Vanity Fair: Airbnb.org Holds Its First Gala as Airbnb Commits 500 Million Dollars to Emergency Housing

Black tie, caviar and a surprise pop set are standard gala fare. What made Airbnb.org's first gala different was the guest list on the other side of the room. Vanity Fair reported that the evening at Milk Studios in Los Angeles on Wednesday, October 28, seated stars alongside families who had lost their homes in the 2025 Eaton Fire.

The occasion was a celebration of the charitable arm of Airbnb, the home sharing company, and the headline was money. Airbnb co-founder and chief executive Brian Chesky used the night to announce a 500 million dollar commitment to the nonprofit over five years.

A Room Full of Recognizable Names

Jimmy Kimmel served as host, according to Vanity Fair and Variety. Chef José Andrés was credited with the dinner, though Vanity Fair noted he was noncommittal when asked whether he had designed the menu himself. Charli xcx closed the night with a performance that was meant to be a surprise until Kimmel let it slip from the stage.

Variety's Marc Malkin listed a guest roster that included Charlize Theron, Cynthia Erivo, Tracee Ellis Ross, Serena Williams, Paul Bettany, Matthew McConaughey and Camila Alves McConaughey, Zoe Saldaña, Joaquin Phoenix, Rooney Mara, Sienna Miller, Greta Lee, Jessica Alba, Demi Lovato and Katie Couric, among others.

Vanity Fair described most of the men in tuxedos and Serena Williams in a sparkly animal print gown. Chesky also made his relationship with designer Carly Helfrich public on the red carpet, the magazine reported.

The Pledge Behind the Party

The substance of the evening came from Airbnb itself. In a company announcement dated October 28, Airbnb said it will now donate 10 cents of its revenue from every stay to Airbnb.org. The company said the new model will help provide 500 million dollars over five years and put the nonprofit on a path to providing one million nights of free housing a year.

Airbnb said the donation will not raise what guests pay or reduce what hosts receive. The money will also let Airbnb.org widen its work beyond disasters, to families traveling for medical care, survivors of domestic violence and exploitation, and veterans facing serious illness.

According to Airbnb, the nonprofit has provided more than 1.6 million nights of free housing to more than 250,000 people since it was founded in 2020. The idea dates to 2012, when a host opened her home to people displaced by Hurricane Sandy.

Two Los Angeles Stories in One Room

Vanity Fair's account captured the tension that comes with any glamorous charity night. Its writer called it a collision of two versions of Los Angeles: people who had lost everything in the fires, and people dressed in jewelry worth as much as a house in Altadena.

That contrast is not a reason to dismiss the event. High society fundraising has always mixed spectacle with purpose, and the spectacle is often what draws the attention and the checkbooks. Kimmel leaned into that, Vanity Fair reported, urging guests not to cheap out and noting that a night of emergency housing costs about 110 dollars.

The most affecting moment, by the magazine's account, came when Kimmel spoke about his son's three open heart surgeries before introducing a video about a young boy receiving cancer treatment who had been helped by the charity. The boy was in the room with his family, and he stood on his chair and made a heart with his hands.

What a Gala Can and Cannot Promise

A gala is a promise made in public. The real measure comes later, in nights booked and families housed. Airbnb's own figures show rapid growth, with the company saying Airbnb.org has responded to more than 200 disasters this year compared with eight in 2023.

Chesky told Vanity Fair that emergency housing is a united kind of issue that rises above partisan politics. Whether the funding model delivers the million nights a year it targets will be the story worth following.

For now, the first Airbnb.org gala set a tone that luxury events are increasingly expected to strike: the dress code stays formal, the menu stays rarefied, and the purpose is printed in larger type than the guest list.