This weekend TV lovers have got a brand new scammer-based series to sink their teeth into: Apple TV+'s WeCrashed, which tells the shocking true story of the rise and fall of WeWork by its ambitious entrepreneur.
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Like Disney+'s The Dropout, which chronicles Elizabeth Holmes's biotech company Theranos, WeCrashed is based on an investigative podcast series of the same name. Want to know about what really went down? Keep reading for all the info you need…
WATCH: Anne Hathaway and Jared Leto star in new Apple TV+ series WeCrashed
In the three-part drama, Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway portray entrepreneur Adam Neumann, and his wife, Rebekah Neumann (who is actually the first cousin of Gwyneth Paltrow), whose bright business venture WeWork went from a billion-dollar company to bankrupt in just a few months back in 2019.
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The business was first launched back in 2010 using the funds from Adam's first shared office space concept Green Desk and a $15 million investment from real estate developer. It was able to quickly tap into the growing number of solopreneurs and small business owners and was soon labelled a "unicorn" – a name given by investors to any start-up valued at over $1billion £765million).
© Photo: Getty ImagesThe real Adam and Rebekah Neumann
However, things started to go downhill pretty quickly after that. While Adam had big plans in motion to expand into shared accommodation, schools and gyms, he also began exhibiting increasingly bizarre behaviour. Not only did he miss important meetings and outlandishly overestimate projects, but he also reportedly gave barefoot spiritual presentations and put tracking devices on employees at WeWork's yearly corporate retreat.
Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway play the WeWork founder and his wife in the new series
Adam and his capabilities had begun to wane by the time the company attempted to go public three years ago. After a valuation showed the company was worth approximately $10 billion, much less than originally thought and multiple complaints against him from staff members were made, Adam was asked to step down as CEO and Rebekah from her position as chief brand and impact officer.
© Photo: Getty ImagesThere are still more than 750 WeWork locations worldwide
However, as part of Adam's buyout, he was offered $1.7 billion and maintained a consultant position of $46 million a year. Meanwhile, WeWork laid off 20% of its workforce globally, followed by another two rounds of layoffs throughout 2020.
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Immediately after they were fired, the pair spent some time in Israel where Adam is originally from but returned to their home in the Hamptons in May of 2020.
Today, Adam and Rebekah - who share six children together - are staying out of the public eye and have not yet spoken about the new Apple TV+ series. As for WeWork, the company still exists and currently has over 750 locations across 121 cities, including New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo and London.
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