WeWork — From $47 Billion to Bankruptcy

WeWork's $47 billion valuation evaporated faster than any startup in modern history, culminating in a 2023 bankruptcy. Its 2019 IPO prospectus revealed $1.2 billion in annual losses and Adam Neumann's unchecked control, leading to an 81% drop from its peak to a $9 billion listing. Within six weeks of filing its S-1, the company lost $40 billion—a pace that outpaced FTX's $32 billion downfall in sheer scale, though FTX fell in 10 days. This collapse stands as the defining cautionary tale of startup excess, erasing value equivalent to the GDP of a small nation and underscoring that even a $47 billion unicorn can crumble without sustainable fundamentals.