Book Review — The Cult of We by Eliot Brown and Maureen Farrell

This morning, I finished Eliot Brown and Maureen Farrell’s The Cult of We, a cautionary tale about the excesses of Silicon Valley, told through the rise and fall of WeWork and its charismatic yet chaotic founder, Adam Neumann. This gripping narrative offers a behind-the-scenes look at how hype, hubris, and a culture of unchecked ambition turned a simple office subleasing company into a global phenomenon worth $47 billion — at least on paper.

At the heart of this 420-page book is Adam Neumann, a towering figure with big hair, bigger promises, and a penchant for charisma over substance. Neumann envisioned WeWork as more than a real estate company; it was a movement, a community, and even, in his words, a means to “elevate the world’s consciousness.” But beneath the lofty rhetoric lay a glaring reality: WeWork was hemorrhaging cash, losing more than $1.6 billion in a single year.

Neumann’s antics were as eccentric as they were troubling. He was perpetually late to meetings, often called impromptu gatherings with alcohol flowing freely, and once used bottles to shatter a glass wall during a moment of inebriation. He even had his employees barefoot at certain events to embody the “grounded” culture he envisioned. His combination of charm and chaos captivated investors, including SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son, who poured…