He’s at it again…
The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that Adam Neumann — founder and former CEO of WeWork — is trying to take control of the bankrupt company…
Less than five years after the board forced him out.
Neumann shared his plans this week to team up with Dan Loeb’s Third Point and other investors to make a bid for the company.
But from what I’m hearing, the talks are still in the very early stages.
Neumann built WeWork from an idea into a global coworking empire, that is true.
But are his potential backers forgetting what happened next?
WeWork crashed and burned.
At its peak, the company was valued at $47 billion. By the time it filed for bankruptcy protection WeWork was worth only $45 million.
When WeWork filed for its IPO in 2019, the filing had questionable self-dealings that were outrageous even by Wall Street’s standards.
For example, Neumann trademarked the word “We” for $6 million in stock. He was also buying up commercial real estate on his own behalf and leasing it back to WeWork!
He also wasn’t a good steward of shareholder capital, and that’s being kind. He charted a Gulfstream G650 for trips aboard on the company’s tab.
I’ve only given you the tip of the iceberg. Author Reeves Wiedeman did a deep dive into WeWork and Adam Neumann.
When I sat down with Reeves, I thought I had heard everything. Boy, was I surprised.
Adam Neumann is one of the reasons I spend considerable time researching a company’s CEO.
Because at the end of the day, the CEO is the one spending the company’s money.
I’ll share more on that below. But first, watch this:
(Or read the transcript here.)
You can see the impact a CEO can have on a business.
Now, let me show you the flip side…
How a little-known company can launch into billion-dollar status… All on the power of one decision by the CEO.
That’s “The Billion-Dollar Move.”
And I’ve uncovered the next one…
This is no WeWork … It’s the real deal. I’ve personally talked to this CEO and if it were up to me, he’d make the CEO Hall of Fame.
It’s a small company no one’s heard of yet — and the CEO has made the one decision that he believes will be THE game-changer for this company and its shareholders.
Because this one decision lets this tiny company generate up to five times more money for its product than others can get for theirs.
Regards,
Charles Mizrahi
Founder, Alpha Investor
