"Airbnb Founder and Musk's Close Friend, 20-Year Democratic Party Supporter, Joins DOGE"

NYT Reports:
Gebbia to Begin Working
for the Federal Government Soon

Joe Gebbia, co-founder of the accommodation sharing company Airbnb, is reported to be joining the U.S. Trump administration advisory body, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). DOGE is led by Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla.

On the 14th, Yonhap News Agency cited the New York Times (NYT) reporting that Gebbia, a close friend of Musk and a member of Tesla's board, plans to soon start working in the federal government as part of Musk's team. However, the specific role he will undertake has not been disclosed.

Joe Gebbia, Co-founder of Airbnb. Photo by Kyodo News.

Gebbia, who was a Democratic Party supporter, spent $200,000 each to support Democratic candidates former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former President Joe Biden during the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections, respectively, and contributed $20,000 in 2023 to help Biden's re-election campaign.

Gebbia has stated that his political stance shifted toward the Republican Party due to his support for Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services. Kennedy Jr., a member of the Kennedy family, left the Democratic Party last year during the presidential election to run independently but ultimately began supporting President Donald Trump.

Gebbia also revealed via X (formerly Twitter) on the day before Trump's inauguration that he had voted for Democratic candidates since the 2000 presidential election but supported President Trump in the November election last year.

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Gebbia's net worth is estimated to be close to $9 billion (approximately 13 trillion KRW), thanks to his stake in Airbnb, which was founded in 2008.

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, is walking at the U.S. Capitol in Washington last December on the day of the meeting with John Thune, the newly elected Senate Republican Whip. Photo by Reuters Yonhap News

Meanwhile, the White House appointed Musk as a "special government employee" on the 3rd.

Concerns were raised that Musk, as a special government employee, might overstep his authority by exercising access to confidential information, but Trump expressed trust in the Department of Government Efficiency, stating, "Elon cannot and will not do anything without our approval," and added, "He is a very talented person in terms of management and cost efficiency."