What a ‘Airbnbopoly game’ says about Silicon Valley’s standoff with Lina Khan
Four years ago, one of Vice President Kamala Harris’ top donors–the billionaire cofounder of LinkedIn Reid Hoffman–celebrated the IPO of Airbnb, a company he was heavily invested in, by fashioning Monopoly boards where the game’s “jail” space is replaced by “government regulation.”
Since Harris became the Democratic presidential nominee, many billionaire tech investors have come out of the woodwork to support her campaign. They often praise Harris for being a business-friendly politician but have been vocal about their disapproval of the antitrust agenda of Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan. Hoffman is among the most influential donors of that group. He has given tens and millions of dollars to support the Biden-Harris campaigns, and has also organized wealthy tech investors who have done the same. According to WIRED, Hoffman sent a “Airbnopoly” board game modeled after Monopoly to at least a few other investors. The box, which is marked “a Reid Hoffman Greylock Production,” contains the standard board game pieces, such as cards, dice and game pieces, but with a travel-themed theme. Players can use an airplane seat or golf club to navigate the board instead of a top-hat or a thin thimble. Airports are used instead of railroads, and Airbnbs replace Atlantic City streets. The board has a telling modification that tells players to return to the corner “Government Regulation”. If players avoid government regulation, they move across a path titled “Progress.”
Some spaces on the board require the players to pay government-issued fines, taxes, or trust and safety fees. “Recent developments in American politics make you curious about living in Canada,” reads one of the game’s cards.
Airbnbopoly is clearly more of a novelty gift than a screed against big government. Aria Finger is the podcast co-host and chief of Staff for Hoffman. She told WIRED that Reid was a big fan of board games and had played Settlers of Catan for years. He made a customized board game, called Settlers of Silicon Valley, and gave it to friends. “Then for Airbnb he thought a custom game would be a nice, unique gesture, and the Monopoly board easily lent itself to Airbnb’s various rentals, so he decided on that.”
Still, it has become public at a time when Hoffman and his Silicon Valley contemporaries have called for Khan to be fired under a possible Harris administration.
Since Khan was confirmed as chair in 2021, the FTC has gone after tech giants like Amazon, Google, and Meta for possible anticompetitive behavior. Some of these lawsuits failed while others continue. Khan’s greatest win was in August, when a court found that Google maintained an illegal monopoly on the online search market. Microsoft is currently being investigated by the FTC as part of an investigation into investments and collaborations in artificial intelligence. Hoffman’s spokesperson did not respond immediately to a comment request.
