Billion Dollar Loser: The Epic Rise and Spectacular Fall of Adam Neumann and WeWork

Billion Dollar Loser: The Epic Rise and Spectacular Fall of Adam Neumann and WeWork

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  • Create Date:2021-07-15 06:53:55
  • Update Date:2025-09-06
  • Status:finish
  • Author:Reeves Wiedeman
  • ISBN:0316461369
  • Environment:PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle

Summary

The inside story of WeWork and its CEO, Adam Neumann, which tells the remarkable saga of one of the most audacious, and improbable, rises and falls in American business history。

In its earliest days, WeWork promised the impossible: to make the American work place cool。 Adam Neumann, an immigrant determined to make his fortune in the United States, landed on the idea of repurposing surplus New York office space for the burgeoning freelance class。 Over the course of ten years, WeWork attracted billions of dollars from some of the most sought-after investors in the world, while spending it to build a global real estate empire that he insisted was much more than that: an organization that aspired to nothing less than "elevating the world's consciousness。"

Moving between New York real estate, Silicon Valley venture capital, and the very specific force field of spirituality and ambition erected by Adam Neumann himself, Billion Dollar Loser lays bare the internal drama inside WeWork。 Based on more than two hundred interviews, this book chronicles the breakneck speed at which WeWork’s CEO built and grew his company along with Neumann’s relationship to a world of investors, including Masayoshi Son of Softbank, who fueled its chaotic expansion into everything from apartment buildings to elementary schools。

Culminating in a day-by-day account of the five weeks leading up to WeWork’s botched IPO and Neumann’s dramatic ouster, Wiedeman exposes the story of the company’s desperate attempt to secure the funding it needed in the final moments of a decade defined by excess。 Billion Dollar Loser is the first book to indelibly capture the highly leveraged, all-blue-sky world of American business in President Trump’s first term, and also offers a sober reckoning with its fallout as a new era begins。

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Reviews

Devina Pedgaonkar

What I felt started as hate-book against Adam Neumann, actually did turn into an objective recount of wework’s downfall that does not put the total blame on its founder, but rather very well highlights the very downfalls of start-up ecosystem that exist today。 Some of the best quotes from the book that I think sum up the WeWork disaster :“The company was applying some of the world’s most advanced technologies to relatively mundane problems, and the revelations seemed to offer minor advantages at What I felt started as hate-book against Adam Neumann, actually did turn into an objective recount of wework’s downfall that does not put the total blame on its founder, but rather very well highlights the very downfalls of start-up ecosystem that exist today。 Some of the best quotes from the book that I think sum up the WeWork disaster :“The company was applying some of the world’s most advanced technologies to relatively mundane problems, and the revelations seemed to offer minor advantages at best。”“By removing certain costs like design, marketing, and administrative expenses, which the company argued would dissipate over time, Community Adjusted EBITDA transformed WeWork’s $933 million loss in 2017 into a $233 million profit。”“The task was complicated for WeWork by the fact that it had become increasingly difficult to define what exactly the company did。 WeWork’s communications team had struggled for much of 2019 to write a simple one-page company narrative。 “We are captivated by the limitless potential of We,” read one attempt。” 。。。more

Amanda

A lovely hate-read (as someone else put it)。 This book was suggested to me after finishing Bad Blood and it’s another good story of egotistical start up founders living in their own disillusioned world。 As someone who has working in the start up world with people similar to these types of founders, it makes me laugh now at how crazy it is。 Also, as someone studying business finance, it really blows my mind on how these companies operate- but at the same time is so entertaining。 I’d give it 3。5 s A lovely hate-read (as someone else put it)。 This book was suggested to me after finishing Bad Blood and it’s another good story of egotistical start up founders living in their own disillusioned world。 As someone who has working in the start up world with people similar to these types of founders, it makes me laugh now at how crazy it is。 Also, as someone studying business finance, it really blows my mind on how these companies operate- but at the same time is so entertaining。 I’d give it 3。5 stars because I feel like parts of it could have been shortened and the ending felt a bit rushed- but it also just happen last year so I guess there isn’t a fully formed story there yet! 。。。more

