Even though it was an early flight, Adam Neumann’s airplane was stocked with champagne and Don Julio 42 tequila. Neumann, along with his personal assistant, a WeWork real estate executive, a pair of architects and a rabbi who was close to Neumann were flying to Mexico City in June 2015. It was a year before the company opened its first office there, and just a couple of weeks before it announced its biggest funding round to date, a $400 million investment led by Fidelity.
Things got messy midair. Passengers spit tequila on each other. Furniture in the cabin was dislodged. Once the flight landed, customs officials in Mexico City took note of passengers’ high level of intoxication. The plane’s flight crew had to clean up vomit in the cabin and bathroom.