Billion Dollar Loser
AuthorReeves Wiedeman
LanguageEnglish
GenreNonfiction
PublisherHodder & Stoughton
Publication date
2020
ISBN9781529385076
OCLC1202266953

Billion Dollar Loser is a 2020 book by Reeves Wiedeman about WeWork and its founder Adam Neumann.

Synopsis

The book combines interviews with WeWork employees with analysis from other industry experts to recount the founding of office space leasing company WeWork, and its rapid ascent followed by its later devaluation and unsuccessful IPO. Neumann's role as CEO and the cult of personality surrounding him are a major focus of the book.

Reception

The book received mostly positive reviews from critics for its insight into WeWork's initial success and eventual devaluation.[1][2] Publishers Weekly wrote that it was "a thrilling page-turner about the fantastic success and subsequent crash of WeWork."[3] Writing for The New Republic, J.C. Pan described it as "a definitive chronology of a company doomed not by one bad business strategy—or even Neumann’s outsize ego—but by the rot of a postrecession economy that nurtured a certain flavor of investor-class mania."[4] On the other hand, Walter Kirn described the book as a "cautionary tale" about Neumann.[5]

Jennifer Szalai of The New York Times wrote that Wiedeman allowed the evidence and anecdotes from Neumann's time as CEO to speak for itself, illustrating a confidence game through which "Neumann had passed himself off as a tech visionary."[6] Kathryn Brenzel, in a review for the trade publication The Real Deal, wrote that the book was "more recap than revelation".[7]

References

  1. ^ Arora, Ajay (2022-05-01). "Book review: R. Wiedeman, Billion Dollar Loser: The Epic Rise and Spectacular Fall of Adam Neumann and WeWork". IIM Kozhikode Society & Management Review: 227797522210952. doi:10.1177/22779752221095295. ISSN 2277-9752. S2CID 248636365.
  2. ^ Arieff, Allison (October 29, 2020). "Review: In 'Billion Dollar Loser,' how hubris warped WeWork". Datebook. Retrieved 2023-02-15.
  3. ^ "Billion Dollar Loser: The Epic Rise and Spectacular Fall of Adam Neumann and WeWork". Publishers Weekly. 4 September 2020. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  4. ^ Pan, J. C. (2020-11-24). "How WeWork Got Away With Spectacular Failure". The New Republic. ISSN 0028-6583. Retrieved 2023-02-15.
  5. ^ Kirn, Walter (2020-10-23). "The Cautionary Tale of Adam Neumann and WeWork". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-02-15.
  6. ^ Szalai, Jennifer (2020-10-21). "'Billion Dollar Loser' Recounts WeWork's Big Dreams and Its Harsh Wake-Up Call". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-02-15.
  7. ^ Brenzel, Kathryn (21 October 2020). "In "Billion Dollar Loser," WeWork's "epic rise" and Adam Neumann's quiet enablers". The Real Deal. Archived from the original on February 15, 2023. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
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