Adam Neumann
Israeli-American entrepreneur, co-founder and former CEO of WeWork, founder of the residential real estate company Flow
Adam Neumann (Israeli-American entrepreneur, co-founder and former CEO of WeWork, founder of the residential real estate company Flow) has appeared as a guest on 1 episode in TMT. Topics they speak about most include WeWork, SoftBank Vision Fund, Entrepreneurship.
In their words
Positions and remarks grouped by topic, each with the exact quote and where it was said.
WeWork
Neumann says that minutes after he stepped down, a bank demanded repayment of his $460 million personal debt within 15 days or it would seize his shares.
“you now have 15 days to pay us back our debt, that $460 million, or we will take your shares”
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett: Adam Neumann: The Real Story Behind WeWork, A $4 Billion Cab Ride, And Surviving A $460 Million Debt (Sep 28, 2026) · Listen from 1:52:48
Neumann disputes reports that he was fired, saying he controlled the board and chose to step down.
“what people don't know is I had full control over the board and the votes. So I had to choose to step down”
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett: Adam Neumann: The Real Story Behind WeWork, A $4 Billion Cab Ride, And Surviving A $460 Million Debt (Sep 28, 2026) · Listen from 1:51:20
Neumann speculates that had he declined SoftBank's money, WeWork would now be worth $100 billion and would have led the return to office.
“WeWork would be a $100 billion company today. Corona would have happened. We would have renegotiated all of our leases”
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett: Adam Neumann: The Real Story Behind WeWork, A $4 Billion Cab Ride, And Surviving A $460 Million Debt (Sep 28, 2026) · Listen from 1:13:16
Neumann says his ego was useful for building but dangerous, and that it overtook him after the SoftBank deal.
“Here's why ego is on the one hand very good and on the other very dangerous. Ego and desire are the same word”
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett: Adam Neumann: The Real Story Behind WeWork, A $4 Billion Cab Ride, And Surviving A $460 Million Debt (Sep 28, 2026) · Listen from 1:08:21
Neumann maintains that WeWork's buildings became profitable once growth stopped, and that WeWork is profitable today.
“Today, WeWork's profitable. Those businesses, all you had to do was stop growing”
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett: Adam Neumann: The Real Story Behind WeWork, A $4 Billion Cab Ride, And Surviving A $460 Million Debt (Sep 28, 2026) · Listen from 1:07:05
Neumann argues that WeWork's core failure was that the business grew faster than he did personally.
“In WeWork, the business grew faster than I could grow. That's where everything went wrong”
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett: Adam Neumann: The Real Story Behind WeWork, A $4 Billion Cab Ride, And Surviving A $460 Million Debt (Sep 28, 2026) · Listen from 42:03
SoftBank Vision Fund
Neumann says the litigation with SoftBank ended in a $1.5 billion settlement, half the original amount.
“When the litigation ends with a settlement of a billion and a half, so instead of the three billion, it ends up being half”
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett: Adam Neumann: The Real Story Behind WeWork, A $4 Billion Cab Ride, And Surviving A $460 Million Debt (Sep 28, 2026) · Listen from 2:04:07
Neumann says SoftBank invoked force majeure in March 2020 to avoid paying the agreed $3 billion.
“on the last day of March 2020, we had a letter from SoftBank saying that this is force majeure”
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett: Adam Neumann: The Real Story Behind WeWork, A $4 Billion Cab Ride, And Surviving A $460 Million Debt (Sep 28, 2026) · Listen from 2:04:50
Neumann attributes the collapse of SoftBank's 2018 buyout offer to greed by board members on the special committee.
“And there, and this word is a dangerous one, but it's greed”
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett: Adam Neumann: The Real Story Behind WeWork, A $4 Billion Cab Ride, And Surviving A $460 Million Debt (Sep 28, 2026) · Listen from 1:41:38
Neumann says Mark Benioff urged him to reject Masa's offer and take WeWork public instead.
“I want you to fly to Japan and say no to Masa. I want you to take your company public”
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett: Adam Neumann: The Real Story Behind WeWork, A $4 Billion Cab Ride, And Surviving A $460 Million Debt (Sep 28, 2026) · Listen from 1:12:06
Neumann recounts agreeing to a $4.2 billion SoftBank investment that Masa wrote on an iPad during a single car ride.
