Original subtitles

- You see? - Yes.

I told you. You can manifest anything.

- Yes, you did. - Do you see that?

I do. Yeah. Yeah.

So, what do you want?

I want the sun.

Let's manifest the sun.

Corte Madera?

California.

Yeah, I don't think I can do this.

Of course you can. It's easy. It's a board meeting.

Just tell them all the amazing things we're doing.

When are you coming back?

- Back where? - Back here.

I am here.

Well, I don't know what that means.

I'm at WeWork right now.

WeWork is... It's wherever we are.

Hi.

Does everyone have water?

May I have some of your water?

Where's Adam?

Hey!

What are you doing, motek?

Dreaming.

Oh, yeah?

- Mommy, look. I found a crab leg. - Oh, wow!

- Let me see. - No, the seagull...

- My love, do you have a minute? - Of course, of course.

So… I found the old pitch deck that you and Miguel made after Greendesk.

And I started thinking back to Concept Living

and what it means to truly create a physical social network.

And I just started riffing and, well…

We revolutionized work.

Now we bring WeWork's mission, our entire philosophy,

to airlines, gyms, to banking, living.

We are more than WeWork.

We are a way of life.

So what do you think?

I think… it's magic.

And I think you're magic.

Love it!

- I'm a magician. - You're a magician.

Our core mission remains the same: To elevate the world's consciousness.

But now we will be even more than coworking space. Even more.

You don't think small, do you?

No, no. I don't know any other way to think.

You made Fortune's Unicorn List

of private companies with valuations over one billion dollars.

You're poised to control the most square footage in New York City.

Yet some of the world's greatest companies have stumbled

when they've taken their eyes off the ball of their core businesses.

We don't stumble.

WeFly.

Did he just pitch a WeWork airline?

- My pleasure. - Thank you. Good to see you.

You took the kids out of school?

Well, we're homeschooling them with a Chabad curriculum.

They're receiving the best education in the world.

The swell was at least six feet.

- Bruce! - Adam.

Bruce!

Welcome to our new home. Welcome.

What the hell are you doing here?

I am so sorry. It's Harlow's school.

Oh, okay. Okay.

Hello. Rebekah Paltrow Neumann.

- Can I get you anything? - Look.

They're turning on you.

What do you mean?

I mean, who is turning on me?

The board.

They wanna go public.

And they're concerned that your eccentricities are not the right fit

- for the CEO of a public company. - Wait, wait, wait.

My eccentricities?

My eccentricities?

Like what? The fact that I work 24 hours a day, seven days a week?

Or that I've grown this company faster than Google or Alibaba or Amazon?

Those eccentricities, Bruce? Those eccentricities?

I'm in your corner.

I'm on your side.

Then you should be talking to them. Not to me. Not to me, Bruce.

I came to you first.

When we were trying to expand, I needed you.

And you turned me away.

I'm sorry you see it that way.

The way I see it, I have been with you from the start.

I have given you millions.

- But you seem to have forgotten. - No, no. I haven't forgotten.

I'm curious.

At Benchmark, do you speak to the CEO of Uber this way?

That's what I wonder. I'm thinking no.

"WeBike"?

A bicycle valet service.

Yeah. It's your company. You get to make the decisions.

As long as you're in charge, you get to call the shots.

Next time, I will call.

We have to go back.

If you're worried about our kids falling behind,

then you're using the wrong measuring stick.

I have them listen in on Adam's business calls

in between tutoring sessions.

I mean, second years at Harvard Business School would kill

for this kind of education.

You should see it, what Rivka's doing.

- It's amazing. - Thank you.

And we are teaching them conscious entrepreneurship.

We believe in a traditional curriculum.

Phonics, addition, subtraction.

- Things like that. - They're getting all of that. All of it.

Traditional curriculums breed traditional thinkers.

Then maybe we're not the right school for you or your daughter.

Listen, we want Harlow here.

But it sounds like you need to decide whether that's the right fit.

I feel bad for the other kids. I really do.

I wish they were getting the kind of education that Harlow is.

