WeWork rode the wave of the venture-capital frenzy, building a global real estate empire worth more than any other U.S. startup before buckling and laying off thousands when funding ran dry under its turbulent co-founder and former chief executive Adam Neumann. Ultimately, though, it was a historic office market bust that doomed the desk-rental giant, the Wall Street Journal reported. WeWork is expected to file for chapter 11 bankruptcy, which could come as soon as next week. That is barely four years after the company was valued at $47 billion and taking steps toward a highly anticipated initial public offering. That IPO was scrapped, and WeWork went public years later at a fraction of its former valuation. The seeds of WeWork’s collapse could be traced back to its late-2010s heyday, when, under the exuberant Neumann, WeWork indulged in pricey diversions such as investing in an artificial wave company and buying a $63 million jet as it sprinkled its glassy workspaces around the world. During Neumann’s stewardship, the company lost a dollar for every dollar it took in for years. Following Neumann’s departure in 2019, WeWork hired a more buttoned-up, seasoned management team. It cut most of its side investments and was freed of its co-founder’s distracting antics. But the company couldn’t escape weaknesses in its business model, which was always vulnerable to any softening in the office market. (Subscription required.)