Samantha Sprott

Super in-depth look at the rise and fall of WeWork。 Definitely was enlightening and revealing the good and bad that encompass the company and its founder。

Kashish Mehta

Adam newuman what a guy。 More than well written it just shows how expenses have killed this company。 Thernaos and we work perfect examples of how companies make it big and fail。 And other side there are bunch of others would probably fail but just made it so big like an Uber that people actually forget the valuation it had when there were such huge losses

forsanolim

In Billion Dollar Loser, journalist Wiedeman chronicles the rise and spectacular fall of the coworking company WeWork。 The book focuses heavily on the company's high-profile and highly eccentric cofounder Adam Neumann, whose charisma was crucial for WeWork's meteoric rise and who ultimately came to become arguably the company's greatest liability。If you enjoyed Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup, this might be a good book to consider reading。 It lacks some of the moral outra In Billion Dollar Loser, journalist Wiedeman chronicles the rise and spectacular fall of the coworking company WeWork。 The book focuses heavily on the company's high-profile and highly eccentric cofounder Adam Neumann, whose charisma was crucial for WeWork's meteoric rise and who ultimately came to become arguably the company's greatest liability。If you enjoyed Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup, this might be a good book to consider reading。 It lacks some of the moral outrage of the Theranos scandals--WeWork was/is in the business of real estate leasing, not conducting medical diagnostics--but but it definitely has the same schadenfreude component and absurd reflection of the startup/venture capital world。 If you want to read about truly over-the-top tech mumbo-jumbo (~elevating the world's consciousness~, ~a physical social network~) and tech personality cults, and wonder how in the world investors fell hook-line-and-sinker for the company, this is a great opportunity for you。 (I also learned a lot about how processes like an IPO work, which was, independently, objectively interesting。)The audiobook pushed it to 5 stars for me--the narrator was great, and I found it surprisingly captivating。 。。。more

Harini Dedhia

Fantastic read on the rise and fall of Adam Neumann (and of WeWork as an ancillary to that)。 The implicit comparison of Adam Neumann in the second half of the book, to Mayoshi Son adds a lesser discussed dimension to the story- the audacity of their visions, the differences in the boundaries that would be breached for the same, the involvement of familial and patriarchal concerns in business and therefore the potentially different outcomes for otherwise similar personalities。 The narrative is th Fantastic read on the rise and fall of Adam Neumann (and of WeWork as an ancillary to that)。 The implicit comparison of Adam Neumann in the second half of the book, to Mayoshi Son adds a lesser discussed dimension to the story- the audacity of their visions, the differences in the boundaries that would be breached for the same, the involvement of familial and patriarchal concerns in business and therefore the potentially different outcomes for otherwise similar personalities。 The narrative is thorough with enough justice done to each phase of the WeWork journey。 Despite the details, the account reads as a comprehensive, approachable story rather than a dry financial investigation。 。。。more

Heikki Keskiväli

Entertaining look at one of the biggest startup missteps 2000s has seen。 Just like with Theranos, the culture and "posture" cemented by the leadership gave a nice heads up what will unfold。。。 quite unbelievable really。 Entertaining look at one of the biggest startup missteps 2000s has seen。 Just like with Theranos, the culture and "posture" cemented by the leadership gave a nice heads up what will unfold。。。 quite unbelievable really。 。。。more

Robin

This was a pretty good summary of what happened with WeWork。 It's amazing to me how much startups just consist out of air and bluffing their way through stuff。 You just gotta find those crazy investors that will just throw money at you。 It also shows that connections mean a lot。 It's insane to me that people didn't stop it sooner, but then again, when someone else is paying for it, who cares。。。Def made me look at funding/startups a bit differently。 This was a pretty good summary of what happened with WeWork。 It's amazing to me how much startups just consist out of air and bluffing their way through stuff。 You just gotta find those crazy investors that will just throw money at you。 It also shows that connections mean a lot。 It's insane to me that people didn't stop it sooner, but then again, when someone else is paying for it, who cares。。。Def made me look at funding/startups a bit differently。 。。。more

