Rich Barton’s best-known companies operate in different markets, but he has repeatedly described the same idea behind them: use technology to put more information into consumers’ hands. Expedia brought travel research and purchasing onto the web. Zillow made home information and estimated values broadly accessible. Glassdoor extended the transparency model to workplaces.
In a 2025 interview, Barton compressed that philosophy into four words: “Power to the people, baby.” The career built around that idea also includes a major reversal.
After returning to Zillow as CEO in 2019, he led the company during the expansion of Zillow Offers and announced its wind-down in 2021 after Zillow concluded that home-price forecasting was far less predictable than expected.
By 2024, Barton had moved from the CEO role back to board leadership. As of September 2026, he remained Co-Executive Chairman of Zillow Group while continuing to serve on corporate and institutional boards.
A Quick Look at the Life of Rich Barton
Biography Summary
Richard N. “Rich” Barton is an American internet entrepreneur who founded Expedia inside Microsoft and later co-founded Zillow and Glassdoor. After Stanford and an early consulting role, he joined Microsoft in 1991 and moved from product work into online travel. His later career carried the same consumer-information theme into real estate and employment while he moved between operating leadership, investing, and board roles.
Profile
Full Name: Richard N. “Rich” Barton
Born: 1967
Nationality: American
Education: Stanford University, B.S. in General Engineering: Industrial Economics, 1989
Best Known For: Founding Expedia inside Microsoft and co-founding Zillow and Glassdoor
Major Roles: Former CEO of Expedia; co-founder and former CEO of Zillow; co-founder and former non-executive chairman of Glassdoor; Co-Executive Chairman of Zillow Group
Current Board Roles: Zillow Group, Netflix, QVC Group, and Stanford University
From Stanford to Microsoft’s Consumer Business
Barton grew up in New Canaan, Connecticut. In later recollections, he described his mother as a former teacher and his father as a Union Carbide employee who worked as a sales executive and mechanical engineer. He also recalled an early interest in technology and Apple computers during high school.
He graduated from Stanford University in 1989 with a Bachelor of Science in General Engineering: Industrial Economics. After Stanford, he joined Alliance Consulting Group in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Barton later said he chose consulting because he wanted to learn how to think about business from a chief executive’s perspective.
A friend recruited him to Microsoft in 1991. Barton has recalled working as product manager for MS-DOS 5.0 and on Windows 95 before moving toward Microsoft’s consumer business. In 1994, that work opened the first major company-building chapter of his career.
Building Expedia Inside Microsoft
Barton founded Expedia as a group inside Microsoft in 1994. Microsoft launched Expedia on the web in October 1996, allowing consumers to research and purchase travel online.
In 1999, Microsoft separated the Expedia assets into Expedia, Inc., and Expedia completed an initial public offering that November. Barton served as president, CEO, and a director during the public-company period.
He later described Expedia as an early example of his “power to the people” philosophy because travelers could see prices and choices directly and plan trips for themselves.
Expedia announced in February 2003 that Barton would resign as president and CEO effective March 31. The succession announcement established the leadership change but did not give a detailed reason for his departure.
Turning the Information Idea Toward Housing
After Expedia, Barton later described taking time away and then looking for another large consumer market where important information was difficult to access. In a 2025 interview, he recalled that in 2003 he could not easily find the price of a home online and connected that gap to the idea that became Zillow.
Barton and Lloyd Frink formed Zillow together. Its early dates represent different milestones: Zillow, Inc. was incorporated in Washington in December 2004; by 2005 it was operating in a pre-launch phase; and Zillow launched publicly in February 2006.
The public launch centered on the Zestimate, an estimated home value designed to make housing information broadly and anonymously accessible. Barton served as CEO from Zillow’s inception until September 2010.
From Zillow CEO to Executive Chairman
Spencer Rascoff succeeded Barton as Zillow CEO in 2010, while Barton moved into the executive chairman role. Zillow completed its initial public offering in July 2011 with Barton serving as executive chairman.
Barton remained executive chairman as Zillow expanded. In 2014, he initiated direct contact with Trulia co-founder and CEO Pete Flint about a possible transaction, and Zillow Group completed the Trulia acquisition in February 2015.
