Inside WeWork, one couple wields control
In the early days of WeWork, the two people most associated with the company were cofounders Adam Neumann and Miguel McKelvey.
But when WeWork filed paperwork this week to go public, McKelvey was mentioned only six times. Neumann’s wife, Rebekah, was mentioned 20 times, according to a new story from CNN Business’ Sara Ashley O’Brien in New York.
Why you should care:
WeWork reports nearly doubling of client count but massive losses ahead of IPO
“In addition to being a cash-burning enterprise facing a host of question marks around its business, The We Company is uniquely set up to be controlled by the Neumanns — a move that’s raising some eyebrows among governance experts,” O’Brien reports.
One example: The We Company has chosen to create multiple classes of stock, giving Adam Neumann voting control over the company’s decisions. But in the event Adam Neumann is “permanently disabled or deceased” in the 10 years following the IPO, Rebekah will form a committee with one or two board members to fill the role.
WeWork is growing rapidly across North Carolina with operations in Raleigh, Durham and Charlotte.
Adam Neumann has reportedly cashed out more than $700 million from the company ahead of its expected initial public offering.
According the Wall Street Journal which spoke with “people familiar with the matter,” the shared office-space giant co-founder sold some of his stake through a mix of stock sales and debt.
Founded as a co-working space in Manhattan in 2010, WeWork now has 527,000 members in 111 cities worldwide, according to the regulatory filing by parent firm, The We Company. That’s nearly double the 268,000 members it had in the prior-year period.
But the company’s losses have grown nearly as quickly as its revenue, roughly doubling annually over the last few years. WeWork lost $1.61 billion in 2018, up from $884 million in 2017 and $429.7 million in 2016.
Report: WeWork co-founder cashes out on more than $700M from company
