WeWork and SoftBank Exec Marcelo Claure Has a Net Worth Approaching $1 Billion

Businessman Marcelo Claure has been involved in multiple corporations since the beginning of his career as a founder and owner of USA Wireless, Inc. in 1995. Claure has since founded wireless company Brightstar and held executive positions at Sprint, WeWork, and SoftBank Group.

Claure took on the role of executive chairman at WeWork in 2019 following the company’s disastrous and failed first IPO attempt. SoftBank, where Claure is also executive vice president and COO, poured millions into WeWork to bail the company out.

WeWork was one of the first companies to promote coworking spaces. It leases office space to companies, freelancers, startups, and businesses of all sizes. The company's revenue dropped seriously during the pandemic, partly due to short-term leasing agreements that members canceled when they were no longer going into the office.

WeWork began trading on Oct. 21, 2021, with the ticker symbol “WE”. Following its stalled IPO of 2019, the WeWork of today opted for a merger with a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. It merged with BowX Acquisition to become publicly traded on the NYSE, issuing shares at an initial price of $10 apiece.

The WeWork SPAC IPO is expected to raise up to $1.3 billion. Claure will remain as executive chair following the merger, alongside CEO Sandeep Mathrani.

At the $9 billion valuation given in its IPO, WeWork is far below the $47 billion valuation investors had placed on it in 2019 prior to the collapsed offering. However, Claure and Mathrani are optimistic that the changes made to WeWork's business structure during the pandemic will lead to profitability.

According to The New York Times, WeWork projects that its current revenue will more than double by 2024, and membership will increase by at least 50 percent.

At CNBC's recent @Work Summit, Claure said, “The corporate headquarters as we knew it, 9–5, five days a week, corporate HQ, I don’t think we’re ever going back to that.” He also noted that a large percentage of workers value flexibility, whether that means full-time remote work or a hybrid approach where they work some days at home and some in the office.

On CNBC's Squawk Box, Claure also said, “Three years ago the value of WeWork was zero, it was on the verge of bankruptcy and needed cash, and the fact we’ve taken it from zero to $8 billion to $9 billion in two years is great.”

Claure married Jordan Engard in 2005, and they have two children together. His net worth is estimated to be $900 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.