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Brian Chesky

Brian Chesky
Chesky in 2021
Born
Brian Joseph Chesky

(1981-08-29) August 29, 1981 (age 43)
Niskayuna, New York, U.S.
EducationRhode Island School of Design (BFA)
Occupation(s)Airbnb CEO and co-founder

Brian Joseph Chesky (born August 29, 1981) is an American businessman and industrial designer and the co-founder and CEO of Airbnb. Chesky is the 355th richest person in the world according to Forbes, with a net worth of $7.8 billion,[1] mostly due to his ownership of 67 million shares of Airbnb.[2]

Early life

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Brian Chesky was born on August 29, 1981,[3] in Niskayuna, New York, the son of Deborah and Robert Chesky;[4] His father is of Polish and his mother of Italian origin.[5] Chesky's parents were both social workers.[6][7] He has a younger sister, Allison.[6] Chesky enjoys sketching and bonsai.[8]

As a child, Chesky's first hobby was ice hockey. He developed an interest in art in his teens and cited Leonardo da Vinci as an early inspiration.[9] He drew replicas of paintings and redesigned toys and shoes. In an interview with The New York Times, he said he watched friends of his parents redesign their backyard, which led to an interest in landscape architecture and later urban planning.[10]

Education

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Chesky graduated from Niskayuna High School in 1999 and graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in 2004 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in industrial design.[11][12][13] While studying at RISD, Chesky was influenced by the works of Charles Eames, Ray Eames, and Walt Disney.[14][15] He was captain of the RISD hockey team and was a competitive bodybuilder.[6][12] Chesky was also the designer of the unofficial mascot of RISD, Scrotie.[16]

Career

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After graduating from RISD, Chesky moved to Los Angeles to work as an industrial designer.[17] In October 2007, he moved to San Francisco to live with RISD classmate Joe Gebbia.[6] Chesky did not have enough money to pay his rent, and they opened their house to short-term renters as a bed and breakfast, providing air mattresses for guests to sleep on and Pop-Tarts for breakfast during the Industrial Designers Society of America conference, when hotel rooms were scarce. The business became Airbnb.[17][6]

Chesky became the chief executive officer of Airbnb. He has solicited ideas for improving Airbnb directly from customers[18][19] and has implemented ideas based on his personal experiences as both a guest and a host on the platform.[20][21][22][23] To receive funding, Chesky and his co-founders created special-edition cereals called "Obama O's" and "Cap'n McCains", based on presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain.[24][25][26] Impressed by the cereal boxes, computer programmer Paul Graham invited the founders to the January 2009 winter training session of his startup incubator, Y Combinator, which provided them with training and $20,000 in funding in exchange for a 6% interest in the company.[27] In December 2020, Airbnb became a public company via an initial public offering.[28]

Recognition

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In 2015, Chesky was included on the Forbes list of America's Richest Entrepreneurs Under 40.[29] Chesky was recognized on the Time 100 for 2015.[28] In May 2015, President Barack Obama named Chesky a Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship.[30] In 2016, Chesky was also named in the Youngest Forbes 400 list.[31] Chesky was named one of the "World's Greatest Leaders" in 2017 by Fortune.[32] He received an honorary doctorate from RISD that year.[33] In 2018, Chesky was named the Bay Area Executive of the Year by American City Business Journals.[34] In June 2022, Chesky was featured among the 100 Most Powerful People in Global Hospitality by the International Hospitality Institute.[35] American computer scientist, Paul Graham praised and described him as "founder mode".[36]

Philanthropy

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On June 11, 2016, Chesky joined Warren Buffett and Bill Gates' The Giving Pledge, a group of billionaires who have committed to giving the majority of their wealth away.[37] Chesky donated $10 million to nonprofit organizations supporting frontline workers during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.[38] In 2022, Chesky was ranked No. 20 by contributions on the list of the 50 most prolific philanthropists in the United States by The Chronicle of Philanthropy.[39] In May 2022, Chesky pledged $100 million over 5 years to the Obama Foundation to launch a scholarship program for students pursuing careers in public service. The Voyager Scholarship aims to support students in their junior and senior year of college with up to $50,000 in financial aid, a $10,000 stipend, and free Airbnb housing to pursue a summer work-travel experience; a $2,000 travel credit every year for 10 years following graduation; an annual summit; and a network of mentors.[40]

