Edited by: TJVNews.com
Seems like there is no stopping WeWork’s founder Adam Neumann. After amassing close to $2 billion at WeWork before his fortunes started going south, Neumann bailed from the company but his business acumen is still in stellar shape.
According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Neumann has decided to become an apartment landlord and expand into the residential real estate sector.
The WSJ reported that “entities tied to Neumann have been quietly acquiring majority stakes in more than 4,000 apartments valued at more than $1 billion in Miami, Atlanta, Nashville, Tenn., Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and other U.S. cities, according to court, property and corporate records and people familiar with the transactions. Many of these investments occurred within the past year.”
According to a report on the Curbed.com web site, the properties that Neumann is investing in are fairly traditional luxury-apartment complexes with 200 or more units and lots of amenities: saltwater pools, putting greens, dog parks, co-working spaces, and trash valets and on-site barber shops.
People who are familiar with the matter have said that the WeWork billionaire apparently has “ambitions to build a company that would shake up the rental-housing industry.”
Curbed.com reported that Neumann’s purchases of buildings could be profitable, if he follows the WeWork business plan. That means bundling services and amenities together and up charging for them.
Thus far, Neumann has purchased traditional apartment buildings but wants to create a widely recognizable apartment brand stocked with amenities, according to sources close to the matter who spoke with the WSJ.
Neumann is seeking to attract the same audience of young, upwardly mobile professionals that gravitated to his WeWork office space and paid handsomely for the rental space.
Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, D.J. Mauch, a partner in Neumann’s family office, said: “Since the spring of 2020, we have been excited about multifamily apartment living in vibrant cities where a new generation of young people increasingly are choosing to live, the kind of cities that are redefining the future of living. We’re excited to play a role in that future.”
In 2010, Neumann co-founded WeWork with Miguel McKelvey.
Following mounting pressure from investors based on disclosures made in its S-1 filing, Neumann resigned as CEO of WeWork and gave up majority voting control as of September 26, 2019, as was reported by Wikipedia. WeWork also delayed its initial public offering (IPO) until the end of 2019 amid growing investor concerns over its corporate governance, valuation, and outlook for the business. On September 30, 2019, WeWork formally withdrew its S-1 filing and postponed the IPO.[3] He served as WeWork’s CEO from 2010–2019. In 2021 his net worth is estimated to be around US$1.6 billion.
In 2012, Neumann partnered with Ken Horn of Alchemy Properties and Joel Schreiber and purchased for $68 million the top floors of the Woolworth Building in Manhattan which they converted into condominiums.
Neumann became a partner of InterCure, an Israeli cannabis company led by Ehud Barak, former Prime Minister of Israel, as was reported by Wikipedia. in 2018. Neumann has also invested in EquityBee, a start-up for tech investors, and Selina, a hospitality company.[
Wikipedia reported that Neumann has purchased buildings and then leased the space back to WeWork. Observers noted this as a potential conflict of interest and one that would not be allowed if WeWork were a public company.
In early 2020, Neumann invested $10 million into multimodal shared mobility company GOTO Global, taking a 33% equity stake in the company.
During his tenure as CEO of WeWork, Neumann purchased $90 million worth of residences, including a 60-acre estate in Westchester County, New York, a 6,000 square foot condominium near Gramercy Park, two homes in The Hamptons, and a $21 million mansion in Corte Madera, California.
