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  4. Airbnb's 3 cofounders shed a combined $9 billion in net worth after stock plunges 24% from IPO peak

Airbnb's 3 cofounders shed a combined $9 billion in net worth after stock plunges 24% from IPO peak

Theron Mohamed   

Airbnb's 3 cofounders shed a combined $9 billion in net worth after stock plunges 24% from IPO peak
Stock Market2 min read

  • Airbnb's founding trio have seen up to $9 billion erased from their combined net worth since their company's IPO last Thursday.
  • The home-rental platform's stock price peaked at $165 during its trading debut, valuing CEO Brian Chesky's 76.5 million shares at $12.6 billion, and directors Nathan Blecharczyk and Joe Gebbia's stakes at $11.5 billion each.
  • However, Airbnb's stock price has tumbled 24% from its peak, wiping $3 billion off of Chesky's net worth and $2.8 billion from each of Blecharczyk and Gebbia's fortunes.
  • The three cofounders have still made a killing as Airbnb's current market capitalization suggests it has quadrupled in value since April.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Airbnb's three cofounders have seen as much as $9 billion wiped off their combined fortunes since they took their company public last Thursday.

The home-rental platform's shares surged from $68 to a peak of $165 during their first day of trading, giving the company a market capitalization of about $100 billion.

Read more: Value investor Barbara Ann Bernard explains Warren Buffett's unique appeal, why tech stocks have soared, and where she's finding bargains

CEO Brian Chesky's 76.5 million shares (including 9.2 million stock options) peaked in value at $12.6 billion. Strategy chief Nathan Blecharczyk and director Joe Gebbia each boasted around 69.7 million shares including stock options, meaning their individual stakes were worth as much as $11.5 billion.

However, Airbnb's stock price has tumbled about 24% from its high, closing at $125 on Tuesday. The decline has slashed the value of Chesky's shares by about $3 billion, and erased around $2.8 billion from both Blecharczyk and Gebbia's fortunes.

The trio will still be counting their blessings. Airbnb's $74 billion market cap implies it's worth four times more today than it was in April, when it was privately valued at $18 billion.

Read More: A JPMorgan income fund manager shares 12 high-dividend stocks set to gain from a broad cyclical recovery - and unpacks the strategy he uses to beat 93% of his peers

The spike in valuation is striking as Airbnb's revenue plunged as much as 80% in the spring as the pandemic hammered travel demand, spurring Chesky to lay off 25% of his workforce. Despite Airbnb's efforts to promote local bookings and cut costs, its losses more than doubled to about $700 million in the first nine months of this year.

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