References

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  1. ^ "Brian Chesky". Forbes.
  2. ^ "Airbnb, Inc. 2023 Form 14-A Proxy Statement". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. April 19, 2024.
  3. ^ "The CNBC Next List: Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia". CNBC. October 6, 2014.
  4. ^ "Harry Chesky Obituary". Times Union. October 4, 2008 – via Legacy.com.
  5. ^ Stone, Brad (February 2, 2017). The Upstarts: How Uber, Airbnb and the Killer Companies of the New Silicon Valley are Changing the World. Transworld. ISBN 9781473527027.
  6. ^ a b c d e Gallagher, Leigh (June 26, 2015). "The education of Airbnb's Brian Chesky". Fortune.
  7. ^ Cohen, Anne (April 16, 2015). "Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Amy Schumer and Bibi Make Time 100 List". The Forward.
  8. ^ Lagorio-Chafkin, Christine (November 28, 2022). "How Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky Nurtures His Creativity". Inc. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  9. ^ Alter, Charlotte (November 16, 2023). "Brian Chesky on How Art Helped Him Build Airbnb". Time. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
  10. ^ Bryant, Adam (October 11, 2014). "Brian Chesky of Airbnb, on Scratching the Itch to Create". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.
  11. ^ Fortson, Danny (February 25, 2018). "Airbnb is waiting to really take off". The Sunday Times.
  12. ^ a b Hartmans, Avery (July 22, 2017). "The fabulous life of Airbnb's Brian Chesky, one of the youngest and richest tech founders in America". Business Insider.
  13. ^ "Airbnb Co-Founder, CEO and Head of Community Brian Chesky to Deliver Keynote Address at Rhode Island School of Design's 2017 Commencement" (Press release). Rhode Island School of Design. May 19, 2017.
  14. ^ Stone, Brad (2017). The Upstarts. Little, Brown and Company. pp. 213, 326. ISBN 978-0-316-38839-9.
  15. ^ Lee, Dave (May 1, 2021). "Airbnb's Brian Chesky: 'The trick is to be optimistic'". Financial Times. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  16. ^ "The Story of Scrotie, the Dick-and-Balls Hockey Mascot That Could". MEL Magazine. April 26, 2022. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
  17. ^ a b Friedman, Thomas L. (July 20, 2013). "Welcome to the 'Sharing Economy'". The New York Times. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
  18. ^ Tabahriti, Sam (May 6, 2023). "Elon Musk says 'other companies' should take note of the way Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky interacts with people on Twitter". Business Insider. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
  19. ^ Belanger, Lydia (December 27, 2016). "Airbnb CEO Asks Twitter What His Company Should Launch in 2017". Entrepreneur. Retrieved March 27, 2024.
  20. ^ BIENASZ, GABRIELLE (November 16, 2022). "Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky Is Renting Out His Home...On Airbnb: See The Photos". Entrepreneur.
  21. ^ "The low-key SF neighborhood where Airbnb and Instagram founders live". The San Francisco Standard. December 23, 2022.
  22. ^ Royle, Orianna Rose (July 4, 2023). "Airbnb boss Brian Chesky says it's critical not to become an 'ivory tower' CEO—so he lists his own home". Fortune. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
  23. ^ Williams, Trey (May 4, 2023). "Airbnb's CEO spent 6 months living in his company's rentals—and found the core problem with his business". Fortune. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
  24. ^ Spors, Kelly (August 11, 2008). "The Business of Politics". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on February 21, 2017.
  25. ^ Rusli, Evelyn (July 7, 2011). "The New Start-Ups at Sun Valley". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 28, 2018.
  26. ^ Peng, Tina (March 24, 2010). "Where to get startup cash now". CNN. Archived from the original on August 1, 2022.
  27. ^ Fairweather, Alistair (March 12, 2013). "Brian Chesky: The homeless entrepreneur". Mail & Guardian.
  28. ^ a b Ive, Jonathan (April 16, 2015). "Time 100 Pioneers: Brian Chesky". Time. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
  29. ^ Kroll, Luisa (December 12, 2016). "40 Under 40". Forbes.
  30. ^ Brayton, Jenna (May 11, 2015). "The White House Celebrates Entrepreneurs Around the World". whitehouse.gov – via National Archives and Records Administration.
  31. ^ Vinton, Kate (October 4, 2016). "Brian Chesky". Forbes.
  32. ^ Gallagher, Leigh (March 24, 2017). "Why Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky Is Among the World's Greatest Leaders". Fortune. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
  33. ^ "Co-founder tells RISD grads about the birth of Airbnb". The Seattle Times. Associated Press. June 3, 2017. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  34. ^ "Brian Chesky grew Airbnb from three airbeds in a living room to the biggest force in hospitality. He's the 2018 Executive of the Year (Video)". American City Business Journals. December 18, 2018.
  35. ^ "Dr Jeffrey Obomeghie and Dupe Olusola among the 100 most powerful people in global hospitality". Pulse Nigeria. August 1, 2022.
  36. ^ Blum, Sam (September 5, 2024). "Y Combinator's Paul Graham Has Unleashed Founder Mode. The Tech World Has Some Thoughts". Inc.com. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
  37. ^ "Airbnb Cofounders Join Buffett and Gates' 'Giving Pledge'". Fortune. June 1, 2016.
  38. ^ Cabanatuan, Michael (December 16, 2020). "Airbnb co-founder donates $25 million to S.F., Bay Area homelessness programs". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved June 12, 2024.
  39. ^ "Philanthropy 50: List of America's top 50 donors of 2022". Associated Press. The Chronicle of Philanthropy. February 14, 2023. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  40. ^ "Obama Foundation, Brian Chesky launch $100 million scholarship program". Candid. May 17, 2022.
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