Joe Gebbia
Born 1981 · Age 44
American designer, entrepreneur, co‑founder of Airbnb and Samara; philanthropist and investor. Known for design-led product and company building, board roles (Airbnb, Tesla), and large philanthropic gifts.
Compare Your Trajectory
See how your career milestones stack up against Joe Gebbia and other industry leaders.
Life & Career Timeline
Born in Atlanta, Georgia
Joseph Gebbia Jr. born to Eileen and Joe Gebbia in Atlanta, Georgia.
Graduated high school (approx.)
Attended Brookwood High School (Snellville, GA); took ceramics, photography, jewelry metalsmithing and weekend figure drawing/painting classes at Atlanta College of Art; finalist in Georgia Governor's Honors Program.
Enrolled at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD)
Began studies in painting then switched to industrial design inspired by Charles and Ray Eames; supplemented studies with business coursework at Brown and MIT.
Ambitious 3D foundations project (16 full-sized chairs)
At RISD produced sixteen full-sized chairs for a semester-long 3D foundations project, an anecdote he cites about exceeding expectations.
Created 'CritBuns' product while at RISD
Developed foam cushions for art students ('CritBuns'); product selected as the senior gift for his graduating class and later featured in design press and sold by retailers.
Graduated RISD with BFA in Graphic & Industrial Design
Completed dual-major BFA and formal design education; supplemented coursework at Brown University and MIT.
Moved to San Francisco and joined Chronicle Books
Worked as a designer at Chronicle Books; was the only industrial designer at a primarily graphic-design company.
Founded Ecolect (green-design website)
Started Ecolect, a website focused on sustainable design.
AirBed & Breakfast experiment — first airbeds rented
Brian Chesky moved in; they quit jobs and, after a rent hike, rented out three airbeds to conference attendees in San Francisco and created the 'AirBed & Breakfast' website — first successful bookings that covered rent.
CritBuns coverage in Wired and design press
CritBuns received media attention (e.g., Wired), demonstrating early entrepreneurship and product-market traction.
Created and sold political cereal boxes to raise funds
Produced 'Obama O's' and 'Cap'n McCain's' political cereal boxes (1,000 cartons manufactured); campaign garnered media coverage and raised about $30,000 for the startup.
Nathan Blecharczyk joins as Airbnb co‑founder
Nathan Blecharczyk became the third cofounder, formalizing the founding team (Gebbia, Chesky, Blecharczyk).
Accepted to Y Combinator (winter 2009 cohort)
Paul Graham invited the founders to Y Combinator; Airbnb received $20,000 in funding in exchange for roughly 6% of the company.
AirBed & Breakfast renamed Airbnb.com
Company shortened the name to Airbnb and expanded listings beyond airbeds to private rooms, entire homes and apartments.
Launched Airbnb Photography Program (approx.)
Gebbia and team discovered low-quality host photos in NYC, arranged professional photography via freelance community; resulted in NYC revenue doubling and creation of Airbnb Photography Program.
Airbnb named Inc.'s Company of the Year (Airbnb recognition)
Airbnb received 'Company of the Year' recognition by Inc.; Gebbia as cofounder recognized alongside the company.
Donated $300,000 to RISD (endowed fund)
Gave $300,000 to his alma mater to create an endowed fund to make RISD more accessible to students in need of financial assistance.
Samara established as Airbnb R&D unit
Airbnb created Samara as an internal research and development team focusing on future housing and design experimentation (later to spin out).
Joined the Giving Pledge
Committed to give more than half of his wealth to philanthropic causes by joining The Giving Pledge.
Brought Yeonmi Park to the Met Gala (public advocacy)
Invited North Korean refugee Yeonmi Park to the Met Gala to raise attention to refugee issues.
Launched 'Neighborhood' modular furniture for Bernhardt Design
Introduced a LEGO‑like modular office furniture collection at ICFF during NYC Design Week; received design press coverage.
Donated to Kevin Durant Charity Foundation courts redevelopment
Contributed to a project (with Kevin Durant) to redevelop basketball and tennis courts in Hayes Valley, San Francisco.
Bought Austin, Texas home (~6,000 sq ft, $10M)
Purchased a minimalist 6,000 square foot house in Austin for approximately $10 million.
Launched Airbnb.org (nonprofit)
Helped launch Airbnb.org to enable hosts to house people in times of crisis; began large-scale philanthropic housing initiatives (e.g., COVID-19 response, refugee support).
