Wall Street Journal obtained access to internal Facebook emails which suggested the matter was discussed at the highest levels of the company. Facebook executives, including Zuckerberg, reportedly pressured Luckey to publicly voice support for libertarian candidate Gary Johnson, despite his support for then Republican nominee Donald Trump.{{cite news |title=Why Did Facebook Fire a Top Executive? Hint: It Had Something to Do With Trump |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-did-facebook-fire-a-top-executive-hint-it-had-something-to-do-with-trump-1541965245 |last1=Grind |first1= Kirsten |last2=Hagey |first2= Keach |date=November 11, 2018 |work= The Wall Street Journal}} After his firing, Luckey hired an employment lawyer, and together negotiated a payout of at least $100 million, arguing that the company had violated California law for allegedly pressuring the executive to voice support for Johnson and for punishing an employee for political activity.{{cite web |title=Facebook reportedly fired Palmer Luckey for political views |url= https://www.cnet.com/news/facebook-reportedly-fired-palmer-luckey-for-political-views/ |website=CNET.com |first=Steven |last=Musil |date= November 11, 2018}}{{cite web |title=Facebook reportedly pressured Palmer Luckey to support a politician |url= https://www.engadget.com/2018/11/11/facebook-pressured-palmer-luckey-to-support-politician/ |website=Engadget |first=Jon |last=Fingas |date=November 11, 2018}}

Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth, who moved from the Ads team to leading the Oculus division four months after Luckey's departure, issued a series of tweets in November 2018 (subsequently deleted) denying wrongdoing on the part of Facebook, saying "Politics had nothing to do with Palmer's departure."{{Cite tweet |user= boztank| date= | title = Politics had nothing to do with Palmer's departure| number = 1061757497512316928 |access-date= 2023-02-27 |language=en}} Facebook likewise denied Luckey had been fired for supporting Trump, stating "We can say unequivocally that Palmer's departure was not due to his political views."{{cite web |title= Oculus co-founder was pressured by Facebook execs to support libertarian candidate: report |url= https://mashable.com/article/palmer-luckey-wsj-report |website=Mashable |first=Johnny |last=Lieu |date= November 12, 2018}}{{cite web |title=Mark Zuckerberg reportedly pressured a top Facebook VR exec to drop his public support of Trump in favor of another candidate |url= https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-denies-firing-oculus-founder-palmer-luckey-trump-2018-11 |website=Business Insider |first=Shona |last=Ghosh |date=November 11, 2018}} In an interview with 60 Minutes in May of 2025, Luckey stated that, "Well, you know, everyone's got a different story, but it boils down to I gave $9,000 to a political group that was for Donald Trump and against Hillary Clinton."{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=nd3TEa8jOhK25Gm0&v=bWEXnph1ElI&feature=youtu.be |title=Tech mogul Palmer Luckey creating arsenal of AI-powered autonomous weapons {{!}} 60 Minutes |date=2025-05-18 |last=60 Minutes |access-date=2025-05-19 |via=YouTube}}

{{Main|Anduril Industries}}

File:A close-up image of the top portion of an Anduril Sentry next to CA-98 in Imperial County, CA.jpg

In June 2017, Luckey founded the autonomy-focused military technology company Anduril Industries, along with former Palantir Technologies executives Matt Grimm, Trae Stephens, and Brian Schimpf, and early Oculus VR Hardware Lead Joseph Chen.{{cite web |title=Palmer Luckey's defense company Anduril is already leading to arrests at the southern border |url= https://techcrunch.com/2018/06/11/anduril-lattice-sentry-palmer-luckey/ |first=Taylor |last=Hatmaker |website= TechCrunch.com |date=June 11, 2018}} In March 2018, Anduril began a pilot program for the US government to detect human trafficking and drug smuggling in remote areas of the southern border of the US; the program led to 55 attempted entrants being caught in its first 12 days in operation. Anduril later won the Autonomous Surveillance Tower Program of Record, resulting in the deployment of hundreds of Anduril Sentry Towers at a cost of "hundreds of millions of dollars".{{Cite web |title=CBP's Autonomous Surveillance Towers Declared a Program of Record along the Southwest Border |url= https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/national-media-release/cbp-s-autonomous-surveillance-towers-declared-program-record-along |access-date=2022-03-04 |website= cbp.gov| publisher= US Customs and Border Protection |date= July 2, 2020 |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Chen |first=I-Chun |date=2 July 2020 |title=Anduril Industries gets contract to install AI surveillance systems along the border |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/losangeles/news/2020/07/02/anduril-wins-cbp-deal-to-install-ai-surveillance.html |access-date=2022-03-04 |website= BizJournals.com}}

