Adam Neumann, born on April 25, 1979, in Tel Aviv, Israel, has a background as unconventional and dynamic as his business career. His early life was marked by instability; his parents divorced when he was seven, and he lived with his mother in 'over 13 different homes' before the age of 22. A significant part of his youth was spent living on the collective settlement Kibbutz Nir Am in southern Israel.

His academic development faced early hurdles due to severe dyslexia, which prevented him from reading or writing until the third grade. He served for five years as a junior officer in the Israeli Navy, a period he credits with instilling the belief in being 'part of something greater than yourself'. In 2001, he moved to New York City and enrolled at the Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College, though he initially dropped out to focus on his ventures. He finally returned and completed his degree 15 years later in 2017.

Neumann’s entrepreneurial journey began with quirky ideas: a failed venture for a retractable heel shoe, and a successful baby clothing line called 'Krawlers' (which featured knee pads). He ultimately quit college to focus on the 'Krawlers' business. However, the concept that would make him a global phenomenon and eventually lead to his downfall was born from a small office in Dumbo, Brooklyn, where he realized many cubicles were empty.

In 2010, he co-founded WeWork with Miguel McKelvey, building the firm on a mission to 'create a world where people work to make a life, not just a living'. WeWork grew rapidly, fueled by billions in funding from investors like SoftBank, reaching a peak valuation of $47 billion by 2017. The planned 2019 IPO revealed massive financial losses and numerous conflicts of interest—including Neumann leasing properties to WeWork and trademarking the 'WeWork' name and selling it to the company. The ensuing governance fiasco led to the IPO being pulled, the company's valuation plummeting to below $10 billion, and Neumann being forced to step down as CEO in September 2019.

Adam Neumann’s vision has always fused business with social impact, albeit with controversial results. His original goal for WeWork was to create a sense of community and meaning in the workplace, which he calls the 'we generation'. This sense of mission is carried forward in his subsequent ventures and personal commitments.

During the WeWork IPO attempt, Neumann was required to formalize his giving, with a clause linking his voting rights to a commitment to donate $1 billion to charity over a decade. This commitment, though controversial, highlights the scale of his intent. His new venture, Flow, is pitched by investors like a16z as an attempt to help solve the US 'housing crisis' by providing community-focused rental solutions. Additionally, his background in the Israeli Navy instilled in him the concept of serving 'something greater than yourself', a principle he often cites in his philosophy.

Adam Neumann’s lifestyle is a loud, maximalist statement—a rejection of Silicon Valley's typical low-key fashion for charismatic extravagance. He famously treated WeWork like a 'personal piggy bank', funding a high-flying lifestyle that contributed to investor concerns during the failed IPO.

His style is often a blend of surfer-casual and spiritual guru, featuring t-shirts, designer jeans, and dramatic eyewear, a stark contrast to the traditional corporate CEO. His pre-2019 lifestyle included the notorious use of private jets and ownership of personal real estate that was leased back to WeWork. His return to the billionaire ranks is now backed by his investment in luxury residential properties, including projects in South Florida, signaling a new, still highly leveraged, focus on prime real estate and tech-infused living. His wife, Rebekah Paltrow Neumann, who is actress Gwyneth Paltrow's cousin, is credited by him with helping him reach for his passions.