Masayoshi Son
In October 2019, Neumann received close to $1.7 billion from stakeholder SoftBank for stepping down from WeWork's board and severing most of his ties to the company. He was retained as a consultant with an annual salary of $46 million. "The New York Times" called the company's failed effort to go public and related turmoil, "an implosion unlike any other in the history of start-ups," which it attributed to Neumann's questionable tenure and the easy money previously provided to him by SoftBank, led by Masayoshi Son.