In September 2020, Luckey announced through Twitter that Anduril had received a contract worth $967M for the Advanced Battle Management Systems (ABMS), a cutting-edge multi-billion dollar project by the U.S. Air Force.{{Cite web |title=Anduril among companies tapped to build the Air Force's 'internet of things' for war |url=https://techcrunch.com/2020/09/24/anduril-air-force-abms-jadc2/ |first=Taylor |last=Hatmaker |date= September 24, 2020 |website= TechCrunch.com |language=en-US |access-date=2020-09-25}}

In February 2022, Luckey announced that Anduril had won a $1 billion contract to lead counter-unmanned systems work for United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM).{{Cite web |last=Judson |first=Jen |date=2022-01-24 |title=US Special Operations Command picks Anduril to lead counter-drone integration work in $1B deal |url= https://www.defensenews.com/unmanned/2022/01/24/us-special-operations-command-picks-anduril-to-lead-counter-drone-integration-work-in-1b-deal/ |access-date=2022-03-04 |website=Defense News |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Contracts for January 20, 2022 |url= https://www.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract/Article/2906241// |access-date=2022-04-26 |website= defense.gov| publisher= US Department of Defense |language=en-US}}

According to a May 4, 2022 announcement,{{Cite web |last= Costelloe |first=Kevin |date=2022-05-18 |title=Anduril Nears $7B Valuation, Links With Australian Military |url= https://www.ocbj.com/technology/anduril-nears-7b-valuation-links-with-australian-military/ |access-date=2023-04-17 |website=Orange County Business Journal |language=en-US}} Anduril and the Australian military are "entering into commercial negotiations for a $100 million, co-funded design, development and manufacturing program for extra large autonomous undersea vehicles (XL-AUVs) for the Royal Australian Navy".

In December 2022, Anduril raised around $1.5bn led by Valor Equity Partners, valuing the company at $8.5bn, including the new cash from the raise.{{cite web |last=Waters |first=Richard |date=December 2, 2022 |title=Palmer Luckey's defence start-up Anduril raises almost $1.5bn |url= https://www.ft.com/content/56d7d1ed-6b84-476a-9342-a47f94ce8f2a |work=Financial Times |url-access= limited |archive-url= https://archive.today/20221202071359/https://www.ft.com/content/56d7d1ed-6b84-476a-9342-a47f94ce8f2a |archive-date= December 2, 2022 |url-status=live}}

In May 2025, Anduril, the defense technology company founded by Luckey, announced a partnership with Meta to develop extended reality (XR) devices for the U.S. military under the Soldier Borne Mission Command (SBMC) Next program. The collaboration marks a high-profile reunion between Luckey and his former employer, and will combine Meta’s Reality Labs hardware and Llama AI model with Anduril’s battlefield command software, Lattice. Luckey stated, “My mission has long been to turn warfighters into technomancers,” describing the project as a technological leap in real-time battlefield intelligence. The partnership emerged after the Army reassigned a $22 billion augmented reality contract from Microsoft to Anduril earlier in the year.{{Cite web |last=Bort |first=Julie |date=2025-05-29 |title=In a victory for Palmer Luckey, Meta and Anduril work on mixed reality headsets for the military |url=https://techcrunch.com/2025/05/29/in-a-victory-for-palmer-luckey-meta-and-anduril-work-on-mixed-reality-headsets-for-the-military/ |access-date=2025-05-30 |website=TechCrunch |language=en-US}}

In June 2024, ModRetro, founded by Luckey, released its first product, the ModRetro Chromatic, a handheld retrogaming device capable of playing original games designed for Game Boy, developed by Nintendo, launched in 1989.{{Cite web |last=Hollister |first=Sean |title= Palmer Luckey is now selling pixel-perfect ultrabright magnesium Game Boys for $199 |url=https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/3/24170572/modretro-chromatic-game-boy-color-palmer-luckey-price-release-date |access-date=2024-10-15 |website=The Verge |date=June 3, 2024 |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2024-06-02 |title=The Future is Retro |url=https://modretro.com/blogs/blog/the-future-is-retro |access-date=2024-10-12 |website=ModRetro |language=en}}

File:Palmer Luckey.jpg

In 2014, Luckey was described as "the face of virtual reality in gaming" and a celebrity among virtual reality enthusiasts; however, he does not consider himself to be a celebrity.{{cite web |title=Palmer Luckey on Palmer Luckey: A VRFocus Interview |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srXavcUp30Y |access-date=June 19, 2014 |author=VRFocus |website=YouTube |date=June 4, 2014}} He maintains a casual appearance, is frequently barefoot, and prefers sandals to shoes even at trade shows and events.

