Background
At its core, WeWork is a global company that offers membership-based access to private offices and coworking spaces for companies and individuals. But WeWork is also known for its dramatic financial rise and fall, as well as its cultlike company culture, both of which were chronicled in a popular 2022 Apple TV+ show called “WeCrashed,” starring Jared Leto as WeWork cofounder and former CEO Adam Neumann.
At its peak in 2019, WeWork was valued at roughly $47B, making it one of the world’s most valuable private companies. But by the time it filed for bankruptcy (1440 Topics: Bankruptcy) in 2023, it was only worth about $45M.
While WeWork’s supporters argue that the company revolutionized where and how office workers—from freelancers to those at large companies—do business today, critics point to its bankruptcy, failed 2019 IPO, and controversial founder.
How It Started
In 2008, WeWork cofounders Adam Neumann and Miguel McKelvey met while working at separate companies out of the same (partially vacant) building in Brooklyn, New York. The pair got permission from their landlord to rent out the building’s empty space to other entrepreneurs, calling the resulting coworking space GreenDesk and branding it around environmentally friendly practices.
In 2010, after the cofounders sold GreenDesk to their landlord for about $3M, they cofounded WeWork. But this time, they marketed the company around the idea of building community.
For instance, although WeWork members in a given building likely wouldn’t all work at the same company, they would all be invited to community events like happy hours that each WeWork location’s “community manager” frequently hosted. Its offices had kombucha on tap and a casual feel, often featuring exposed brick walls.
The new approach worked. By the end of 2014, WeWork had roughly 15,000 members across eight cities, many of whom were freelancers and startup founders seeking a community at work. At its peak in 2019, WeWork had around 600,000 members and 850 locations worldwide.
Scandal
In 2019, when WeWork prepared to file for an IPO, its S-1 revealed its poor financial state to the public (what is an S-1?).
WeWork’s expenses were far exceeding its growing revenue, and Neumann was making extravagant purchases on the company's dime, including a $63M jet. At the time, WeWork had never had a profitable quarter. Investors also noticed that Neumann owned stakes in some of the buildings he leased to WeWork members, indicating a potential conflict of interest.
Simultaneously, Neumann was creating a cultlike company culture—hosting mandatory, dayslong, sex- and drug-filled company “summer camp” parties where employees were often tracked with bracelets. Neumann also frequently expressed exaggerated ambitions, such as his desire to become “president of the world.”
The company ended up pulling the IPO later that year. Neumann also resigned as CEO, walking away from WeWork with about $1B from SoftBank, the early WeWork investor and tech holding company that acquired a majority stake in WeWork in October 2019.
SoftBank lost billions on its investment in WeWork. Learn about Neumann’s volatile relationship with SoftBank founder and CEO Masayoshi Son here.
The COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns soon forced WeWork to (temporarily) close many of its office spaces. It was another financial blow, as the company was locked into many long-term leases for these buildings. In 2021, under new leadership, WeWork finally went public—but it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy only about two years later.
Looking Ahead
After restructuring under new ownership and canceling unprofitable leases through its bankruptcy filing, WeWork achieved its first-ever sustained period of EBITDA profitability (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) in early 2025. At the end of 2024, WeWork claimed to have more than 500,000 members frequenting its more than 500 locations worldwide.
Neumann attempted to purchase WeWork back in 2024, but did not ultimately succeed (Neumann’s projects after WeWork included founding the real estate company Flow and more).
WeWork’s competitive set has grown in recent years too, from the coworking space company Industrious, which operates more than 200 locations worldwide, to other smaller upstarts (how WeWork’s competitors operate).
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