person

Adam Neumann

Co-founder and former CEO of WeWork. Forced to resign in 2019 after IPO collapsed, amid revelations of self-dealing, erratic governance, and unsustainable business model. SoftBank lost billions on WeWork investment.

Career History

WeWork

Co-founder

Jan 1, 2010 – Sep 24, 2019

Track Record

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Received $1.7 billion exit package while WeWork laid off thousands and later went bankrupt

Oct 22, 2019

reactive $1.7B

When forced out as WeWork CEO in 2019, Adam Neumann received a reported $1.7 billion exit package from SoftBank including $185M in consulting fees, nearly $1B in stock sales, and a $500M credit line. Meanwhile WeWork laid off approximately 2,400 employees. The company eventually filed for bankruptcy in November 2023 with $18.6B in debt.

- Executive Compensation - Worker Rights

Sources: The New York Times

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WeWork IPO collapsed amid revelations of extreme self-dealing and corporate governance failures

Sep 16, 2019

WeWork's planned 2019 IPO collapsed after its S-1 filing revealed extensive self-dealing by CEO Adam Neumann: he had trademarked 'We' and charged the company $5.9M to license it, personally owned buildings leased back to WeWork, had taken hundreds of millions in personal loans secured by company stock, and maintained supervoting shares giving him near-total control. The company's valuation dropped from $47B to under $10B.

- Corporate Governance - Corporate Transparency - Executive Compensation

Sources: The Wall Street Journal