Adam Neumann

Adam Neumann is an Israeli and American businessman, investor, and billionaire. In 2010, he co-founded WeWork with Miguel McKelvey, where he was CEO from 2010 to 2019.[3] In 2019, he co-founded a family office dubbed 166 2nd Financial Services with his wife, Rebekah Neumann, to manage their personal wealth,[4] investing over a billion dollars in real estate[5] and venture startups.[6][7]

Following mounting pressure from investors based on disclosures made in a public offering filing, Neumann was asked to step down as CEO of WeWork and gave up majority voting control as of September 26, 2019.[8]

Business career

2000–2010

Before founding WeWork, Neumann founded a children's clothing company, Krawlers.[15] Neumann and Miguel McKelvey began working together, having met through a mutual friend, on Green Desk in 2008, a shared-workspace business focusing on sustainability, the precursor to WeWork.[16] The pair sold their interest in Green Desk[17] and using the funds along with a $15 million investment from Brooklyn real estate developer Joel Schreiber for a 33% interest in the company,[18] they founded WeWork in 2010.[16] Neumann stated that with WeWork, he intended to replicate the feeling of togetherness and belonging he felt in Israel and that he thought was lacking in the West.[19]

Neuman was awarded the EY Entrepreneur of the Year in 2015.[20]

2011–2020

On September 22, 2019, there were reports, from outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, that various WeWork directors were planning on asking Neumann to step down as CEO, after "a tumultuous week in which his eccentric behavior and drug use came to light" before a planned IPO.[21] The Wall Street Journal reported that he had taken $700 million out of WeWork before the IPO, among other details, and "undermined his position" at the company.[22] Neumann also directed We Holdings LLC (a company managed by Neumann and McKelvey) to unwind the transaction of $5.9 million in stock that the company paid in exchange for the "We" trademarks.[23][24][25] On September 24, 2019, he resigned and Artie Minson and Sebastian Gunningham were named as successors.[26]

2021–present

On February 24, 2021, The Wall Street Journal reported that Neumann had received about $130 million of the $185 million in consulting fees agreed to be paid by SoftBank before SoftBank ceased making the remainder of the payments to him.[29] On May 27, 2021, the Wall Street Journal reported the terms of a renegotiated severance package between Neumann and SoftBank, replacing that from October 2019.[30] Among other terms, Neumann received $106 million in cash in addition to the $92.5 million in consulting fees previously received (in contrast to the $130 million figure reported by the WSJ on February 24, 2021, for previously received consulting fees from SoftBank), with about $50 million of that to pay for his legal fees. The renegotiated settlement package also "let him refinance $432 million in debt on favorable terms and allowed an entity Mr. Neumann controls to sell $578 million in WeWork stock." The Wall Street Journal also reported that Neumann received a new WeWork stock award of "roughly $245 million," but "if the price [of WeWork] falls below $10 [per share], Mr. Neumann is ineligible to receive the stock award." The May 2021 securities disclosure filings were made "as WeWork completes a merger with BowX Acquisition, a special-purpose acquisition company."[30]

On April 12, 2020, Forbes listed his net worth at US$750 million, having dropped off the Forbes billionaires list that year.[31]

native name	אדם נוימן
native name lang	he
birth place	Beersheba, Israel
alma mater	Israeli Naval Academy Baruch College (BA)
occupation	Businessman
known for	Co-founder, WeWork
spouse	Rebekah Neumann (m. 2008)
children	6
relatives	Avi Yehiel (brother-in-law)‡R1R‡ Adi Neumann (sister)

Early life

Business career

2000–2010

2011–2020

2021–present

Investments

Companies

Property

Legal and business challenges

Philanthropy

Personal life

Claims and statements

In popular culture

See also

References