Jeffrey

“Oh, what a nose-dive! And he couldn’t care less! Here we go, wahey!” - Commentator on Ollie the Jack Russel (2017 Cruft’s Dog Show Run) If you haven’t watched Ollie’s failed run at Cruft’s, do yourself a favor and watch it! That video is how I pictured Adam Neumann’s entire run (~10 years) as WeWork’s CEO in the business landscape - before the failed IPO in 2019。 For years, Adam was pretty much tripping face down, going all over the place for no reason, and barking at everyone (including helper “Oh, what a nose-dive! And he couldn’t care less! Here we go, wahey!” - Commentator on Ollie the Jack Russel (2017 Cruft’s Dog Show Run) If you haven’t watched Ollie’s failed run at Cruft’s, do yourself a favor and watch it! That video is how I pictured Adam Neumann’s entire run (~10 years) as WeWork’s CEO in the business landscape - before the failed IPO in 2019。 For years, Adam was pretty much tripping face down, going all over the place for no reason, and barking at everyone (including helper(s))。 All of that to build up WeWork’s $47 billion dollar valuation and to watch it go to $4bn? To me, he’s one of the worst CEO’s I have ever read/ heard about - right next to Elizabeth Holmes。 Adam didn’t care about the methods/ techniques to reach his milestones。 He just did them without thinking about the consequences/ risks。 Why didn’t he stop? Well, each time he undertook risk, he was rewarded。 Everyone was encouraging him right up until the end。 But the thing is, like Ollie, Adam was having the time of his life。 I couldn’t help but laugh each time I read about Adam’s doings - from hotboxing the company jet to his conversations with Masa Son。 It’s ridiculous hahaRated it 4 stars because the nerd I am wants to see the numbers / statements, ins and outs of building a company, and looking for methods that could help me out。 None of that can be found here。 It was replaced with comedy。 I can’t help but love it。 。。。more

Chelsea Schafer

Reads like a novel。 Probably counts as a hate read, at least for me。 Includes every worst silicon valley tech bro stereotype, and everything you suspect about how poisonous the firehose of VC capital is。

Greg Foss

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it, click here。 Decent book and amazing story。 Reeves does a good job of being fairly neutral - knowing full well you'll still hate Adam Neuman in the end。 What can you say about Neuman? "Clueless as the day is long" might be the only thing to say。 He's a cautionary tale on believing your own bullshit - thinking that a bad investment actually makes you a great person。 And if you're going to be habitually hypocritical, at least know this about yourself。 Also - portraying yourself as some kind of new age guru whi Decent book and amazing story。 Reeves does a good job of being fairly neutral - knowing full well you'll still hate Adam Neuman in the end。 What can you say about Neuman? "Clueless as the day is long" might be the only thing to say。 He's a cautionary tale on believing your own bullshit - thinking that a bad investment actually makes you a great person。 And if you're going to be habitually hypocritical, at least know this about yourself。 Also - portraying yourself as some kind of new age guru while lacking a fundamental understanding of the modern workplace is a really, really bad idea。 Neuman seemed to lack the ability to understand the political correctness of the modern workplace - which is astonishing considering his roots and the way he portrayed himself。 And ever the hypocrite, he worked his employees to death for poor wages while touting this "WE're all in this together" philosophy。 Everything about him was vapid and unredemptive - which makes the book a tough read。 You spend 1/3 of your time just wanting to slap the cluelessness out of Neuman - knowing full well that you'd only break your hand。The whole time I read the book I had to ask myself: could another CEO have made this company work? Of course they could have - but it is a business premised on razor-thin margins, so not only would it require an excellent understanding of the world-wide realty markets but incredible business skills。 But at the very least, it would have to be just about anyone but Adam Neuman。 I would have absolutely loved the challenge and the opportunity myself, but instead it fell to the one guy that would build the world's biggest house of cards - and then stage dive into it。 There is a point where you are simply in awe about the viciousness of Neuman's downfall。 It seemed as if everyone on the planet had decided to hate him all at once - but any time you would start to feel bad for Neuman, another 10 skeletons would fall out of his closet at once, seeming to justify the savagery。 And then you realize how many people were hurt by Adam - and by WeWork - and yet he was allowed to surf into the sunset with over a billion dollars。 Perhaps his downfall really wasn't ferocious enough。 In the end Neuman and his equally oblivious wife had to flee to a very private area of Israel to escape the hate storm - but I am left wondering if we've seen the last of Adam Neuman。 We are left knowing that the only thing that will last longer that the mess he created is his personal love of attention。 Well - that and his cluelessness。 。。。more

