Airbnb’s record plunge wipes $2 billion off 42-year-old CEO’s fortune
By Biz Carson
Airbnb’s trio of founders saw their fortunes sink by 13.4 per cent as the travel company’s stock plunged following weakened US demand.
The selloff wiped out a cumulative $US3.2 billion ($4.9 billion) from the net worths of Brian Chesky, Nathan Blecharczyk and Joe Gebbia, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, with the company’s stock falling the most since going public in 2020.
Airbnb co-founder and chief executive Brian Chesky saw his net worth shrink.Credit: Bloomberg
Shares of San Francisco-based Airbnb tumbled as much as 15 per cent in New York after it offered a downbeat forecast to investors for the third-consecutive quarter.
Bookings rose 8.7 per cent in the second quarter to 125.1 million, falling well below analysts’ estimates. And Airbnb said it expects “sequential moderation” of growth in bookings in the third quarter, too, signalling that results will disappoint analysts who had projected an 11 per cent gain amid the peak northern hemisphere summer travel season.
The stock decline carved around $US1.3 billion ($2 billion) from Chesky’s net worth, dropping the chief executive officer’s fortune to $US9.2 billion, the lowest this year. Blecharczyk, the chief strategy officer, fell $US1 billion to $US7.7 billion.
The third co-founder, Gebbia, stepped down from Airbnb in 2022 and has sold more than $US2 billion worth of shares from January 2022 to June 2024. He’s worth around $US7 billion after Wednesday’s slump.
offered a downbeat forecast to investors for the third-consecutive quarter.Credit: Bloomberg
Chesky responded to the share-price plunge by tweeting “I’m confident it’s a good time to buy.”
This is the third consecutive quarter that Airbnb has offered a downbeat forecast to investors. The company’s latest bookings outlook sets it up for the slowest pace of growth since 2020. Even as the pandemic retreats, headwinds have dogged the broader industry. Last week, Booking Holdings gave worse-than-expected guidance, blaming “mild moderation” in the European travel market and consumers who are opting for lower-star hotels and shorter stays, particularly in the US.
Chesky has said the company he co-founded in 2007 is ready to expand beyond its core offerings. He spent the past year refining Airbnb’s product to make listings more reliable and affordable for guests, and to encourage more people to sign up as hosts.
That work has been paying off. The number of active listings on Airbnb surpassed 8 million in the second quarter, even as it took steps to remove more than 200,000 lower-quality listings. Chesky said the company hopes to attract more inventory by introducing a new co-hosting marketplace in October.
The marketplace would match people who have homes — but don’t have time to host — with those who have the time but don’t have a property.
Airbnb will also relaunch its Experiences business for tours, classes and workshops next year, he said, with an emphasis on better marketing and affordability. The company will make it easier to discover the feature on the app as well.
Bloomberg
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