How does one of the world’s most successful technology executives live? If you’re Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia and his partner Isabelle Boemeke, you do it in a warmly minimalist environment in Austin, Texas, surrounded by some of the best midcentury modern furniture — think pieces by Charles and Ray Eames and the Dutch designer Gerrit Rietveld, for starters — and fervently lush landscaping by Furrow Studio.
Gebbia’s strikingly modern home was crafted and built by acclaimed architecture firm Studio DuBois in collaboration with designer Elizabeth Stanley, for Stanley’s own family. Completed circa 2015, the angular structure spans more than 6,000 square feet, with five bedrooms, six bathrooms and vast, light-flooded living areas.
The 1.5-acre estate was acquired by Gebbia in late 2020, though the property was never officially listed for sale. It’s also not clear how much the Georgia native, 41, paid for the place, as the state of Texas does not disclose real estate transfer prices. But it’s worth noting the 2021’s tax assessment valued the mansion at $10.6 million, so it’s probably a good bet that Gebbia forked out an eight figure sum.
Outside, the low-slung house is wrapped by a featureless and notably thick concrete wall, built with the purpose of wrapping the interiors in “mystery and privacy,” per Stanley. The ethos of the those simple geometric volumes extends to the landscaping, which is simple yet elegant — soft grasses and native plantings frame long views of the surrounding countryside. A dark-bottom swimming pool and vast terraces are primed for entertaining.
Inside, the understated decor is embraced by concrete walls, oat-colored hardwood floors and walls of glass. Name-brand artworks add delicate pops of color throughout, though the aforementioned views of greenery and blue skies are the main focus here.
Last year, Gebbia invited the Financial Times into the multi-parcel Austin compound — he also owns the significantly smaller house across the street — and displayed some of the personal touches he’s added to the property, including a meditation cushion from a visit to Japan, his sketches and a newly-installed gym with a leg press and elliptical machine.
With his college roommate and longtime friend Brian Chesky, Gebbia co-founded Airbnb, the short-term stay marketplace and publicly-traded company whose currently valuation stands at $66 billion. Gebbia’s personal net worth now tops $7 billion, according to Forbes.
As one might expect, Chesky and Gebbia’s success with short-term rentals has allowed them to invest in long-term real estate holdings. Public records link one or both of them to multiple luxury homes in the San Francisco area, plus a $15 million, 285-acre vineyard estate in California’s Napa Valley that was once featured in Architectural Digest.
There’s also plenty of evidence in records that suggests Gebbia quietly owns a home in Los Angeles — a gated contemporary estate sited on one of the best-known and most celebrity-favored streets in the Hollywood Hills, but that has yet to be publicly confirmed.