Kathy B。

This was an excellent book, very well written story of a business which attracted billions in investor funding as a result of the leader's (Adam Neumann's) charisma and charm。 The business itself, however, while growing rapidly, was losing more and more money, as investments in growth outpaced the actual profits from growth。 It is a cautionary tale of how an idea can take a business so far, but at some point profitability becomes the key to sustainability。 This was an excellent book, very well written story of a business which attracted billions in investor funding as a result of the leader's (Adam Neumann's) charisma and charm。 The business itself, however, while growing rapidly, was losing more and more money, as investments in growth outpaced the actual profits from growth。 It is a cautionary tale of how an idea can take a business so far, but at some point profitability becomes the key to sustainability。 。。。more

Itay

תחקיר מעולה של הסופר שללא ספק כלל שיחות עומק עם עובדים, משקיעים, מנהלים וגם חלק מהאנשים שהיו קרובים ביותר לאדם נוימן וללב ההתרחשויות בהקמת, ניהול ונסיון ההנפקה הכושל של WeWork。 כתוב היטב, לא מטיפני במיוחד, ומכיל הרבה לקחים שמנהלים, ובעיקר משקיעים, יכולים לקחת。

Brad Bevers

Crazy story of the rise and fall of the founder and CEO of WeWork。 I caught the episode of Generation Hustle that gave more details to this story and wanted to read this book, and it did not disappoint。 The only reason I gave it four stars instead of five is that I think there is more gray area to explore here than the author was interested in。 Adam believed his own hype and distorted reality to make his vision happen。 The truth was bent and there were lines crossed, but the book feels a little Crazy story of the rise and fall of the founder and CEO of WeWork。 I caught the episode of Generation Hustle that gave more details to this story and wanted to read this book, and it did not disappoint。 The only reason I gave it four stars instead of five is that I think there is more gray area to explore here than the author was interested in。 Adam believed his own hype and distorted reality to make his vision happen。 The truth was bent and there were lines crossed, but the book feels a little too one-sided。 The investors all played a part in this as well and anyone with a little common sense could tell it was overpriced, but no one wanted to do that。 He gets the majority of the credit for the rise and the blame for the fall, but he is doing what most founders are paid to do these days - he was just much, much better at it。 。。。more

Wendy S。

The constant mention of former President Trump & Kushner seem unnecessary & heavily biased。 The story is interesting, & I don’t find myself rooting for Adam to fail when he does make his inevitable comeback。 🤷🏻‍♀️

Rosanna

Enjoyed what I read, but couldn't bring myself to tackle the entire thing。 This seemed like one of those situations where the author is "I know SO much and I want to tell it ALL" Enjoyed what I read, but couldn't bring myself to tackle the entire thing。 This seemed like one of those situations where the author is "I know SO much and I want to tell it ALL" 。。。more