Executive producer: 'Universe' documentary
Executive produced Universe, a documentary following jazz trumpeter Wallace Roney; film premiered amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Airbnb IPO — company goes public
Airbnb held initial public offering on Dec 10, 2020, raising about $3.5 billion; stock price doubled on debut, valuing company near $100B.
Included on America's 50 Biggest Charity Donors list
Featured by The Chronicle of Philanthropy among the country's biggest charitable donors for 2021.
Executive produced 'We Dare to Dream' (documentary on Refugee Olympic Team)
Served as executive producer on a documentary following the Refugee Olympic Team around the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Supported Eames Institute for Infinite Curiosity
Contributed support to the Eames Institute, promoting the legacy of Charles and Ray Eames through exhibitions and programs.
Acquired minority stake in the San Antonio Spurs
Purchased a minority ownership stake in the NBA's San Antonio Spurs; joined investors including Michael Dell and Sixth Street Partners.
Samara spun out — became independent ADU startup
Samara, originally an Airbnb R&D team (est. 2016), spun out as a privately funded accessory dwelling unit startup; Joe is a cofounder.
Stepped down from full-time operating role at Airbnb
Moved away from day-to-day operations at Airbnb while remaining on the board in an advisory capacity.
Appointed to Tesla, Inc. board of directors
Joined Tesla's board of directors, taking a board seat alongside other prominent directors.
Samara launched 'Backyard' net-zero tiny house
Announced Samara's first product, Backyard — a factory-made, net-zero accessory dwelling unit designed for rental income or family use; initial shipping in California.
Donated $25M to The Ocean Cleanup
Made a $25 million gift to The Ocean Cleanup — the organization's largest private donation to date to expand ocean-cleaning operations.
Committed $25M to Malala Fund (over five years)
Announced a $25 million commitment to the Malala Fund to support girls' education over a five-year period.
Attended the 2023 Met Gala with Isabelle Boemeke
Made public appearance at the Met Gala with partner Isabelle Boemeke.
Publicly voted for Donald Trump in 2024 presidential election
Reported voting choice in the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
Made $1M donation to Greg Abbott gubernatorial campaign (reported)
Reported donor of $1,000,000 to Greg Abbott's campaign via a trust; coverage in 2025 linked the donation to Gebbia.
Listed as cofounder and leader of Samara (ADU startup)
Samara operates as an ADU company shipping Backyard homes in California with plans to expand to other states.
Public controversy and calls to boycott Airbnb over DOGE work
Concerns about his DOGE role sparked public backlash and calls for boycotts of Airbnb in early 2025.
Ongoing board membership at Airbnb
Remains on Airbnb's board of directors in an advisory capacity despite stepping away from operations in 2022.
Investments: Stark Bank & Vimcal disclosed
Publicly known investments include Stark Bank (fintech) and Vimcal (calendar app), in addition to sports franchise stake.
Forbes ranks Gebbia among world's richest — net worth cited
Profiled by Forbes as the 328th richest person with an estimated net worth of around $8.8 billion, largely from his ~7% Airbnb stake.
Joined Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)
Accepted a role with DOGE, a government initiative associated with Elon Musk; generated controversy and public calls for Airbnb boycott.
Key Achievement Ages
Explore what Joe Gebbia and others achieved at these notable ages:
Similar Trajectories
James Clear
Born 1986 · Age 39
American writer and speaker best known for the bestselling book Atomic Habits and for writing about habits, decision-making, and continuous improvement at JamesClear.com.
Jenna Marbles
Born 1986 · Age 39
American YouTube personality and entertainer who rose to fame with comedy vlogs beginning in 2010; accumulated ~1–2 billion views and ~20M subscribers before announcing an indefinite hiatus in 2020.
Gaurav Taneja
Born 1986 · Age 39
Indian commercial pilot turned YouTuber, fitness influencer and entrepreneur (aka Flying Beast). Known for channels FitMuscle TV and Flying Beast; founder/co-founder of BeastLife and Rozier/Rosier Foods; former IndiGo and AirAsia captain.
Andrej Karpathy
Born 1986 · Age 39
Slovak-Canadian computer scientist specializing in deep learning and computer vision; founding member of OpenAI; former Director of AI and Autopilot Vision at Tesla; educator and founder of Eureka Labs.
Drake
Born 1986 · Age 39
Canadian rapper, singer, actor and entrepreneur known as Drake; rose to fame on Degrassi and became one of the world's best-selling music artists and founders of OVO Sound and other ventures.
Guz Khan
Born 1986 · Age 39
British comedian, writer and actor best known as the creator/star of BBC Three's Man Like Mobeen and for TV roles including Turn Up Charlie, Taskmaster (series 12) and Our Flag Means Death.