Dara Khosrowshahi

Dara Khosrowshahi is an Iranian-American business executive who has become one of the most prominent leaders in global technology as the chief executive of Uber. Born on May 28, 1969, in Tehran, he arrived in the United States as a child refugee, built a long and successful career in media and travel, and spent more than a decade transforming Expedia into one of the world's largest online travel companies. In 2017 he was handed one of the most difficult assignments in business, taking over a scandal hit Uber, which he stabilized, took public and turned toward profitability.

This profile covers who Dara Khosrowshahi is, his early life and education, his rise through media and travel, his leadership of Expedia and then Uber, his net worth and his current role.

Early Life and Education

Dara Khosrowshahi was born on May 28, 1969, in Tehran, Iran, into a prominent and wealthy family that ran a major industrial conglomerate. His comfortable early childhood was upended by the turmoil leading to the Iranian Revolution. Around 1978, his family fled the country, and he grew up from then on in the United States, settling in the New York area. The family's Iranian business was nationalized, and the experience of starting over shaped his outlook.

He attended Brown University in Rhode Island, where he earned a degree in engineering. His academic and early professional grounding in analytical disciplines would inform a career marked by a methodical, numbers driven approach to running businesses.

Early Career and Mentorship Under Barry Diller

Khosrowshahi began his career in investment banking before joining the orbit of the media mogul Barry Diller. He worked at Diller's company IAC, then known as InterActiveCorp, a sprawling internet and media holding company. Under Diller, Khosrowshahi rose through the ranks, eventually serving as chief financial officer and taking on increasing responsibility for the company's many internet businesses.

This period was a crucial apprenticeship. Working alongside Diller, one of the most influential figures in American media and internet business, Khosrowshahi gained deep experience in dealmaking, operating internet companies and managing complex corporate structures, all of which prepared him to run a major company of his own.

Leading Expedia

In 2005, when IAC spun off its travel businesses into a separate public company called Expedia, Dara Khosrowshahi was named its chief executive. He led Expedia Group for more than twelve years, transforming it from one travel brand among many into a global online travel powerhouse.

Under his leadership, Expedia grew through a combination of organic expansion and major acquisitions, building a portfolio of brands that included Expedia, Hotels.com, Orbitz, Travelocity, Trivago and the vacation rental company HomeAway, later Vrbo. He navigated intense competition, the shift of travel booking to mobile devices and the rise of rivals, and he established a reputation as a thoughtful, well regarded leader who could grow a business while managing a complicated set of brands and technologies.

Taking Over Uber

In 2017, Dara Khosrowshahi was chosen to become chief executive of Uber, the ride hailing pioneer, in what was widely seen as one of the toughest jobs in corporate America. Uber was in crisis. Its co-founder and chief executive Travis Kalanick had been forced out amid a series of scandals involving workplace culture, legal disputes, regulatory battles and damaging revelations. The company was growing fast but losing enormous sums of money and facing deep questions about its conduct and governance.

Khosrowshahi set out to change Uber's culture and repair its reputation, adopting a more conciliatory tone with regulators, drivers and the public. He restructured the business, exited some money losing markets, resolved major legal disputes and worked to professionalize the company. In 2019 he led Uber through its initial public offering, one of the most closely watched listings of the era.

Reshaping Uber Toward Profitability

After the IPO, Khosrowshahi focused on turning Uber from a cash burning growth machine into a sustainable, profitable business. He expanded Uber Eats, the food delivery arm, which grew rapidly and became especially important during the pandemic when ride hailing demand collapsed. He pursued a strategy of building a broad platform spanning rides, delivery and freight, and he pushed the company toward consistent profitability, a milestone Uber reached in the years that followed.

Under his leadership Uber matured into a much larger and more disciplined company, with a market value running into the tens of billions of dollars and a central place in the gig economy. He came to be seen as a stabilizing, credible leader who rescued a company that many had doubted could be fixed.

Dara Khosrowshahi Net Worth

Dara Khosrowshahi net worth is the subject of widely varying estimates, ranging from a few hundred million dollars to more than $1 billion depending on the source and the moment. The bulk of his wealth comes from executive compensation and equity awards from Expedia and Uber rather than from founding a company. His Uber pay package, in particular, was structured heavily around stock and performance targets, so its value has fluctuated significantly with the company's share price.

Because so much of his wealth is tied to equity that vests and moves with the market, any single figure should be treated as an estimate. What is clear is that he has been one of the highest profile and best compensated chief executives in technology.

Personal Life

Dara Khosrowshahi is married and has children, and he generally keeps his family life private. His personal story as a refugee who fled Iran as a child and rose to lead major American companies has become part of his public identity, and he has at times spoken about immigration and the opportunities the United States offered his family. He is regarded as relatively understated and analytical compared with some of the more flamboyant founders in technology.

Achievements and Influence

Dara Khosrowshahi's achievements include building Expedia into a global travel leader and rescuing and reshaping Uber, two very different but significant turnarounds and growth stories. He is widely respected for taking on a company in deep crisis and restoring its credibility, and he is frequently cited as a model of the experienced, steadying executive brought in to mature a fast growing technology company. His influence extends across the travel, mobility and gig economy sectors.

Dara Khosrowshahi in 2026

As of 2026, Dara Khosrowshahi continues to lead Uber as it pursues growth in rides, delivery and new areas including autonomous vehicle partnerships and advertising. The themes around him include sustaining profitability, navigating regulation of gig work around the world, integrating artificial intelligence and self driving technology, and defending Uber's position as competition in mobility and delivery intensifies.

He is profiled alongside other leaders in the Tech sector on Founder Canon, the executives steering the platforms that shape daily life.