Hello. Put a stop payment on the last check to Harlow's school.

We're going to find another place for her to finger-paint for $42,000 a year.

Yes.

And to think we were going to donate a meditation room.

No, the curriculum's fantastic, but what about the socialization aspect of it?

We can't overlook that.

- Spence? - It's too far.

- Sacred Heart? - It's too Catholic.

- Hackley? - No, no. No.

None of these schools are going to feed our children's souls.

You're not crazy enough.

Adam.

- Yes. - Yes.

- Yes. - Yes.

- Oh, my God. - Hey.

Oh, yes.

- We're gonna start a school. - Yes.

We're gonna start a s...

I need to order some books on education. I'll be right back.

Ingrid? Ingrid? Where's my phone?

Miggy-Migs!

Turn on CNBC.

- CNBC? Why? - Just turn it on.

And it's now official,

Travis Kalanick has resigned as CEO of Uber.

Five of the ride-hailing giant's biggest investors

demanded that Kalanick step down immediately.

This included Uber's largest shareholder,

the venture capital firm Benchmark Capital.

Benchmark. We're good with Benchmark, right?

Calling you back.

…delivered to the embattled CEO.

In a just-released statement…

I'm gonna get Bjarke Ingels to design it.

Great. Great.

Bruce is here.

- Bruce? - Bruce.

Intention.

Clarity.

- You mind if we come in? - Hi.

Hey.

- Hey. Adam... - How's the back?

- Good. - Good.

I want you to meet Cameron Lautner.

And, Cameron, the legendary Adam Neumann.

- Cameron! That's the name of our masseuse. - Our masseuse.

- Our masseuse. - Yeah, well, we call her Cammy.

Yes, yes, Cammy. We can call you Cammy Number Two.

Cam is fine.

But Cammy's easier to remember. It's got a ring to it.

Yeah, I thought unicorns had hooves actually.

- That's sneakers. - We have horns too.

Be careful. Be careful.

I'll get you.

And this is Adam's cofounder, Miguel.

- Nice to meet you. - Pleasure.

- And his wife, Re... - Chief Branding Officer.

- And Chief Branding Officer, Rebekah. - Rebekah Paltrow Neumann.

- Absolutely charmed. - Thank you.

My better half.

Cameron is one of my partners at Benchmark.

And he's here to help.

Yeah, well… didn't know we needed help. But…

Everyone can do with a little help, can't they?

We've been doing pretty good on our own.

Or maybe you still can't see the horn. It's right here. You see it?

- Yes, you do have a little horn, Adam. - Yes, I do.

Benchmark's recommendation is that you let us help you prepare for an IPO.

Just tighten things up a bit.

But it's your company. I mean, you call the shots.

Well, what do you think?

- I think everyone could use a little help. - Yeah.

- Oh, hi, Bea. - Good lad. Great.

Bjarke.

Bjarke? Okay, I'll meet him by the elevators.

If you'll excuse me. I have to meet with our architect.

We're starting a school.

See you later. Lovely to meet you. Bruce.

Chief Brand Officer.

Yeah, well, you know, the market doesn't really like education.

There's no money in it. So…

But you get that. You get it.

Look, who should I speak to about my office?

- Your office? - I live here now, mate.

I see clouds.

Clouds. Of Burmese teak.

Yes. Yes, Bjarke. And…

A meadow. Right?

- Yeah. - Yeah?

Yeah.

Oh, this is incredible.

Can you feel the energy that we're creating in here?

Yes, I do.

These columns?

But they're not columns.

- They're not? - They're trees.

They're trees. I just got chills.

Oh, my gosh. Just wow.

- Yes. - Yes. Yes?

- Yes. - This energy will be expensive.

Bjarke, our mission is to unleash every child's superpowers.

You can't put a price tag on that.

I don't understand. I thought this is what we wanted, right?

To go public?

Miguel, you and I grew up on communes.

We had to share clothes, toys, everything.

We never had anything that belonged to us.

Now WeWork is ours. It's ours!

And we will not have our company belong to other people. Not yet. Not yet.

