Meet Airbnb’s Joe Gebbia, who Trump appointed to Doge alongside Elon Musk: the billionaire once lived like a monk in Japan – now he sits on Tesla’s board

Joe Gebbia is the latest high-profile name to join US President Donald Trump’s increasingly high-profile administration, which now includes two members of the Kennedy clan and former college footballer – and twice-failed Congress candidate – Bo Hines. Gebbia, co-founder of Airbnb, will be serving in the newly established Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), headed by Elon Musk. According to Newsweek, Gebbia’s background with Airbnb illustrates his experience with disruptive business models, which accords with Musk’s approach to streamlining and cost-cutting at Doge. The Airbnb concept has been widely labelled the pioneer of the sharing economy, which is a cornerstone of the digital revolution. Though Gebbia’s role at Doge is still unclear, he will reportedly be working with Musk on budget-reduction initiatives. The relationship between the two entrepreneurs goes way back, the pair having collaborated on numerous projects and investments. From meditation to major money moves, here is what we know about Joe Gebbia. Joe Gebbia is a billionaire businessman Gebbia, 43, has an estimated net worth of US$8.7 billion, says Forbes. Much of his wealth comes from his seven per cent stake in Airbnb, the home-rental company he co-founded in 2008 with Brian Chesky and Nathan Blecharczyk. He also sits on the boards of Airbnb and Tesla. The trio famously came up with the concept of Airbnb when looking for ways to raise money to pay their rent in San Francisco. Realising that the city was hosting a conference and that hotels were full, they decided to rent an air mattress in their apartment to attendees who needed accommodation. He’s a sports lover View this post on Instagram A post shared by Joe Gebbia (@joegebs) Judging by his Instagram account, Gebbia appears to be a big sports fan. On his grid, he’s shared shots of himself skiing and participating in charity basketball games. And he apparently loves sport enough to be involved in the industry. In 2022 it was confirmed that Gebbia had bought a minority stake in the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs. In an interview with the Financial Times, Gebbia said he had “rediscovered” his love of live sport since moving to Austin, Texas. “Getting to go to basketball games again, sitting courtside, feeling that energy, watching people convene – has been wonderful,” he told the publication. He openly slammed Trump Although he’s set to join the Trump administration, Gebbia has made no secret of his political allegiances. The Independent reports that he’s previously donated to the campaigns of Democratic candidates, including Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020 and 2023. In 2018, the Airbnb co-founders issued a joint statement about Trump’s immigration policy, which saw parents separated from their children. They called the policies “heartless, cruel, immoral and counter to American values”, per The Verge. He “lived like a monk” Gebbia told the Financial Times about spending time with a Buddhist monk – who, incidentally, is an Airbnb host – in Oita, Japan. He said he stayed at the monk’s temple and lived like him, “meditating at 5am, cooking meals in his kitchen, tagging along to the village where he performed rituals in people’s homes”. Gebbia said the monk gave him a meditation cushion and he still regularly makes use of it. He’s a collector of syrups When he’s not dreaming up new business ventures, Gebbia says he enjoys making pancakes at weekends and when he has guests. The billionaire told the Financial Times his fridge is filled with all the syrups you could dream of. “I have a wide variety of syrups – all the grades, all the light and dark versions – and like to make pancakes for whoever is staying with us,” he said. He donated to his high school In 2021, 21 years after he graduated from Brookwood High School in Snellville, Georgia, Gebbia donated US$700,000 to his alma mater. He said the donation made funds available for the school’s visual arts programme and paid for a new course for the cross-country team. “The cross-country team was really a moment in my life where I realised no matter how much I wanted to quit – whether in the middle of a race or in the middle of practice – there was always more in me to keep going,” he told Fast Company.