Originally published at: WeWork was once "valued" at $47 billion. Now it's bankrupt | Boing Boing
…
3 Likes
If they were looking for an unlikable actor who makes you uncomfortable in every scene, then yes Jared Leto is your best choice.
12 Likes
Why is it the worst aspects of the 90’s are the ones that continue to flourish? See: all these companies making dubious (or non-existant) products to “disrupt” markets and cashing out to the tune of billions before it all collapses. It’s the dot com bubble in a new form, married to vulture capitalism.
21 Likes
Neumann was eventually gotten rid of, but walked off with a reported $1.7 billion.
After getting away with that in the aftermath of wantonly trashing WeWork, he of course got into a cryptocurrency carbon-credit trading scam, and is now trying to “disrupt” the housing market with a “rent to own” scheme (backed by VC firm Andreessen Horowitz).
He’s adept at identifying issues of Millennial and Gen Z concern driven by inequality (the job market, climate change, housing) and then convincing supposedly responsible Silicon Valley investors to help him en-scammify them.
16 Likes
Adam Neumann has a new company which just got $350 million venture capital funding from [oh shit - it’s them again] Andreessen Horowitz. This time to ‘rethink’ the housing rental market:
Neumann has purchased more than 3,000 apartment units in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Atlanta and Nashville. His aim is to rethink the housing rental market by creating a branded product with consistent service and community features. Flow will operate the properties Neumann has bought and also offer its services to new developments and other third parties.
Mmmm - rentals, venture capital and a failed businessman. What could possibly go wrong?
9 Likes
This saga isn’t done until SoftBank, the VCs who funded Neumann, also takes a dirt-nap.
They’re still trying to make this corpse dance.
5 Likes
I nearly took a job there during the “good times”. A wonderful former coworker was offering something very senior and a perfectly fun job suited to my talents with a ton of equity. Then, less than a fortnight later, the first WW fustercluck occurred and I’m so glad I dodged that nuclear blast with my indecisiveness.
9 Likes
It’s Morbin time!
4 Likes
he is unwatchable.
3 Likes
It was such a hilariously bad film… Matt Smith was living his best life as the villain, though…
4 Likes
It’s capitalism, baby!
2 Likes
Inching its way towards feudalism!
5 Likes
I had heard of WeWork, but I wasn’t familiar with their “story”. Interestingly, Rebekah Neumann, played by Anne Hathaway in the miniseries, was born Rebekah Paltrow. She’s Gwyneth’s first cousin. And Rebekah’s father ran a scammy business, too, and did time for tax evasion. The apple doesn’t fall far from the grift tree in that family.
8 Likes
in Florida. I couldn’t pick a more apt place in America.
5 Likes
We can, at least, thank them for what’s probably the Best S-1 of all time.
"We have engaged in transactions with related parties, and such transactions present possible conflicts of interest that could have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
We have entered into a number of transactions with related parties, including our significant stockholders, directors and executive officers and other employees. For example, we have entered into several transactions with our Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Adam Neumann, including leases with landlord entities in which Adam has or had a significant ownership interest. We have similarly entered into leases with landlord entities in which other members of our board of directors have a significant ownership interest, such as through ARK (as defined in “Business—Our Organizational Structure—ARK”). See “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions”. We may in the future enter into additional transactions with entities in which members of our board of directors and other related parties hold ownership interests."
Yes, you might say that is a risk…
3 Likes
2 Likes
4 Likes
For certain definitions of “flourish.”
4 Likes
Neumann was eventually gotten rid of, but walked off with a reported $1.7 billion.
Not bad … wreck a bunch of lives, ruin some real estate owners and still make money.
4 Likes
SoftBank: Lottery winners that started their own lottery.
However, trouble arose when Son lost $70 billion of his $78 billion fortune in one fateful day during the 2000 dot-com crash that wiped out 93% of SoftBank’s market value. But, Son was not one to give up. In a career-defining move, Son invested $30 million in a little-known Chinese company called Alibaba, which grew to an astonishing $130 billion over time.
Today, SoftBank’s investments include companies like Uber, Slack, SoFi, DoorDash and its Vision Fund is the largest technology venture in the world.
5 Likes
