The Cult of We

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The inside story of WeWork reveals the audacious journey of its founder and the company's dramatic collapse, shedding light on Silicon Valley's delusions and the financial system's eagerness to profit. Adam Neumann, who arrived in New York in 2001 after serving in the Israeli navy, transformed into the charismatic CEO of a company valued at $47 billion—at least on paper—within just fifteen years. With his long hair and inspirational mantras, Neumann embodied the messianic entrepreneur archetype, offering a radical vision of workspace reimagining for a new generation. He marketed WeWork as a revolutionary concept, despite it merely subleasing office space to freelancers and startups, which attracted massive investor interest. As funding poured in, Neumann's ambitions spiraled. He envisioned WeWork as more than an office provider, proposing ideas like building schools and even colonizing Mars. However, the company's spending outpaced its revenue, driven by Neumann's extravagant pursuits, including global capital searches from his private jet. In late 2019, just before a highly anticipated IPO, the situation unraveled, leading to Neumann's ousting while still poised to become a billionaire. This account draws parallels to the fall of Theranos and the dotcom bust, highlighting a financial system blind to risks, with key figures in banking and venture capital captivated by the promise of disruption. Reporters Eliot Brown and Maur