Richard Barton is an Internet entrepreneur and CEO of the Zillow Group.
Richard Barton: Education
• 1989, Standford University, Bachelor degree in Engineering
Richard Barton: Early days
Richard Barton is the son of a teacher and a mechanical engineer. He grew up in New Canaan, a small Connecticut county. After earning a degree in engineering from Standford University, Barton began his professional life at Alliance Consulting Group.
In 1991 Barton began working for Microsoft. At the time, Barton became familiar with text-based internet services, and it was when he came up with the idea of creating an online service for travel agents to work from home. He felt it was a great opportunity for the company, so he presented the idea to Bill Gates, Steve Ballmer, and Nathan Myhrvold.
Microsoft executives supported Barton’s idea and permitted him to develop the idea, which would be the origin of Expedia. Barton became CEO of the company when it became a public company in 1999 and remained in the position until 2003 when the company was acquired for $ 3 billion.
Richard Barton: Career
Microsoft executives supported Barton’s idea and permitted him to develop the idea, which would be the origin of Expedia. Barton became CEO of the company when it became a public company in 1999 and remained in the position until 2003 when the company was acquired for $ 3 billion.
Since working at Microsoft, Barton realized that the real estate industry could be transformed through the Internet. In 2004, Barton began developing the idea that would soon become the Zillow Group, along with another former colleague at Expedia, Lloyd Frink, who kept working in the project at secret until its launch in 2006.
In 2010, Barton stepped down as CEO of the company and remained on the executive board until he returned to the company in 2019 to enter the home buying market to direct the company’s transition.
From there, the company’s revenue increased and shares rose 18% after four consecutive years of decline. In February 2020, Barton became a billionaire, according to Forbes, after presenting Zillow’s earnings in 2019.
Richard Barton: Distinctions
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Richard Barton: Other facts
Barton’s endeavors have been tied to the idea of connecting people with the information they previously had available. Barton also co-founded job search company Glassdoor, in addition to investing in several others. Currently, he is a member of the board of directors for eight companies, including Netflix.