James

Hard to believe。

Neha Singh

I picked up this book after reading Bad Blood, I would say I enjoyed it but not as much as I did the former。 Maybe because Theranos turns out to be a real fraud where Holmes can be blamed for 80% of what happened there。 Whereas, in the case of WeWork, a real business goes wrong while chasing unrestrained growth (or Blitzscaling, I liked that word!) and positioning it what it’s not (a tech company), for which the VC firms, making capital as a moat, like Softbank are as much liable as the founder。 I picked up this book after reading Bad Blood, I would say I enjoyed it but not as much as I did the former。 Maybe because Theranos turns out to be a real fraud where Holmes can be blamed for 80% of what happened there。 Whereas, in the case of WeWork, a real business goes wrong while chasing unrestrained growth (or Blitzscaling, I liked that word!) and positioning it what it’s not (a tech company), for which the VC firms, making capital as a moat, like Softbank are as much liable as the founder。 But, the book somehow devotes more than half of it blaming Neumann repetitively for everything, and even nitpicks snippets of his conversations and moves which seems out of context e。g, tidbits of Rebekah's acting career which has nothing to do with WeWork。Apart from this, I would say the book gives a nice fiction like read for the general audience while teaching startup enthusiasts not to chase crazy valuation and uncontrolled growth on the expense of profitability。 I also enjoyed reading about Neumanns' adherence to many spiritual inspirations which almost means nothing, e。g。, WeWork’s mission is to elevate the world's consciousness! what does that even mean for an office space company? It's amusing for outsiders and gives a flashback to Gavin Belson's character from HBO's Silicon Valley。 。。。more

Rianna

What a slog。 Parts were an exciting descent into madness and parts were superfluous commentary。 It wasn't for me but it was well researched! What a slog。 Parts were an exciting descent into madness and parts were superfluous commentary。 It wasn't for me but it was well researched! 。。。more

Mike

This dude makes me nauseous。 I have experience in M&A/Distressed workouts, etc。 Working in those environments made so many things about this tool, Adam, ring familiar。 I'm always impressed with the ability of a CEO (salesman #1) to get in front of a group of smart business people and give a pitch of something like: "But this is where there's a twist in the usual story。 We finally just starting questioning everything about the process。 Is the process actually congruent with our customers desire This dude makes me nauseous。 I have experience in M&A/Distressed workouts, etc。 Working in those environments made so many things about this tool, Adam, ring familiar。 I'm always impressed with the ability of a CEO (salesman #1) to get in front of a group of smart business people and give a pitch of something like: "But this is where there's a twist in the usual story。 We finally just starting questioning everything about the process。 Is the process actually congruent with our customers desire for contentment? So this isn't about any one particular service。 It's about us。 It's about where we're from。 It's about who we love。 It's about the need to connect。 This is what dictates our beliefs and goals。 Believing in love is really what we do。" Haha, it's so easy to make that silly stuff up, but it's pretty much what this guy and so many others do。 And they get away with it! They'll leave the meeting with a check for a new round。 It might actually be a real monster that has been created - or, as the book and tech investors have called them, "Unicorns" - companies with huge valuations and promises, all without a business plan that makes it clear how the company will ever be profitable。 Oh, and usually a lot of creative accounting。 In this example, it was the manipulation of what most accountants know as "contribution margin。" WeWork had no problem giving investors financial data that left out critical items。。。like large liabilities。 Oh, and as far as assumptions in the revenue model, why not just use 100%? I mean, why not let the investors rely on that? Sounds reasonable。 Meanwhile, for like 8 years leading up to the cat being out of the bag, SO MANY supposedly credible, well known people of all backgrounds were fawning over this CEO and this company。 The dude cashed out over $700mm of seed investment money, and did it faster and in a higher total amount of stock sold than any other startup CEO。 Just jaw dropping gall。 Meanwhile, back at the ranch。。 。。。more