What about our employees and their options?

Cam's asking for balance sheets for the past ten years.

Give him nothing.

Wait, no, no!

Give him everything.

Everything.

Welcome to WeWork, motherfucker.

Okay, just fill in the open spaces. Start in the back. Stack 'em up.

Any open space, fill it with a box. Thank you.

Think you'll need help with an intern, or…

No, I'm good.

The glasses…

Okay. I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for... for making the time.

I know you're terribly busy.

Couple of questions I had.

What's Wavegarden?

It's a really great wave pool that we...

He knows what it is. He has all the files.

Yeah, well, I just wanted to check...

WeWork didn't buy a stake in a wave pool company

just 'cause you like to surf, did it?

Actually, we're planning on building a permanent summer camp.

- Excellent. - Permanent.

How about Laird Superfood?

That's a… turmeric-and-mushroom-infused creamers.

It's delicious.

So, I'm just trying to understand things here.

Why would a shared workspace company buy a stake

in a coffee creamer company?

- Because our employees drink coffee. - Just…

Let them finish. Let them finish.

This particular coffee creamer company is owned by Laird Hamilton.

So I know it's a silly, silly question,

but did you buy a stake in it

because you wanted to hang out with famous surfers, or…

I can see this is a little performance.

- And it's very, very entertaining. - Thank you.

But please get to the point. I have a company to run.

The thing is that this is what they're going to do, isn't it?

You know, they're gonna ask all the tough questions.

They're gonna look under every stone.

And six people hit on this in, what, less than a week?

So, honest question. I want your answer here.

What do you think's gonna happen

when every analyst in the fucking world is looking at WeWork?

The board never objected to a single one of these transactions.

Trust me, I get that. The thing is…

When you're a private company, you can do whatever you want.

Buy all the coffee creamers you want. Honestly. I don't give a fuck.

But when you go public,

there are the SEC shareholders to think about, right?

10-Ks and 8-Ks and 8-Qs and Forms 3, 4, 5

and Schedules 13s and... Absolutely boring. I know.

But it's really important we get this done,

so if we can just put our big boy pants on for a little while longer

and just push on through this... Is that all right?

- Continue. - Thank you.

You told The Wall Street Journal that WeWork was profitable.

You said we wouldn't need any more investment before the IPO.

That's just not true.

Just help me out here. Why are you lying, Mr. Neumann?

Turn that fucking music off!

Continue. Continue. You've got my attention.

I just feel like the right partner will authenticate our mission even more.

So, to that end, I want Adam Braun to run it.

- Scooter Braun's brother. - Yes.

- I... - Hello, shalom.

Yes. Sorry to interrupt.

No, no, no, no.

I did a piece on Scooter Braun back when Justin and Selena broke up, so…

MissionU is very successful.

- He'll never leave. - Okay.

So we buy MissionU.

Brilliant.

- How much is it? - Four million if we're lucky.

Okay, great. So...

Talk to you tomorrow. Thanks.

- Good meeting? - Oh, so good.

There's so much to do.

Great, great, great.

We can't buy any more companies right now.

Adam, I can't slow down.

WeGrow's mission is too important.

WeGrow's mission will have to wait, okay?

No.

I'm not going to wait. Not anymore.

You've let negative thoughts in.

Yeah, well, it's just...

I don't know what to manifest anymore. I feel trapped.

So manifest freedom.

Okay.

I'm gonna have the lawyers draw up the contracts.

Y muchas gracias to the mayor. Yes. The mayor.

And to our 100th city.

- Nosotros! - Trabajamos!

- Nosotros! - Trabajamos!

- Nosotros! - Trabajamos!

- Nosotros! - Trabajamos!

- Nosotros! - Trabajamos!

Yeah!

Here we go. One more.

- Come on, man. - Yo, here we go.

Here we go.

- I have to go to el baño. - Hold on. You ready?

- Yes, yes. - Oh! Whoa!

- No, no! Whoa! - Whoa!

Masa!

"Meet me in Mexico City"? You're crazy.

