Brian Chesky, Nathan Blecharczyk and Joe Gebbia are all in their early 30s. And each of them will soon be worth more than $1 billion, Forbes reports.
The trio cofounded Airbnb, a short-term, peer-to-peer apartment rental service that’s an alternative to hotels. They’re raising a new round of financing at an estimated $10 billion valuation.
Once that fund-raising is complete, each founder will be worth a little more than $1.5 billion, Forbes’ Alex Konrad and Ryan Mac say. Chesky, 32, Blecharczyk, 30, and Gebbia, 32, will each maintain just over 15% stakes after the fund-raising, according to a Forbes source. They’ll become the first billionaires of the budding sharing economy, otherwise known as the rent-don’t-buy fad. Other startups in the space include Rent the Runway (a store that rents out designer dresses) and GetAround (borrow a neighbor’s car).
Until now, Airbnb’s founders have chosen to live modestly. Chesky often rents out his pad and opts to live in Airbnbs to test the product. He and Gebbia still live in the same apartment in which they founded Airbnb in 2008. Blecharczyk rides a bike to work.
Blecharcyzk will be the fourth-youngest billionaire, behind Mark Zuckerberg, Dustin Moskovitz, and Perenna Kei.