The Failed Deal that Led to WeWork’s Downfall

NOV 20, 202340 MIN
The Closer: Deals Change the World

The Failed Deal that Led to WeWork’s Downfall

NOV 20, 202340 MIN

Description

Once a “unicorn”, WeWork has filed for bankruptcy. The co-working company was once valued at $47 billion, but it’s had a rocky few years, including a failed IPO (it later went public through a special purpose acquisition company) and was battered by the pandemic. But what set WeWork on this falling-from-grace path can be traced back to a failed deal between co-founder Adam Neumann and SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son at the end of 2018. This is the story of Project Fortitude. This episode originally aired on February 13, 2023.

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