The change in title did not end Barton’s involvement with Zillow. It became one of several shifts in his career between operating leadership and board-level roles.
Glassdoor and Another Transparency Market
While Zillow was developing, Barton also co-founded Glassdoor with Robert Hohman and Tim Besse in late 2007. Barton served as non-executive chairman, while Hohman was CEO.
Barton later recalled that the idea for Glassdoor crystallized after he accidentally sent sensitive employee compensation and review information to a shared printer at Zillow. He connected the episode to the value of making workplace information more broadly available.
Glassdoor launched publicly in 2008 with employee reviews and salary information. Recruit Holdings agreed in May 2018 to acquire Glassdoor for $1.2 billion in cash, and the acquisition was completed the following month. Barton’s non-executive chair service continued through the acquisition.
Investing, Boards, and Public Service
Barton’s work also expanded beyond the companies he founded. He served as a venture partner at Benchmark from February 2005 through September 2018.
In 2014, the Obama administration named him an inaugural Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship. The White House profile highlighted Expedia, Zillow, and Glassdoor and described a common thread of transparency and access to information.
His board work continued alongside his operating roles. Stanford elected him to its Board of Trustees in 2022. As of 2026, he also served on the Netflix and QVC Group boards.
Returning to Zillow for a Bigger Transaction Push
In February 2019, Barton returned as Zillow’s CEO. Lloyd Frink became executive chairman, and Spencer Rascoff left the CEO role.
The return came as Zillow pushed further into the real-estate transaction itself. Zillow Offers placed the company directly into home buying and selling, with Zillow acting as a primary purchaser and seller of homes.
Barton described the ambition in 2019 this way: “This is why we founded Zillow, to actually change the way people bought and sold houses.”
The Zillow Offers Reversal
On November 2, 2021, Zillow announced that it would wind down Zillow Offers. Barton said, “We’ve determined the unpredictability in forecasting home prices far exceeds what we anticipated.” Zillow said continued scaling would create too much earnings and balance-sheet volatility.
The wind-down had a major workforce consequence. Zillow said it would reduce its workforce by approximately 25% over subsequent quarters.
The episode became the clearest major setback of Barton’s later CEO period. Federal securities litigation later alleged that Zillow and certain executives had made materially false or misleading statements about the business. Zillow denied wrongdoing. As of the company’s 2026 reporting, the litigation remained unresolved. Class certification and later appellate rulings were procedural developments, not findings that the allegations were true.
Back to Board Leadership
Zillow promoted Jeremy Wacksman from chief operating officer to CEO on August 7, 2024. Barton remained on the board and became Co-Executive Chairman alongside Lloyd Frink.
The change moved Barton from operating CEO back to a governance and strategic role. Zillow’s 2026 proxy continued to identify him as Co-Executive Chairman and a director, with his board term extending to 2028.
That board role continued through a period of regulatory and shareholder disputes. In 2025, the Federal Trade Commission sued Zillow and Redfin over a multifamily rental-listings agreement. The FTC and five states resolved the company-level litigation in August 2026 through a stipulated order requiring changes to the agreement and Redfin’s reentry into rental advertising.
In September 2026, a shareholder derivative complaint separately named Barton and other current and former Zillow directors and executives. The complaint alleged fiduciary breaches, misleading statements, and insider trading connected to the Redfin agreement. As of September 21, 2026, those allegations in the newly filed civil case had not been adjudicated.
Information Access as a Recurring Theme
Across Expedia, Zillow, and Glassdoor, Barton has repeatedly described technology and transparency as ways to give consumers more direct access to information and choices. The markets changed, but that idea appears throughout his own explanations of the companies he helped build.
His career also includes repeated shifts between founder, operator, investor, and board roles. The Zillow Offers reversal stands as an important setback within that record, while the 2024 move to Co-Executive Chairman kept him involved in Zillow’s leadership without serving as its operating CEO.
Timeline
The timeline below highlights major milestones in Rich Barton’s education, company-building career, leadership changes, and board work.
1967
Rich Barton is born.
1989
He graduates from Stanford University and begins working at Alliance Consulting Group.