- Right? Yes! Who's crazy? Yes! - What the hell is that?

- Who is crazy? - Hey!

Who is crazy, eh?

I want to feel that every day for the rest of my life.

Freedom!

Freedom!

Freedom.

Buy out the others.

Benchmark, the banks. All of them.

No IPO. No one telling us what to do. No one looking over our shoulders.

We only answer to each other. And... And we show them.

We show them what crazy really looks like.

What do you think?

I think you have fortitude.

Drink, drink!

A round for the bar. Shots por todos.

Shots por todos!

- Nosotros! - Trabajamos!

Did you get it?

- Yeah. - Great.

Did you see her Instagram?

Yes, yes, very nice work. Very nice work, team.

I need to talk to you.

Cammy Number Two. What do you want?

I'm in a meeting.

What's this?

WeGrow.

- We discussed this. No school. - No, no.

You discussed it.

I listened, and I decided not to take your advice.

That's all it is, right? Advice? We're doing everything on the board.

- Adam. - Everything. Yes?

What do you wanna wear for CNBC?

Gray Prada suit, white button-down,

maybe the suede Gucci shoes?

And I'll take your tie.

Oh, you like it?

Yeah, but ask Damian if the stripes are okay.

- I know that always drives him crazy. - Adam,

investors are trying to understand our core business.

It's a business that's losing astronomical amounts of money.

We can't start a new business now.

Okay. That's too bad because I just had an amazing idea.

Oh, you'll love it.

Here it is.

WeGo.

Here's the concept.

We go back to work, okay?

And you can get the fuck out of my office.

- Great. - Yes. Yes, it's good. Good.

Okay, where were we?

Page?

Eighteen.

Continue. Continue.

Masa buys out the other investors for 20 billion,

which values WeWork at $47 billion,

but he wants control of the company post-buyout.

No, no. I remain in control.

Nonnegotiable. You understand?

Yes.

Let's go through these.

Cam, we went through those.

Then let's go through them again.

Up, up. Up, up.

What is WeGrow's mission?

It's the same as all the We companies.

To elevate the world's consciousness.

Maybe a little more specifically.

The mission of WeGrow is to unleash every person's superpower.

And expand happiness.

- Okay. Right. - Okay.

You know what? Let's take it back a step.

During a press release, you kinda wanna stick with the basics.

Well, obviously.

So, the basic idea here is WeGrow is a school.

Well, it's really more of a practice and a new approach to life.

- Okay. Right. - Okay.

Who were your teachers?

His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Mother Nature.

Damian! Stop fucking around. Come on. I need you.

- Come, come, come. - Ada...

Four. Three.

Are you New York's biggest leaseholder yet?

We're about to close a deal that will make us number one.

Walter Isaacson recently compared you to Steve Jobs. Is it...

Walter is great. I'm thinking about having him write my biography.

That will put you in some pretty rarefied company.

Da Vinci. Einstein. Kissinger. Jobs.

Does Neumann belong among names like that?

- Da Vinci, Einstein... Come on. - No, no, no. Absolutely not.

- Not yet. Oh. - Not yet.

Not yet.

You have built the second most valuable private company in America.

Third most in the world. It is a bona fide unicorn.

Last year, your revenue doubled to 1.8 billion.

Now, but you did lose 1.9.

What do you say to claims that you'll never be profitable?

It took Amazon, what, nine years to make a profit.

At year eight, we're almost at breakeven, so I'd say we're ahead of schedule.

Is WeWork the next Amazon?

- Adam? When'd you get... - We're a trillion-dollar company.

Do you know how long it takes a diamond to be created?

I need to talk to you about earlier.

Between half a million and four million years.

I was working with Damian when you came in,

and you just interrupted us, and it's...

Watch how I handle this. Watch.

For three days in 1999,

Masayoshi Son was the richest man in the world,

and he will be again because of WeWork.

- Thank you, Mr. Neumann. - Thank you very much.

Last year, your revenue doubled to 1.8 billion.

Now, but you did lose 1.9.

What do you say to claims that you'll never be profitable?

He insists on control.

