Forbes ranked Brian Chesky 290th in the world in December 2024, with a net worth of $9.2 billion. Most of it comes from a stake of roughly 10 percent in Airbnb. That figure is dated, and because it rests on a listed share price it changes daily.
The company began in October 2007, when Chesky and his friend Joe Gebbia moved to San Francisco and rented out air mattresses in their apartment. Airbnb was incorporated on 27 June 2008 as AirBed & Breakfast, and the site launched on 11 August 2008. Early on the founders were in credit card debt and raised about $30,000 by selling presidential-themed cereal.
Y Combinator invested $20,000 for 6 percent in January 2009, and Sequoia Capital led a $600,000 seed round that April. A $450 million round at a $10 billion valuation followed in 2014. In April 2020, during the pandemic travel collapse, Airbnb raised $1 billion in equity at $18 billion plus $1 billion in debt.
Airbnb listed on Nasdaq on 10 December 2020 at $68 a share, raising about $3.5 billion. It reported revenue of $12.2 billion in fiscal 2025. Chesky has remained chief executive throughout.