WeWork facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
WeWork Inc.

Type	Public
Traded as	OTC Pink: WEWKQ (2023–present) NYSE: WE (2021–2023)
Industry	Commercial real estate
Founded	2010; 14 years ago (2010)
Founders	Adam Neumann Miguel McKelvey
Headquarters	New York City , U.S.
Number of locations	779 locations in 39 countries (2022)
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	John Santora (CEO)
Services	Coworking
Revenue	US$3.245 billion (2022)
Operating income	−US$1.59 billion (2022)
Net income	−US$2.03 billion (2022)
Total assets	US$17.86 billion (2022)
Total equity	−US$3.67 billion (2022)
Members	547,000 (December 2022)
Number of employees	c. 4,300 (December 2022)
Parent	Yardi Systems 60%

WeWork location in Jongno Tower

WeWork location, 1 University Avenue, Toronto

WeWork location on Rhode Island Avenue in Washington, D.C.

The kitchen area at the WeWork location on Broad Street in Manhattan

WeWork location in San Francisco

WeWork Inc. is a provider of coworking spaces, including physical and virtual shared spaces, headquartered in New York City. As of December 31,  2022 (2022 -12-31)^[update], the company operated 43.9 million square feet (4,080,000 m²) of space, including 18.3 million square feet (1,700,000 m²) in the United States and Canada, in 779 locations in 39 countries, and had 547,000 members, with a weighted average commitment term of 19 months.

In 2019, the initial public offering (IPO) of its then-parent company, The We Company, failed. The Wall Street Journal noted that, on the release of its public prospectus in August 2019, the company was "besieged with criticism over its governance, business model, and ability to turn a profit".

The We Company filed its Form S-1 for the IPO in August 2019. The following month, facing mounting pressure from investors based on disclosures in the S-1, company co-founder Adam Neumann resigned from his position as CEO and gave up majority voting control. Amid growing investor concerns over its corporate governance, valuation, and outlook for the business, the company formally withdrew its S-1 filing and announced the postponement of its IPO. At that time, the reported public valuation of the company was around US$10 billion, a reduction from the $47 billion valuation it had achieved in January and less than the $12.8 billion it had raised since 2010. As of December 2023^[update], the company had a market capitalization of $21 million.

In October 2019, Neumann received close to US$1.7 billion from stakeholder SoftBank for stepping down from WeWork's board and severing most of his ties to the company. He was retained as a consultant with an annual salary of $46 million.

In August 2023 WeWork warned that it had 'substantial doubt' that it could stay in business, and might file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. On October 31, 2023, reports circulated that WeWork would be filing for bankruptcy "imminently", which resulted in a 37% dip in share value. One week later, on November 6, the company officially filed for bankruptcy, which was described by ABC as emblematic of the "excesses of business startup culture."

Notable locations

Notable WeWork locations include:

Further viewing

In January 2021, Apple TV+ announced a new show called WeCrashed that follows the launching and fall of WeWork. Jared Leto plays Adam Neumann and Anne Hathaway plays Rebekah Neumann.

In March 2021, Hulu unveiled a documentary titled WeWork: Or the Making and Breaking of a $47 Billion Unicorn, released April 2, 2021.

Images for kids

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  WeWork Coworking Space in Vancouver