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Disgraced Adam Neumann spends his days SKATEBOARDING near $44M Florida mansion after his start-up WeWork collapsed into bankruptcy

1 year ago 56

WeWork may be bankrupt, but its founder Adam Neumann and his wife have been living the sunny life in south Florida, where he now spends his days skateboarding and looking for new investors. 

Neumann, 44, bought the two adjacent waterfront properties in 2021 for $44million - just weeks after he was ousted from WeWork and handed a nearly $1billion golden parachute under accusations of mismanagement and fostering a toxic work environment. 

The company has since filed for bankruptcy, but Neumann and his wife Rebekah, a cousin of Gwyneth Paltrow, have reportedly been living peace in Bal Harbour, just 10 minutes from their pals and fellow New York City exiles Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner. 

The Israeli-American and his family have become a big presence in the Jewish community in the affluent area, and he is often seen skateboarding and socializing - and still looking for investors for his next idea, as reported by The New York Post.

Neumann is reportedly touting a new world-changing idea around Miami, saying it will reshape how people 'live at home' as he claims 'I’m a creator, not a destroyer.'

Adam Neumann and his wife Rebekah have been living in Bal Harbour, Florida 

Neumann, 44, bought the two adjacent waterfront properties in 2021 for $44million - just weeks after he was ousted from WeWork

'Adam skateboards all the time, all over town, taking business calls. Everybody runs into him — he’s very friendly. He stops and kibitzes with people,' a source told the outlet.

While Neumann has been working the town as he looks for investors, Rebekah, 45, has reportedly been keeping a low profile and taking care of their six children.

The properties, which total 50,000 square feet, offer multiple slips in the marina. As part of the deal, Neumann received a $1million allowance for unfinished construction.

At the time of the purchase Neumann said one of the parcels is being used to build a 14,000-square-foot home. The other parcel was an empty lot. Put together, the two hug 360 feet of coastline.

Hard-partying Neumann was once seen as a star of the business world, but his reputation was left in tatters after investors balked at his tequila-fueled management style and eccentric ways, derailing plans for a 2019 IPO. 

While Neumann's investors were willing to entertain his eccentricities after co-founding WeWork in 2010, his free-wheeling ways and party-heavy lifestyle came into focus once he failed to get the company's IPO underway. 

Neumann oversaw one of the biggest business implosions in recent history, after WeWork's valuation plunged from $47billion in early 2019 to less than $8billion later that year.

In total, the company had raised some $11billion from investors to build a company that is still worth less than that today.

The company supplies shared office space, an internet connection, cleaning service and a reception desk, making it popular with small firms and tech startups.

The properties, which total 50,000 square feet, offer multiple slips in the marina

Neumann is reportedly touting a new world-changing idea around Miami, saying it will reshape how people 'live at home' as he claims 'I’m a creator, not a destroyer'

Rumors of the company filing for bankruptcy have dogged them for some time, after telling regulators that there is 'substantial doubt' about its ability to stay in business over the next year.

Shares of the flexible workspace provider fell 32 percent in extended trading after the Wall Street Journal first reported the news. They have fallen roughly 96 percent this year.

Last month WeWork said it had entered into an agreement with creditors for temporary postponement of payments for some of its debt, with the grace period nearing an end. 

The company had net long-term debt of $2.9 billion as of June end and more than $13 billion in long-term leases, at a time when rising borrowing costs are hurting the commercial real estate sector.

It was a stunning reversal of fortune for the company that was privately valued at $47 billion in 2019 and a black spot for investor SoftBank that sunk billions.

The company has been in turmoil ever since its plans to go public in 2019 imploded

The company has been in turmoil ever since its plans to go public in 2019 imploded following investors' skepticism over its business model of taking long-term leases and renting them for the short term and worries over its hefty losses.

WeWork's woes did not abate in subsequent years. It finally managed to go public in 2021 at a much-reduced valuation. Its major backer, Japanese conglomerate SoftBank, sunk tens of billions to prop up the startup, but the company has continued to lose money.

The company raised 'substantial doubt' about its ability to continue operations in August, with numerous top executives, including CEO Sandeep Mathrani, departing this year.

Since his WeWork exit, Neumann has been trying to gather support for his startup Flow, which promises to build 'rental communities that will foster a feeling of ownership and community.'

He has claimed the company will transform how people interact with their homes and give them with a sense of ownership even though they're renting. 

To illustrate the idea he said tenants would plunge their own toilets instead of calling supers. 

Timeline of WeWork's rise and fall

A man walks past the logo of WeWork in Tokyo on May 18

2010: Israeli-born Adam Neumann and American-born Miguel McKelvey found WeWork with its first co-working location in Manhattan's SoHo neighborhood.

2014: After rapid expansion, WeWork is valued at $4.6billion, with investors including JP Morgan Chase & Co, T. Rowe Price Associates, Wellington Management and Goldman Sachs Group.

2016: Fortune warns that WeWork faces daunting challenges, writing: 'For WeWork to live up to its $10billion valuation, it faces the daunting task of scaling like a software company—but with people, long-term leases, and office furniture.' 

2017: SoftBank makes its first investment in WeWork, in a massive $4.4billion funding round that valued the company at $20billion. 

2018: The company restricts employees from expensing meals that contain pork, poultry, or red meat for environmental reasons. WeWork also purchases a $60million private jet that Neumann enjoys using frequently.

January 2019: SoftBank injects a further $2 billion in funding at a $47billion valuation. SoftBank's investments in WeWork now total $10billion. 

August 2019: WeWork files a public prospectus for its initial public offering, revealing for the first time the extent of the company's losses. Analysts express skepticism about the company's true value and corporate governance.

September 13, 2019: WeWork announces changes to the company's governance, including the ability for the board of directors to pick any new CEO despite Neumann's majority voting rights.

September 17, 2019: The We Company, the parent company of WeWork, decided to postpone their IPO until the end of 2019.

September 24: 2019:  Facing backlash over the aborted IPO, WeWork announces Neumann will step down as CEO. The company also puts its private jet up for sale.

October 14, 2019: Reports emerge that WeWork warned clients that approximately 1,600 office phone booths at some of its North American offices are tainted with cancer-causing formaldehyde.

October 16, 2019: Facing a cash crunch that threatens to send the company into bankruptcy, WeWork's board forms a committee to explore a financing lifeline.

October 22, 2019: WeWork board agrees to take a $9.6billion lifeline from SoftBank that sees the Japanese firm take effective control of the startup. As part of the deal, Neumann resigns from the board and gives up his special voting rights. SoftBank executive Marcelo Claure is installed as executive chairman. 

May 4, 2020: Neumann sues SoftBank for walking away from a $3billion bailout for the troubled startup he co-founded. The tender offer was part of a $9.6billion rescue financing package that SoftBank agreed with WeWork in October and gave it control of the company. Since then, WeWork's occupancy rates have plummeted amid the COVID-19 pandemic. 

May 19, 2020: SoftBank values WeWork at $2.9billion. CEO Masayoshi Son says the largest portfolio companies 'have a relatively good chance of passing through the valley of the coronavirus. The exception is WeWork.' 

June 3, 2020: Investors who bought shares in WeWork in the months leading up to its failed IPO file a class-action lawsuit against both WeWork and SoftBank alleging that WeWork downplayed losses and overhyped its business plan. McKelvey announces his departure soon after.

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