And he would prohibit you from investing in competing real estate ventures.

He presumes to tell us what we can invest in?

They are burning through cash at an alarming rate.

And with the downward pressure on our stock price.

Son-san, we should not do this deal.

The terms are unfavorable.

Then we improve the terms.

He's coming!

Louder. Louder.

Masa's counter.

- How is it? - They pushed back. Hard.

Well, then we push back harder, okay?

And then they push back, and we push back, and they push back again.

- That's why it's called a negotiation. - They are not messing around.

Not with this pressure on their share price.

We should accept.

Listen to me, Matthew.

Masa respects crazy. You understand? Crazy. Push back!

On what?

Everything.

We must have fortitude.

Louder!

Make the beast a beautiful man, Bobby.

You got it.

8.9.

8.9.

8.9!

- Hey! Oh! - Eight point fucking nine!

Behold!

With this lease, we just passed 8.9 million square feet!

WeWork now controls the most square footage in all of New York City!

- Wow! - Yeah!

And we are going to party!

Yes! Yes! Yes!

Nice and straight in the back, Bobby.

Nice and straight.

Adam, Lars called from SoftBank.

Masa wants you to meet with somebody named Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak.

He's head of Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund.

Put it in my calendar.

But Abu Dhabi's not gonna let SoftBank invest any more money in WeWork.

You have to meet with him and impress him. He said it's very important.

Tell him not to worry. I'll knock Mubarak's kandura off, you understand?

I'll make his agal spin like a top.

- Okay. - Hey. Now, I want you to plan a party.

- A what? - A party.

A party for being New York's biggest leaseholder.

- Okay. - Yes. And see if we can get will.i.am.

"Neumann, WeWork's messianic CEO,

says the brave new world of the gig economy is reshap"...

Messianic, like, messiah?

Yes.

Phil, do you think that I'm messianic?

- Be honest. - Yeah. Yeah, I do.

"Now, Neumann spends his Mondays at WeWork HQ"…

True.

"Topped off with shots of tequila for the entire staff."

Hey, Adam, you're set for tomorrow at The Mercer with Al Mubarak.

Who is that?

The head of Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund.

You had that call with SoftBank about him.

Al Mubarak. He's one of the Vision Fund's biggest investors.

He said has doubts about WeWork.

And he won't when I get done with him.

Okay, how is the party planning coming?

Did you get the Black Eyed Peas or will.i.am or...

Trading phone calls. Stuff like that.

What is the board doing here?

If I had known you were coming, I would have put out muffins.

- Have a seat. - I was planning on it.

So, how can I help you?

Adam…

You're not really fit to be CEO of a public company, are you?

You see, WeWork has grown,

and Adam hasn't.

You know, I'm not talking about the tequila

and the cock and balls in the Zen garden

and all that adolescent bullshit.

No. I'm talking about this.

This.

Got 55 Chrystie Street, 189 Lispenard.

These are buildings that are owned by Adam and are leased back to WeWork.

How is he negotiating the best terms for the company

if he's negotiating against himself?

He trademarked the word "we"

and then sold it to the company for $5.9 million.

That's your money.

Turmeric coffee creamer company and a wave pool company,

and now his wife's quite frankly insane vanity project, a school.

Hands up if anybody can tell me

why a shared workspace company is building a school.

What are you waiting for?

Are you waiting for gasps of shock?

I told you. I said the board knew about every single transaction.

They didn't object to any of it.

Yes, you know, they did give you a lot of rope,

and you hung yourself with it.

Right? He's very charming,

but we stand to lose or gain billions

based on this moment.

Let's get rid of the rotting corpse.

Remove him as CEO.

Where were you when we were screwing together desks ten years ago?

Or when I was flying from Jaipur to Hanoi to Shanghai

trying to expand into Asia?

Where were you?

You don't want me here? Okay. Okay.

Who is going to run this company?

Is it him? Miguel?

Miguel?

Good luck.

Find another person who can walk into a room

and come out 12 minutes later with $4 billion.

I'm a golden fucking goose laying golden fucking eggs.

