Airbnb’s trio of founders saw their fortunes sink by 13.4 per cent as the travel company’s stock plunged following weakened US demand.

The selloff wiped out a cumulative $US3.2 billion ($4.9 billion) from the net worths of Brian Chesky, Nathan Blecharczyk and Joe Gebbia, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, with the company’s stock falling the most since going public in 2020.

Shares of San Francisco-based Airbnb tumbled as much as 15 per cent in New York after it offered a downbeat forecast to investors for the third-consecutive quarter.

Bookings rose 8.7 per cent in the second quarter to 125.1 million, falling well below analysts’ estimates. And Airbnb said it expects “sequential moderation” of growth in bookings in the third quarter, too, signalling that results will disappoint analysts who had projected an 11 per cent gain amid the peak northern hemisphere summer travel season.

The stock decline carved around $US1.3 billion ($2 billion) from Chesky’s net worth, dropping the chief executive officer’s fortune to $US9.2 billion, the lowest this year. Blecharczyk, the chief strategy officer, fell $US1 billion to $US7.7 billion.

The third co-founder, Gebbia, stepped down from Airbnb in 2022 and has sold more than $US2 billion worth of shares from January 2022 to June 2024. He’s worth around $US7 billion after Wednesday’s slump.

Chesky responded to the share-price plunge by tweeting “I’m confident it’s a good time to buy.”

This is the third consecutive quarter that Airbnb has offered a downbeat forecast to investors. The company’s latest bookings outlook sets it up for the slowest pace of growth since 2020. Even as the pandemic retreats, headwinds have dogged the broader industry. Last week, Booking Holdings gave worse-than-expected guidance, blaming “mild moderation” in the European travel market and consumers who are opting for lower-star hotels and shorter stays, particularly in the US.