Billion Dollar Loser: The Epic Rise and Spectacular Fall of Adam Neumann and WeWork
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- Create Date：2021-07-22 09:50:59
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：Reeves Wiedeman
- ISBN：0316461334
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Summary
A Wall Street Journal Business Bestseller: This "vivid" inside story of WeWork and its CEO tells the remarkable saga of one of the most audacious， and improbable， rises and falls in American business history （Ken Auletta）。
Christened a potential savior of Silicon Valley's startup culture， Adam Neumann was set to take WeWork， his office share company disrupting the commercial real estate market， public， cash out on the company's forty-seven billion dollar valuation， and break the string of major startups unable to deliver to shareholders。 But as employees knew， and investors soon found out， WeWork's capital was built on promises that the company was more than a real estate purveyor， that in fact it was a transformational technology company。
Veteran journalist Reeves Weideman dives deep into WeWork and it CEO's astronomical rise， from the marijuana and tequila-filled board rooms to cult-like company summer camps and consciousness-raising with Anthony Kiedis。 Billion Dollar Loser is a character-driven business narrative that captures， through the fascinating psyche of a billionaire founder and his wife and co-founder， the slippery state of global capitalism。
A Wall Street Journal Business Bestseller
“Vivid， carefully reported drama that readers will gulp down as if it were a fast-paced novel” （Ken Auletta）
Christened a potential savior of Silicon Valley's startup culture， Adam Neumann was set to take WeWork， his office share company disrupting the commercial real estate market， public， cash out on the company's forty-seven billion dollar valuation， and break the string of major startups unable to deliver to shareholders。 But as employees knew， and investors soon found out， WeWork's capital was built on promises that the company was more than a real estate purveyor， that in fact it was a transformational technology company。
Veteran journalist Reeves Weideman dives deep into WeWork and it CEO's astronomical rise， from the marijuana and tequila-filled board rooms to cult-like company summer camps and consciousness-raising with Anthony Kiedis。 Billion Dollar Loser is a character-driven business narrative that captures， through the fascinating psyche of a billionaire founder and his wife and co-founder， the slippery state of global capitalism。
A Wall Street Journal Business Bestseller
“Vivid， carefully reported drama that readers will gulp down as if it were a fast-paced novel” （Ken Auletta）
Reviews
Csorley
，
Wow。
Aurimas Martisauskas
，
Every page was more interesting then the one before。 Good story about visioniery guy。 Amazing and must read just behind Elon Musk and the guys like these :）
Nick Miller
，
I’d read all the wsj articles as they came out during the fall of wework and thought I knew a majority of the story but it was interesting to see a bit more of the detail that filled in the cracks。 Just finished bad blood with a similar story re Theranos。 Amazing how these things can happen。
Dillan Taylor
，
A lovely example of one of my favorite things: Life is art。The story of WeWork and Adam Neumann felt like a dramedy movie script。It was Silicon Valley meets The Wolf of Wall Street meets the Trump presidency。Aside from this just being great research and a captivating story， I took something away from learning about how Adam Neumann ran WeWork。 Again， it's eerily similar to how Trump functioned （or failed to function） in office。If you don't give a shit about social norms or the wellbeing of other A lovely example of one of my favorite things: Life is art。The story of WeWork and Adam Neumann felt like a dramedy movie script。It was Silicon Valley meets The Wolf of Wall Street meets the Trump presidency。Aside from this just being great research and a captivating story， I took something away from learning about how Adam Neumann ran WeWork。 Again， it's eerily similar to how Trump functioned （or failed to function） in office。If you don't give a shit about social norms or the wellbeing of other people， and you take persistent action and never give up。。。you can really do whatever you want—despite your level of competence。 Of course， eventually it will all come crashing down。 Trump didn't get reelected and got banned from Twitter and Facebook。 Neumann was forced to step down from WeWork。Anyway， this book was truly fascinating and it was insightful to learn more about the fact that whatever company it is。。。it's just made up of a bunch of human beings。。。and human beings are crazy。7。5/10 。。。more
Mike Burrell
，
I found this to be really informative and very readable。 I thoroughly enjoyed it。
Kim
，