And I'm going to make every single one of you filthy fucking rich.

So let's do it. Let's do it.

Let's vote on Cam's motion. No, no. Let's do it.

- All in favor! - Great.

All in favor!

Let's go. Good. Come, come, come, come, come.

Yes, well, there it is.

5-4 in favor of you fucking off.

Meeting adjourned.

Muffins on the way.

Adam, you're not a golden goose.

You just have fortitude.

Again! Again! Again!

Again! Again! Again! Again!

- Yeah! Yes! Again! Again! - WeWork! WeWork! WeWork! WeWork!

- Again! Yes! Yeah! - WeWork! WeWork!

Yes! Yeah!

Yes! Yes! Yes!

WeWork! WeWork! WeWork!

You're gonna be there tomorrow, right?

For what?

Tomorrow is the first day of WeGrow. You're talking to the kids.

Adam.

Adam. Adam.

Adam, you need to wake up.

- Who is it? - It's me. Birdie.

It's 11:23. You have the meeting with Al Mubarak.

Masa's investor.

- Who? - You're gonna miss it. We have to go.

- Sh... - We have to go.

Sheikh, my deepest apologies.

Please, excuse me.

I hope they're treating you well.

He was 45 minutes late.

Saudi Arabia and now Abu Dhabi refuse to allow us to invest more money in him.

His demands in the negotiation have been infuriating.

He is like a child.

He's been spoiled long enough.

Son-san, we must put an end to this.

Masa! It's your prodigal son.

Listen, I had a small scheduling problem with Mubarak,

but call me back.

Not a big deal. Call me back. Call me day or night.

Agree to their terms. Close it up. Close it.

Did Masa call?

- No, he didn't. But you do have... - Listen.

Only get me for Masa.

For Masa. That's it.

So, here at WeGrow, we place equal priority

on your mental, physical, and spiritual development.

However you learn is just fine.

Call Adam's office again.

Okay, while we wait for our very special guest,

why don't we go around the circle,

and everyone can say what their superpower is.

Okay, yes, what's your superpower?

Masa?

You have to be at WeGrow in three minutes.

Oh, shit.

Why didn't you tell me?

Remember to always follow your passions

and never do anything you don't love

and, and…

Fight to the death for everything that you do, you understand?

All right.

All right, all right, well, I'm sure we all can agree

that those inspiring words from Mr. Neumann came

better late than never.

So, teachers, if you could please gather your students

and please take them to the music corner.

Parents, you are welcome to join in for this very, very special day.

Thank you so much.

Will you come with me for a moment, please?

Of course. Yeah, of course.

How about I come to one of your board meetings in a bathrobe?

Don't be dramatic, okay?

Can we not do this here?

- Here of all places. - Oh, okay. Okay.

Then when are we supposed to do it?

When you come home in the middle of the night, shit-faced?

That happened twice. Twice.

You're gonna destroy everything we have built.

- You can't... - We built? We built?

Did you say, "we built"?

I built this. I built it.

You, you just take and take and take and take and take.

You wanted to be an actor.

I gave you a theater.

You wanted to be an executive. I gave you a job.

You wanted to be an educator.

I built you a fucking school.

You, you think you built this?

You built shit.

I'm...

No.

All right, listen up! All right, you beautiful people!

I just want to do a toast to 8.9 million square feet!

8.9!

8.9! 8.9! 8.9!

Masa! Finally! I've been trying to reach you.

Good to hear your voice.

Listen to me.

There was a small scheduling error with Al Mubarak.

Nothing really. You're probably not even be aware of it.

- Nothing to be concerned about. - Adam.

Listen, if he was upset at all, it's easy to fix.

I'll jump on the plane tomorrow.

- I'll be there tomorrow. - Adam.

I'll knock his socks off, you understand?

I cannot move forward with Fortitude.

I'm sorry.

8.9! 8.9! 8.9!

8.9! 8.9!

- Yeah, baby! We love you. - Yeah, baby! You, man.

You! You, man!

8.9! 8.9! 8.9! 8.9!

Fuck me.