Tommy Kowalski

Great read。 Fascinating to understand the rise and fall of WeWork。 The amount of money raised and how they spent it is mind boggling。

arushi

DNF at 50%I read Bad Blood and I thought I discovered a niche in non fiction that I really like but this was very hard to get through。 I didn't like the long narratives of investors prior history because I simply don't care about them nor do I see how 5 pages on the same help in better understanding why they invested in wework when it could have been concise DNF at 50%I read Bad Blood and I thought I discovered a niche in non fiction that I really like but this was very hard to get through。 I didn't like the long narratives of investors prior history because I simply don't care about them nor do I see how 5 pages on the same help in better understanding why they invested in wework when it could have been concise 。。。more

Hans Peter

I had never heard of Softbank and WeWork until reading this book。The book is well researched and well witten and illustrates the fine line between ambition, greed, courage and recklessness。"Der Fish stinkt vom Kopf" as they say in Germany。 Don't take a job in a company where the top boss is out of sync with the real world。 I had never heard of Softbank and WeWork until reading this book。The book is well researched and well witten and illustrates the fine line between ambition, greed, courage and recklessness。"Der Fish stinkt vom Kopf" as they say in Germany。 Don't take a job in a company where the top boss is out of sync with the real world。 。。。more

Mert Doğanlı

Interesting story of how companies can grow big while the finances goes in opposite。 Trying to find the right terminology to persuade investors all through the years。 It is a very important read for business people。

Leah Dickenson

Came for the hubris, stayed for the greedy fuckery。

Stephanie

I couldn’t Wait for the founder of WeWork to get his comeuppance, But he isn’t the only villain。 Venture capitalists Were only too happy to Throw money at The clown show rather than funding substance。

Stacey Saladin

Interesting recap of WeWork debacle and moreso, the cultish personality of its founder Adam Neumann。 It’s pretty mind-blowing what he was able to accomplish in raising capital for a venture that no one ever seemed able to explain。 It’s clearly real estate arbitrage but he never wanted to call it that and tried to build an empire around a company that “elevated the consciousness of the world。” And raised billions of dollars doing so。 He was very close with Masayoshi Son of Japan’s SoftBank and lo Interesting recap of WeWork debacle and moreso, the cultish personality of its founder Adam Neumann。 It’s pretty mind-blowing what he was able to accomplish in raising capital for a venture that no one ever seemed able to explain。 It’s clearly real estate arbitrage but he never wanted to call it that and tried to build an empire around a company that “elevated the consciousness of the world。” And raised billions of dollars doing so。 He was very close with Masayoshi Son of Japan’s SoftBank and looked to him as a mentor, and WeWork was a primary investment target of Masa’s $100B Vision Fund (whose main investor was the Saudi Crown Prince MBS)。 Most people lost spectacular amounts of money, except for Neumann, as he cashed out before WeWork tanked。 He is clearly a visionary and sales person, but is portrayed as dishonest in so many of his dealings and communications, and really doesn’t seem to care much about them people he claims to want to build a community with。 It’s hard for me to get my head around people like this。 Listened to on Audible。 。。。more

Sean Howell

I still live in the belief that the startups will become better stewards of the earth and economy than those before us。 I hope your company proofs that to be true。

Tresa

Worth reading。 I think the most eye-opening part of this book was the vast amount of money people throw around。 Billions and billions of money just funneled to the worst possible people。 And then mostly just wasted on garbage。 Wasn't as satisfying as Bad Blood, but circumstances being different and no real laws being broken mean that Neumann walks away with millions。 I wish that the author had written about where the company stands today。 I wouldn't be surprised if Kushner, Trump, and Neumann st Worth reading。 I think the most eye-opening part of this book was the vast amount of money people throw around。 Billions and billions of money just funneled to the worst possible people。 And then mostly just wasted on garbage。 Wasn't as satisfying as Bad Blood, but circumstances being different and no real laws being broken mean that Neumann walks away with millions。 I wish that the author had written about where the company stands today。 I wouldn't be surprised if Kushner, Trump, and Neumann started working together。 。。。more

Sarah

Book was thorough。 Neumann is a total narcissistic jerk and even worse are those who invested in this hot mess。 Just really sad that this is a product of capitalism。