In 2015, Luckey was featured on the cover of Time magazine in the article "The Surprising Joy of Virtual Reality",{{cite web |title= The Surprising Joy of Virtual Reality |date=August 6, 2015 |url=https://time.com/3987059/in-the-latest-issue-41/ }} in an image that was widely ridiculed on the internet,{{cite web |url=https://petapixel.com/2015/08/07/everyone-is-mocking-times-latest-cover-photo/ |title=Everyone is Mocking TIME's Latest Cover Photo |date=August 7, 2015 }}{{cite web | url=https://fstoppers.com/originals/time-magazine-cover-so-bad-i-feel-sad-and-inspired-once-79917 | title=This Time Magazine Cover is So Bad I Feel Sad and Inspired at Once | date=August 7, 2015 }}{{cite web | url=https://variety.com/2015/digital/news/the-surprising-fun-the-internet-had-with-time-magazines-virtual-reality-cover-1201558332/ | title=The Surprising Fun the Internet Had with Time Magazine's Virtual Reality Cover | date=August 6, 2015 }}{{cite web | url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/time-virtual-reality-cover_n_55c44a28e4b0d9b743dbb66c | title=Time Magazine's Virtual Reality Cover Spawns Hysterical New Meme | date=August 7, 2015 }}{{cite web | url=https://www.polygon.com/2015/8/9/9123377/time-vr-cover-meme-palmer-luckey-video | title=The best and brightest mockery of Time's abominable VR cover, in one video | website=Polygon | date=August 9, 2015 }} raising questions as to whether the entire field of VR had been damaged.{{cite web | url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2015/08/06/debate-rages-over-whether-or-not-times-oculus-cover-has-killed-vr/ | title=Debate Rages over Whether or Not TIME's Oculus Cover Has Killed VR | website=Forbes }}

In 2015, a Forbes article stated that Luckey lived in a shared house with several others where they regularly played multiplayer videogames and typically wore casual clothes like shorts, T-shirts, Hawaiian shirts, and sandals.{{cite web |last1=Ewalt |first1=David |title=Palmer Luckey: Defying Reality |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidewalt/2015/01/05/palmer-luckey-oculus-rift-vr/2/#2715e4857a0b37649318eb34 |website=Forbes |access-date=February 1, 2017 |date=January 19, 2015}}

The character Keenan Feldspar, played by Haley Joel Osment, who appeared on several episodes of the HBO TV show Silicon Valley in 2017, was speculated by some to be based on Luckey.{{cite web |title=How HBO's 'Silicon Valley' Perfectly Skewers The VR Unicorn In The Form Of Haley Joel Osment |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/zarastone/2017/06/12/the-truth-of-hbos-silicon-valley-perfect-skewering-of-the-vr-unicorn/#1ef99be42050 |website=Forbes |first=Zara |last=Stone |date=June 12, 2017}} Like Luckey, Feldspar is a young entrepreneur who became rich after selling his VR technology, and who tends to wear Hawaiian shirts.{{cite web |title=Silicon Valley's new, young VR genius feels kind of familiar |url=https://www.polygon.com/2017/5/30/15711826/silicon-valley-vr-oculus |website=Polygon |first=Julia |last=Alexander |date=May 30, 2017}}

In September 2016, Luckey stated he is a libertarian who had supported Ron Paul and Gary Johnson in past elections.{{cite web |url=http://fortune.com/2016/09/24/oculus-palmer-luckey-donald-trump |title=Oculus Co-Founder Palmer Luckey Denies He Supports Donald Trump's Campaign |first=Madeline |last=Farber |date=2016-09-24 |website=Fortune}}{{cite web |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2016/09/26/facebook-millionaire-luckey-aligns-himself-alt-right-but-only-if-you-squint/91132042 |title=Facebook millionaire Luckey aligns himself with alt-right, but only if you squint |last1=della Cava |first1=Marco |last2=Molina |first2=Brett |date=2016-09-26 |website=USA Today}}{{cite web |url=https://www.facebook.com/palmer.luckey/posts/10209141115659366/ |title=I am deeply sorry that my actions are... — Palmer Freeman Luckey |last=Luckey |first=Palmer Freeman |date=2016-09-23 |website=Facebook}} Since then, he has become a prominent fundraiser for the Republican Party and Donald Trump.

In a 2024 interview, Palmer described himself as a "radical Zionist" in relation to his support for Israel's right to maintain their own country. He views the events of World War II as justification for an ethnic state despite normal objections to racially defined states.

