Ali PartoviCEO, Neo · Sway & Code.org cofounder

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi On The Responsibility To Rebuild

16 Oct 2026 · 1 min

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In this interview excerpt, Dara Khosrowshahi reflects on his family's forced departure from Iran, the loss of their accumulated wealth, and the silent yet powerful sense of responsibility that emerged among his parents and siblings. He explains that his parents chose not to transfer their assets out of Iran, resulting in a complete financial wipe‑out. This hardship created an unspoken ‘second‑chance’ mindset within the family, driving them to rebuild their lives and careers with heightened ambition and purpose. Khosrowshahi attributes much of his own professional success to this inherited drive to make the most of the opportunity to start over, emphasizing how the family’s collective experience shaped their values and work ethic.

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And not once did my dad say anything about losing everything and rebuilding here, or my mom, or even my brothers. We didn't talk about it. But there was this weird undercurrent that all of us were aware of, and clearly you were aware of as well, and this almost a responsibility, which is we're getting a second chance. I knew that for my parents, again, they were a little bit idealistic. They didn't take their money out of Iran. A lot of people who made their wealth in Iran, took it out of Iran during those times. And so we lost everything. And my brothers and I knew that my parents, one, obviously our lifestyle got much smaller. There was this unspoken sense of responsibility for, I think, all of us in our family, which, which in hindsight might be why we've done quite well in life and careers, et cetera, to rebuild.