“So we ended up agreeing on $4.2 billion. He takes an iPad. He writes it all down”
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett: Adam Neumann: The Real Story Behind WeWork, A $4 Billion Cab Ride, And Surviving A $460 Million Debt (Sep 28, 2026) · Listen from 1:07:55
Entrepreneurship
Neumann predicts that artificial intelligence will enable almost anyone to start a business.
“With AI coming in, everybody's about to be a founder. Everybody can start a business”
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett: Adam Neumann: The Real Story Behind WeWork, A $4 Billion Cab Ride, And Surviving A $460 Million Debt (Sep 28, 2026) · Listen from 1:19:31
Neumann says that among the many successful people he knows, none became fulfilled by reaching a financial number or material goal.
“I have not seen one that got happy or fulfilled from attaining a number or a material thing”
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett: Adam Neumann: The Real Story Behind WeWork, A $4 Billion Cab Ride, And Surviving A $460 Million Debt (Sep 28, 2026) · Listen from 16:56
Meditation
Neumann says meditation, which he has practiced more over the past year, helps him quiet external noise.
“I've been enjoying meditating lately in the past year, and I've been getting better and better at it”
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett: Adam Neumann: The Real Story Behind WeWork, A $4 Billion Cab Ride, And Surviving A $460 Million Debt (Sep 28, 2026) · Listen from 1:16:03
WeWork initial public offering
Neumann concedes that WeWork was not ready for its IPO, partly because he himself was not ready.
“I, Adam, wasn't ready. And if the founder is not ready, the business is not ready”
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett: Adam Neumann: The Real Story Behind WeWork, A $4 Billion Cab Ride, And Surviving A $460 Million Debt (Sep 28, 2026) · Listen from 1:48:25
Digital detox
Neumann says he has kept a weekly 25-hour disconnection from technology for about ten years and recommends it as the best self-knowledge practice.
“About 10 years ago, I started keeping Shabbat, which for those who don't know, it means that on Friday, we disconnect from technology for 25 hours”
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett: Adam Neumann: The Real Story Behind WeWork, A $4 Billion Cab Ride, And Surviving A $460 Million Debt (Sep 28, 2026) · Listen from 1:29:51
Marriage and long-term partnership
Neumann advises choosing partners, friends and business partners based on how they would treat you on your worst day.
“You should choose our partners, our friends, and our business partners based on how they will treat us in our worst day”
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett: Adam Neumann: The Real Story Behind WeWork, A $4 Billion Cab Ride, And Surviving A $460 Million Debt (Sep 28, 2026) · Listen from 1:28:23
Organizational culture
Neumann argues that leadership power comes from influence, not hierarchical control.
“Remember that power comes from influence, not control. If you think they need to do what you said because you're their boss, you've already lost”
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett: Adam Neumann: The Real Story Behind WeWork, A $4 Billion Cab Ride, And Surviving A $460 Million Debt (Sep 28, 2026) · Listen from 53:45
Benchmark (venture capital firm)
Neumann warns founders against taking money from Benchmark, which he says pushed out himself, Travis Kalanick and Jack Dorsey.
“If you're an entrepreneur today and you take it from Benchmark, the company that took me out, that took Travis, superstar out, Jack Dorsey out”
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett: Adam Neumann: The Real Story Behind WeWork, A $4 Billion Cab Ride, And Surviving A $460 Million Debt (Sep 28, 2026) · Listen from 51:11
Child abuse
Neumann says his childhood involved nearly every bad experience a boy can have, including the worst ones.
“you get to checkmark with me almost all of them, including the really bad ones that we don't like to talk about”
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett: Adam Neumann: The Real Story Behind WeWork, A $4 Billion Cab Ride, And Surviving A $460 Million Debt (Sep 28, 2026) · Listen from 4:51
Appearances
Adam Neumann: The Real Story Behind WeWork, A $4 Billion Cab Ride, And Surviving A $460 Million DebtThe Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett · Sep 28, 2026 · 2 h 15 min
Adam Neumann tells Steven Bartlett about his traumatic childhood, WeWork's rise and collapse, SoftBank's investments, his $460 million debt crisis, and spiritual lessons behind Flow.
Often appears with
- Steven Bartlett · 1 shared episode