# Joe Gebbia

> Joe Gebbia is the co-founder of Airbnb and a designer-turned-billionaire who helped reshape how humanity thinks about trust between strangers. He graduated from RISD with dual degrees in graphic and industrial design, then turned air mattresses and a breakfast cereal stunt into a $100 billion company. After stepping back from Airbnb in 2022, he founded Samara - a prefab housing company - and in 2025 became America's first Chief Design Officer under the Trump administration, tasked with redesigning the federal government's 27,000+ websites to feel as intuitive as the Apple Store.

- **Role:** U.S. Chief Design Officer / Founder at Samara
- **Organizations:** Samara, Airbnb (co-founder, board), Tesla (board), Eames Institute of Infinite Curiosity, San Antonio Spurs (minority owner), Y Combinator (design partner)
- **From:** Atlanta, USA
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** BFA, Graphic Design & Industrial Design, Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), Supplementary business courses, Brown University
- **Known for:** Co-founded Airbnb, which grew to serve 2+ billion guests across 220+ countries, Led Airbnb's IPO in December 2020, raising $3.5 billion with a $100B+ valuation, Designed and sold Obama O's cereal boxes that raised $30,000 and secured Y Combinator acceptance

## Career timeline

- **2005** — Graduated RISD; launched CritBuns seat cushion - sold at MoMA Design Store
- **2006** — Industrial designer at Chronicle Books, San Francisco
- **2007** — Co-founded AirBed & Breakfast with Brian Chesky and Nate Blecharczyk in San Francisco
- **2008** — Created Obama O's and Cap'n McCains cereal boxes, raising $30,000 to keep Airbnb alive
- **2009** — Accepted to Y Combinator; raised $600K from Sequoia Capital; site rebranded Airbnb.com
- **2010** — Led Airbnb's professional photography program, transforming listing quality globally
- **2014** — Donated $300,000 to RISD for financial aid scholarships
- **2015** — Named to TIME's 100 Most Influential People
- **2016** — Signed the Giving Pledge; launched Samara as Airbnb's internal R&D studio
- **2017** — Designed Neighborhood furniture collection for Bernhardt Design; Airbnb launched Experiences
- **2020** — Airbnb IPO raises $3.5B; company valued at $100B+; donated $25M to SF homelessness charities
- **2022** — Stepped down from Airbnb operations; Samara spun out as independent company; joined Tesla board; acquired minority stake in San Antonio Spurs; founded Eames Institute
- **2023** — Donated $25M to The Ocean Cleanup and $25M to Malala Fund
- **2024** — Samara's Backyard ADU named TIME Best Invention; inducted into Texas Business Hall of Fame
- **2025** — Joined DOGE at Office of Personnel Management; appointed U.S. Chief Design Officer on 44th birthday
- **2026** — Leading National Design Studio redesign of federal government websites, targeting July 4 deadline

## Achievements

- Co-founded Airbnb, which grew to serve 2+ billion guests across 220+ countries
- Led Airbnb's IPO in December 2020, raising $3.5 billion with a $100B+ valuation
- Designed and sold Obama O's cereal boxes that raised $30,000 and secured Y Combinator acceptance
- Created CritBuns - sold at MoMA Design Store, Amazon bestseller
- Named to TIME's 100 Most Influential People (2015)
- Signed The Giving Pledge, committing majority of wealth to philanthropy
- Donated $25M to The Ocean Cleanup - largest single private donation in the organization's history
- Founded Eames Institute of Infinite Curiosity to preserve Charles and Ray Eames legacy
- Appointed America's first U.S. Chief Design Officer (2025)
- Samara's Backyard ADU named TIME Best Invention of 2024
- Raised $41M for Samara to address U.S. housing crisis with prefab ADUs
- Inducted into Texas Business Hall of Fame (2024)
- Board member at Tesla since 2022
- Donated $2.1M in Airbnb stock to 890 graduating seniors at his high school

## Latest updates

- **2026-02** — National Design Studio launched TrumpRx.gov drug pricing platform, realfood.gov, and Genesis AI research site
- **2025-08** — Appointed first-ever U.S. Chief Design Officer on his 44th birthday; tasked with redesigning 27,000+ federal websites by July 4, 2026
- **2025-05** — Completed first DOGE project: fully online retirement application system for federal employees at OPM
- **2025-04** — Resigned from Airbnb.org board amid controversy over DOGE involvement and political views
- **2024-11** — Samara's Backyard ADU named TIME Best Inventions of 2024
- **2024-10** — Inducted into Texas Business Hall of Fame
- **2024-02** — Samara acquired its own manufacturing factory in Mexicali, Mexico to scale ADU production

## Links

- Website: https://joegebbia.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jgebbia/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/jgebbia
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joegebs/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/joe-gebbia
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-04