Gebbia, a “Musk Bro” Joins Trump Team — Providence Man, Airbnb Co-Founder, RISD Grad

Gebbia, a “Musk Bro” Joins Trump Team — Providence Man, Airbnb Co-Founder, RISD Grad

The New York Times is reporting that Joe Gebbia is joining the Trump administration — he is one of Elon Musk's closest friends and serves on Tesla’s board.

Gebbia has owned, through an LLC he controls, a massive townhouse in Providence’s College Hill and is one of the co-founders of Airbnb.

He is a graduate of Rhode Island School of Design, served on the school’s board, and received an honorary degree from RISD in 2017.

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The New York Times reports, “One of Elon Musk’s closest friends, a billionaire co-founder of Airbnb, is taking a role in President Trump’s administration to help Mr. Musk carry out his drive to slash the federal bureaucracy, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.”

Forbes reports that Gebbia is worth $9.5 billion.

 

Musk Bro

”It is not clear what precisely Mr. Gebbia will do or how formal his role will be. Many members of Mr. Musk’s government-overhaul effort float among agencies depending on the day’s tasks. Many of them consider their center of gravity to be the Office of Personnel Management or the General Services Administration;” writes the Times.

“Early Friday morning, Mr. Gebbia arrived at O.P.M.’s downtown Washington, D.C., headquarters in a black S.U.V. with a three-man security detail. He declined to comment as he was escorted inside by an O.P.M. official and one of his bodyguards,” according to the Times.

 

 

RISD wrote when awarding Gebbia his honorary degree in 2017:

Joe Gebbia, co-founder and Chief Product Officer of Airbnb, serves on the Board of Directors and Executive staff, while leading Samara, the company’s in-house design and innovation studio. An entrepreneur from an early age, Gebbia’s role within the company is to instill a culture of creativity, while leading the development of new opportunities.

He is also responsible for the development of a humanitarian initiative throughout the company. Gebbia has spoken globally about entrepreneurship and design, and has received numerous distinctions. His lifelong appreciation for art and design led him to RISD, where he earned dual degrees in Graphic Design and Industrial Design. Joe now serves on the institution's Board of Trustees.