The Rise and Fall of WeWork: How a $47 Billion Valuation Vanished

The rise and fall of WeWork remains one of the most astonishing corporate collapses in modern financial history. In early 2019, the office-sharing startup held a staggering 47 billion dollar valuation, backed by billions in SoftBank investment. Yet beneath the rapid member growth and sleek co-working spaces lay a business model losing over a dollar for every dollar earned. Unpacking the public S-1 filing reveals how long-term lease liabilities collided with short-term subleases, why that paper valuation vanished virtually overnight, and what founder Adam Neumann walked away with when the company finally crashed. CHAPTERS 0:00 Intro 1:02 1. What a Desk Costs 1:49 2. Where the Money Came From 3:13 3. The One Line That Kept Customers 4:14 4. Two Numbers Called Forty-Seven 6:06 5. Where the Money Went 7:28 6. The Cost Nobody Saw 8:49 7. Six Weeks 10:21 8. Two Endings SOURCES (More sources on request.) 1. Bisnow, "WeWork's Losses Doubled In 2018, Reaching Nearly $2B" (2019-03). 2018 revenue 1.82 billion dollars and net loss 1.93 billion dollars. https://www.bisnow.com/national/news/... 2. Crunchbase News, "WeWork Loses $1.9B On $1.8B In Revenue During 2018" (2019). 2017 revenue 886 million dollars, net loss 933 million dollars