Another infuriating nonfiction book。 This one was infuriating because all of the entities- bankers， investment funds and most especially SoftBank and Masayoshi Son who kept- who kept throwing more and more money at Adam Neumann and WeWork without asking questions。 This seems like a classic “The Emperor has no Clothes” situation only there was no one to say it。 The writing and editing in this book wasn’t the best。 One example is Miguel， one of the cofounders， was raised in a matriarchal collectiv Another infuriating nonfiction book。 This one was infuriating because all of the entities- bankers， investment funds and most especially SoftBank and Masayoshi Son who kept- who kept throwing more and more money at Adam Neumann and WeWork without asking questions。 This seems like a classic “The Emperor has no Clothes” situation only there was no one to say it。 The writing and editing in this book wasn’t the best。 One example is Miguel， one of the cofounders， was raised in a matriarchal collective。 He called his “siblings” fraternal when it should be maternal He also didn’t address the impact on the WeWork employees who worked for stock options that never panned out。 。。。more
Ruby
，
It is an interesting read， but I think the author is a little unfair and too opinionated towards the protagonist。 It is sarcastic and mock-ish， cruel even。 Maybe all was true， but I would like it more if it is more objectively done。 Whether it is a tactic to gain empathy from the audience or just a genuine ridicule， it is well presented。
Or
，
I had no idea how big WeWork was and how fast it grew。 I also didn't know the idea of managing and renting co-working spaces wasn't new。 The book made it clear， to some extent， why WeWork was able to grow so much doing something that isn't new and isn't easily profitable。 It was mostly Adam's ability to convince people and dream big without enough adherence to numbers。 It was also a result of getting too much money invested and obviously being reckless with it。Adam's character is what made WeWor I had no idea how big WeWork was and how fast it grew。 I also didn't know the idea of managing and renting co-working spaces wasn't new。 The book made it clear， to some extent， why WeWork was able to grow so much doing something that isn't new and isn't easily profitable。 It was mostly Adam's ability to convince people and dream big without enough adherence to numbers。 It was also a result of getting too much money invested and obviously being reckless with it。Adam's character is what made WeWork and it also plays a major role in what I liked about this book。 With strange ideas like "elevate the world's consciousness"， it sort of brings some kind of humor to it。 The business was also interesting but some of the financial stuff wasn't entirely clear for me （nothing too serious though）。The narration was good， except for mispronunciation of some Israeli names。 I'm not sure it was intentional， but it seemed to kind of make fun of Adam， although that might just be a result of the things Adam said （"To nepotism！"）。 。。。more
Miles
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A fitting description of the Obama/Trump era
Melissa
，
Eat the rich。
Josh McCormack
，
I could not put this down。 It's definitely up there with Disrupted and Chaos Monkeys as a fantastically entertaining book of a company you thank God you never had the pleasure to work at。 I kept wanting to feel bad for Adam Neumann - wanted to think the author， Reeves Wiedeman was going out of his way to humiliate him， but the hyperbolic hubris of Neumann was just too insane。 If I had to pick one word to describe the guilty pleasure of enjoying this tale of a megalomaniac's downfall it would be I could not put this down。 It's definitely up there with Disrupted and Chaos Monkeys as a fantastically entertaining book of a company you thank God you never had the pleasure to work at。 I kept wanting to feel bad for Adam Neumann - wanted to think the author， Reeves Wiedeman was going out of his way to humiliate him， but the hyperbolic hubris of Neumann was just too insane。 If I had to pick one word to describe the guilty pleasure of enjoying this tale of a megalomaniac's downfall it would be schadenfreude。 Neumann's glowing， throbbing ego makes Steve Jobs seem like a selfless monk。It's an amazing view of the insane valuations of venture backed companies， the rules that pertain to them， and the people behind them。 It's hard to believe WeWork was a real company， so preposterous its claims。 You should really read this。 。。。more
Sanger Yoo
，
An incredible read of a truly interesting person， especially now that WeWork is， once again， preparing to IPO。 Definite recommend。
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
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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
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“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
，