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Airbnb co-founder gifts high school graduates with stock
Joe Gebbia, the co-founder of Airbnb, spoke to the Brookwood High School graduating Class of 2022. The 2000 graduate gave advice and $2 million in stock, or about $2,500 in stock per graduate.
Seniors at a Gwinnett County high school got a surprise gift from the confounder of Airbnb during his speech at their graduation.
Joe Gebbia, the co-founder of Airbnb and a graduate of Brookwood High School, shocked the class of 2022 by telling them he was giving each one of them 22 shares of his company's stock.
Joe Gebbia speaks on stage during #BoFVOICES on November 30, 2017 in Oxfordshire, England. (Photo by John Phillips/Getty Images for The Business of Fashion )
"I definitely don't remember the advice that I was given at my graduation and I don't expect you to either," the Gwinnett Daily Post reported Gebbia saying to the graduates. "So, I thought of a way to help you remember. I would like to give you a piece of my dream to help inspire yours and let you know that it is possible."
The school's Twitter account said that around 890 "lucky Broncos" will get the stock.
As of Thursday morning, the stock price of Airbnb was up to $110.40 a share - meaning each graduate got a graduation present of a little more than $2,400.
"We are proud to call Joe a Bronco and proud that Brookwood is part of his remarkable story of success, innovation, philanthropy, and global change," said Brookwood High School principal, William Bo Ford. "Just days ago, we mounted a plaque for Joe on the Brookwood Wall of Fame. He’ll see it when he returns to the school to speak at graduation and celebrate the Class of 2022."
Last year, Gebbia donated $700,000 to the high school to create and fund the Joe Gebbia Visual Arts Endowment and gave another donation to support the school's athletes.
The Airbnb co-founder also serves on the Board of Trustees at his alma mater, Rhode Island School of Design.