What Adam Neumann has said about WeWork

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

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 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 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 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 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