The inside story of the rise and fall of WeWork, showing how the excesses of its founder shaped a corporate culture unlike any other. Christened a potential savior of Silicon Valley's startup culture, Adam Neumann was set to take WeWork, his office share company disrupting the commercial real estate market, public, cash out on the company's 47 billion dollar valuation, and break the string of major startups unable to deliver to shareholders. But as employees knew, and investors soon found out, WeWork's capital was built on promises that the company was more than a real estate purveyor, that in fact it was a transformational technology company. Veteran journalist Reeves Wiedeman dives deep into WeWork and it CEO's astronomical rise, from the marijuana and tequila-filled board rooms to cult-like company summer camps and consciousness-raising with Anthony Kiedis. Billion Dollar Loser is a character-driven business narrative that captures, through the fascinating psyche of a billionaire founder and his wife and co-founder, the slippery state of global capitalism.

"Portions of this book appeared in articles published in New York magazine and its website"--Title page verso. Includes index.

Capitalist kibbutz --Green desk -- 154 Grand Street -- "I am WeWork" -- Sex, coworking, and rock 'n' roll -- The physical social network -- Reality distortion field -- Greater fools -- WeLive -- Manage the nickel -- Mr. Ten Times -- Me over we -- Blitzscaling -- The holy grail -- WeGrow -- Game of thrones -- Operationalize love -- A WeWork wedding -- Fortitude -- The I in we -- Wingspan -- Always half full -- The sun never sets on We -- Brave new world.