Richard N. Barton is an American businessman, the self-made billionaire Founder and CEO of Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZG) (real estate data) and the Founder of Expedia and Glassdoor. His career is rooted in elite technology management, serial entrepreneurship, and technological disruption.

Barton holds a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University (1989). His philosophical approach centers on information transparency, marketplace creation, and long-term commitment to online consumer data (pioneering the concept of giving consumers information previously held by industry insiders). He started his career at Microsoft, where he developed the Expedia concept.

• Zillow Group, Inc. (Founder & CEO): The core publicly traded asset, a global leader in online real estate data and marketplace services.
• Expedia (Founder & Former Executive): The dominant online travel agency (OTA) he founded at Microsoft (later spun off and became publicly traded).
• Glassdoor (Founder & Former Executive): The employee review and job search site he founded (sold to Recruit Holdings for $1.2 billion in 2018).
• Investment Strategy: His success is built on scale platform development and leveraging data transparency to disrupt established industries (real estate, travel, jobs).

Richard Barton's strategic genius was his commitment to empowering consumers with information. 1996: Expedia. He founded Expedia within Microsoft (addressing the lack of online travel planning tools). 2005: Zillow. He co-founded Zillow (with Lloyd Frink), pioneering the Zestimate (home valuation tool), which transformed the transparency of the real estate market. 2008: Glassdoor. He co-founded Glassdoor, bringing similar transparency to the jobs market.

His structural contribution is immense: pioneering the modern online travel, real estate, and job marketplaces. The companies successfully executed multiple IPOs and M&A exits (Expedia, Zillow, Glassdoor). He remains CEO of Zillow Group, guiding its expansion into the full real estate transaction chain. His wealth is secured by the colossal, long-term, stable profitability of the global platform and technology sectors.

Richard Barton's social impact is structural, stemming from his companies' roles in democratizing access to information in the real estate, travel, and job markets, accelerating market efficiency and transparency. His personal philanthropy supports various community and educational initiatives (including his commitment to Stanford University). His structural contribution is tied to his belief in technology as a force for consumer empowerment.

His personal philanthropy supports various community and educational initiatives.

Richard Barton maintains the professional, composed style of a technology executive. His attire is consistently formal and high-quality, favoring tailored suits. His aesthetic reflects serious authority and stability, typical of a pioneer in the global tech sector.

Residing in Seattle, Washington, his luxury is the immense security and financial reward derived from his multi-billion dollar fortune. His life is dedicated to technology innovation, strategic management, and the long-term stewardship of the Zillow platform.