The Wall Street Journal today has a long feature article on @WeWork’s decline and fall, and some of the details read like they came from a Tom Wolfe satire of the new rich of our time. Savor a few of these details:
“Just months before the spectacular fall of WeWork, one of the country’s most gilded startups, chief executive Adam Neumann summoned the heads of the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq to one of his homes in the Hamptons.
WeWork was going public and each executive wanted Mr. Neumann to list on their exchange. In return, he wanted their support for a cause he had championed—environmental sustainability—and asked them to ban meat or single-use plastic products in their cafeterias.
NYSE President Stacey Cunningham offered to eliminate plastic cups and utensils but drew the line at meat. Nasdaq’s Adena Friedman offered to create a new index, the We 50, of companies committed to sustainability. Nasdaq won.”
So Neumann’s a green nutter. But additional details make him even nuttier:
As he was preparing for an IPO that would make him a billionaire many times over, Neumann was surfing in the Maldives when execs in NY called to go over the all-important doc to be released to investors.
As he was preparing for an IPO that would make him a billionaire many times over, Neumann was surfing in the Maldives when execs in NY called to go over the all-important doc to be released to investors.
“Reluctant to cut his trip short, Mr. Neumann summoned a WeWork underling to the Maldives for an in-person briefing, according to people familiar with the episode.”
Surfing in the Maldives and having staff fly over? Can I see the carbon footprint for this please?
Surfing in the Maldives and having staff fly over? Can I see the carbon footprint for this please?
More:
“Back in New York, Mr. Neumann spent much of the summer working on the document, known as an S-1, in the Hamptons, regularly helicoptering employees out from the city to help.
“Back in New York, Mr. Neumann spent much of the summer working on the document, known as an S-1, in the Hamptons, regularly helicoptering employees out from the city to help.
His wife, Rebekah Neumann, WeWork’s chief brand officer, insisted it be printed on recycled paper, then rejected early printings as low-quality, according to people familiar with the matter.
The process was set back by days and the printing shop originally hired for the job refused to work with the company.”
Chaser: Neumann is walking away with more than $1 billion as lenders and outside directors have stepped in to salvage Neumann’s wreckage.
Chaser: Neumann is walking away with more than $1 billion as lenders and outside directors have stepped in to salvage Neumann’s wreckage.