In September 2016, Luckey donated $10,000 to an organization called "Nimble America" with the stated purpose of "educating the community on our ideals of America First, Smart Trade, Legal Immigration, and Ethical Behavior."{{cite web |url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/09/22/palmer-luckey-the-facebook-billionaire-secretly-funding-trump-s-meme-machine.html |title=Palmer Luckey: The Facebook Near-Billionaire Secretly Funding Trump's Meme Machine |last1=Resnick |first1=Gideon |date=September 22, 2016 |website=The Daily Beast |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161223014043/http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/09/22/palmer-luckey-the-facebook-billionaire-secretly-funding-trump-s-meme-machine.html |archive-date=December 23, 2016 |url-status=live |access-date=December 24, 2016}} Luckey offered to match further contributions from r/The_Donald users for 48 hours after the announcement.{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/sep/23/oculus-rift-vr-palmer-luckey-trump-shitposts |title=Oculus Rift founder Palmer Luckey spends fortune backing pro-Trump 'shitposts' |last1=Hern |first1=Alex |date=September 23, 2016 |website=The Guardian |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170110080745/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/sep/23/oculus-rift-vr-palmer-luckey-trump-shitposts |archive-date=January 10, 2017 |url-status=live |access-date=December 24, 2016}} Luckey later issued an apology, stating on his Facebook page, "I am deeply sorry that my actions are negatively impacting the perception of Oculus and its partners."{{cite news |url=https://venturebeat.com/2016/09/23/palmer-luckey-i-am-deeply-sorry-that-my-actions-hurt-oculus/ |title=Palmer Luckey: 'I am deeply sorry that my actions' hurt Oculus |last1=Grubb |first1=Jeff |date=September 23, 2016 |website=VentureBeat |access-date=December 24, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161227135714/http://venturebeat.com/2016/09/23/palmer-luckey-i-am-deeply-sorry-that-my-actions-hurt-oculus/ |archive-date=December 27, 2016 |url-status=live}} He stated that he acted independently, not as a representative of Oculus VR. The Wall Street Journal later reported that Luckey had been pressured into making this statement as a condition of employment.{{Cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-did-facebook-fire-a-top-executive-hint-it-had-something-to-do-with-trump-1541965245 |title=Why Did Facebook Fire a Top Executive? Hint: It Had Something to Do With Trump |last1=Grind |first1=Kirsten |last2=Hagey |first2=Keach |date=2018-11-12 |newspaper=Wall Street Journal |access-date=2019-02-13 |language=en-US |issn=0099-9660}}

In October 2020, Luckey hosted a fundraiser for Donald Trump at his home in Lido Isle, Newport Beach, with the president in attendance.{{Cite web |last1=Elias |first1=Jennifer |last2=Rodriguez |first2=Salvador |date=2020-10-16 |title=Tech exec Palmer Luckey to host California fundraiser for President Trump this weekend |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/16/palmer-luckey-to-host-trump-fundraiser-in-southern-california.html |access-date=2020-10-18|website=CNBC |language=en}}{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2020-10-18/trump-fundraiser-california |last1=Mehta |first1=Seema |last2=John |first2=Arit |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |title=The Beach Boys, tony Lido Isle, $150,000 tickets: A peek inside Trump's Orange County fundraiser |date=18 October 2020}} The fundraiser had tickets ranging from $2,800 per person to $150,000 per couple,{{Cite web |url=https://ktla.com/news/local-news/trump-to-attend-newport-beach-fundraiser-hosted-by-oculus-rift-co-founder/ |title=Trump to attend Newport Beach fundraiser hosted by Oculus Rift co-founder |website=KTLA |date=October 18, 2020}} and there were gatherings both for and against President Trump in Newport Beach outside during the event.{{Cite web |url=https://news.yahoo.com/thousands-trump-supporters-descend-newport-185026188.html |title=Thousands of Trump supporters rally in Newport Beach as president arrives for fundraiser |first1=Laura |last1=Newberry |first2=Stephanie |last2=Lai |first3=Arit |last3=John |name-list-style=amp |date=October 18, 2020 |website=Yahoo! News}}

On June 8, 2024, Luckey co-hosted another fundraiser for Trump at the home of health insurance company co-founder John Word, where donors spent up to $100,000 per person to attend.{{cite web |last1=Fry |first1=Hannah |last2=Mehta |first2=Seema |last3=Pinho |first3=Faith E. |last4=Nelson |first4=Laura J. |name-list-style=amp |title=Trump raises millions in Newport Beach and Beverly Hills in post-conviction appearances |url=https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2024-06-08/trump-raises-millions-in-newport-beach-and-beverly-hills |website=Los Angeles Times |date=June 8, 2024}}

