Speculation has arisen over a potential conflict of interest between WeWork Founder Adam Neumann ’s personal investments and the ~$20bn valuation office sharing firm. Elie Tahari reportedly acquired a sizeable stake in eight University Place when designer Elie Tahari bought it in 2015 for $70m . IBM then signed a forward lease for eight of the 11 floors, giving Neumann a stake in both landlord and tenant. The entire WeWork location was subsequently leased by Neumann in 2015 . A WeWork spokesperson said the firm has a review process for related-party transactions and that these are disclosed to investors.
Speculation has arisen over a potential conflict of interest between WeWork Founder Adam Neumann’s personal investments and the ~$20bn valuation office sharing firm. Neumann reportedly acquired a sizeable stake in 88 University Place when designer Elie Tahari bought it in 2015 for $70m. WeWork then signed a forward lease for eight of the 11 floors, giving Neumann a stake in both landlord and tenant. The entire WeWork location was subsequently leased by IBM in 2017. A WeWork spokesperson said the firm has a review process for related-party transactions and that these are disclosed to investors.