1991
Barton joins Microsoft.
1994
He founds Expedia as a group inside Microsoft.
October 1996
Microsoft launches Expedia on the web.
November 1999
Expedia completes its initial public offering, with Barton leading the public company as president and CEO.
March 31, 2003
Barton leaves the Expedia president and CEO role.
December 2004–February 2006
Zillow is incorporated in December 2004, operates in a pre-launch phase during 2005, and launches publicly in February 2006.
Late 2007–2008
Barton, Robert Hohman, and Tim Besse found Glassdoor in late 2007. The site launches publicly in 2008.
September 2010
Spencer Rascoff becomes Zillow CEO, and Barton moves to executive chairman.
July 2011
Zillow completes its initial public offering.
2014–2015
Barton is named an inaugural Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship in 2014. Zillow Group completes its acquisition of Trulia in February 2015.
June 2018
Recruit Holdings completes its acquisition of Glassdoor.
February 2019
Barton returns as Zillow CEO.
November 2021
Zillow announces the wind-down of Zillow Offers.
February 2022
Barton begins service on the Stanford University Board of Trustees.
August 2024
Jeremy Wacksman becomes Zillow CEO, while Barton becomes Co-Executive Chairman.
August–September 2026
The FTC and five states resolve company-level Zillow-Redfin antitrust litigation in August. A separate shareholder derivative complaint naming Barton and other Zillow directors and executives is filed in September; its allegations remain unresolved as of September 21, 2026.
Interviews
Tim Ferriss: Rich Barton’s Career and Consumer-Information Philosophy
This 2025 long-form interview covers Barton’s early career, Expedia, Zillow, company naming, leadership, and his recurring consumer-transparency philosophy. It is especially useful for hearing Barton explain how he connects his different companies and career decisions in his own words.
WIRED: Barton on Microsoft, Expedia, and “Power to the People”
This 2013 interview focuses on Barton’s approach to consumer information and traces the idea through Microsoft, Expedia, and Zillow. It provides firsthand context for the philosophy that became a recurring theme in his later career.
GeekWire: Zillow at 10
This 2016 conversation with Barton, Lloyd Frink, and Spencer Rascoff looks back at Zillow’s origins, the Zestimate, company culture, and the team’s Expedia lineage. It gives readers multiple firsthand perspectives on how Zillow was built and how its early direction developed.
Skift: An Oral History of Online Travel
This 2016 multi-source oral history includes Barton and other industry participants discussing the early development of online travel. It is useful for placing Expedia’s beginnings inside the broader shift toward web-based travel research and purchasing.
Sources
- U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission / Zillow Group: 2026 Proxy Statement, 2011 Zillow IPO Prospectus, 2019 CEO Transition Announcement, 2026 Annual Reporting and Zillow Offers Litigation Status, 2024 CEO Transition Form 8-K, 2015 Form 10-K and Trulia Acquisition
- U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission / Expedia: 2001 Annual Report
- Fortune: Rich Barton’s Glassdoor venture
- Microsoft: Expedia Travel Services Debuts on the Web, Expedia Announces Initial Public Offering
- Expedia: Expedia CEO Succession
- Zillow: Zillow Public Launch, Pre-Launch Board Announcement
- Zillow Group Investor Relations: Q3 2021 Results and Zillow Offers Wind-Down
- Glassdoor: Glassdoor Board and Founding Roles, Glassdoor Public Beta Launch, Recruit Holdings Acquisition Agreement, Acquisition Completion
- Stanford University: Barton Elected to Stanford Board of Trustees, Current Board Members
- Obama White House Archives: Presidential Ambassadors for Global Entrepreneurship
- GeekWire: Zillow at 10, Barton on Transparency and the Glassdoor Origin Story, Barton Returns as Zillow CEO
- Tim Ferriss: Rich Barton Interview Transcript
- WIRED: Interview on Microsoft, Expedia, and Zillow
- Skift: The Definitive Oral History of Online Travel
- Federal Trade Commission: FTC Order Resolving Zillow-Redfin Antitrust Concerns
- HousingWire: Zillow Shareholder Lawsuit Over Redfin Deal