Luckey has donated to the campaigns of dozens of Republican political candidates, U.S. Senators and members of the U.S. House of Representatives. He has also donated to many Republican- and conservative-affiliated organizations, including the National Republican Congressional Committee, the 2017 Presidential Inaugural Committee, Mike Pence's Great America Committee, and many state Republican Party chapters.{{cite web |website=OpenSecrets.org |url=https://www.opensecrets.org/search?page=1&q=Palmer+Luckey&type=donors |title=Palmer Luckey}}

In November 2022, it was announced that as a commemoration of the anime Sword Art Online, Luckey created a VR headset art piece that kills its human user in real life when the user dies digitally in the video game, by means of several explosive charges affixed above the screen, on what appears to be a modified Meta Quest Pro, to aim the blast at the user's forebrain.{{Cite web |title=Palmer Luckey Made a VR Headset That Kills the User If They Die in the Game |url= https://www.vice.com/en/article/palmer-luckey-made-a-vr-headset-that-kills-the-user-if-they-die-in-the-game/ |access-date=2022-11-10 |website= vice.com |date=November 7, 2022 |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Orland |first=Kyle |date= 2022-11-07 |title=Oculus co-founder makes a VR headset that can literally kill you |url= https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2022/11/oculus-co-founder-makes-a-vr-headset-that-can-literally-kill-you/ |access-date=2022-11-10 |website=Ars Technica |language=en-us}}

Luckey blogged, "The idea of tying your real life to your virtual avatar has always fascinated me—you instantly raise the stakes to the maximum level and force people to fundamentally rethink how they interact with the virtual world and the players inside it."{{Cite web |last=Luckey |first= Palmer |date=2022-11-06 |title=If you die in the game, you die in real life. |url=http://palmerluckey.com/if-you-die-in-the-game-you-die-in-real-life/ |access-date=2022-11-10 |website= The Blog of Palmer Luckey |language=en-US}} Luckey additionally described it as "just a piece of office art, a thought-provoking reminder of unexplored avenues in game design". He also mentioned that while it is "the first non-fiction example of a VR device that can actually kill the user, it won’t be the last."

Luckey married his long-time girlfriend and professional gamer Nicole Edelmann in 2019.{{Cite magazine |last=Kinder |first=Tabby |date=March 27, 2024 |title=How Silicon Valley's 'Oppenheimer' found lucrative trade in AI weapons |url=https://www.ft.com/content/ce6f96f8-6ab8-4089-b7db-f99db22c2071 |magazine=FT Magazine |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240729224517/https://www.ft.com/content/ce6f96f8-6ab8-4089-b7db-f99db22c2071 |archive-date=July 29, 2024 |url-status=live}}{{Cite magazine |last=Brustein |first=Joshua |date=October 3, 2019 |title=Tech's Most Controversial Startup Now Makes Drone-Killing Robots |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2019-10-03/tech-s-most-controversial-startup-now-makes-attack-drones |magazine=Bloomberg Businessweek |archive-url=https://archive.today/20191004133038/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2019-10-03/tech-s-most-controversial-startup-now-makes-attack-drones |archive-date=October 4, 2019 |url-status=live}} The couple has a child.{{Cite magazine |last=Walker |first=Corey |date=February 18, 2025 |title=Tech Entrepreneur Palmer Luckey Calls Himself a ‘Radical Zionist’ While Defending Israel’s Right to Exist |url=https://www.algemeiner.com/2025/02/18/tech-entrepreneur-palmer-luckey-calls-himself-radical-zionist-while-defending-israels-right-exist/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250223182130/https://www.algemeiner.com/2025/02/18/tech-entrepreneur-palmer-luckey-calls-himself-radical-zionist-while-defending-israels-right-exist/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=2025-02-23 |access-date=Feb 23, 2025 |magazine=The Algemeiner}} They live in Lido Isle, Newport Beach.{{Cite web |last=Dean |first=Sam |date=June 30, 2024 |title=Palmer Luckey: Millennial slayer of U.S. defense giants |url=https://www.latimes.com/la-influential/story/2024-06-30/palmer-luckey-anduril |work=Los Angeles Times}}

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• {{Official website|https://palmerluckey.com/}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Luckey, Palmer}}

Category:1992 births

Category:Living people

Category:American electronics engineers

Category:American technology chief executives

Category:American technology company founders

Category:American libertarians

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Category:California State University, Long Beach alumni

Category:Engineers from California

Category:Facebook employees

Category:Matt Gaetz

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Category:Virtual reality pioneers