The scandal of WeWork: Adam Neumann is involved in a mystical sect that dominates all financial investment decisions, contributing as much money as possible to a business!

With an angled face, close-cut pepper hair and thick glasses, Eitan Yardeni looks nothing like “lost” at WeWork’s headquarters in New York City, where his presence has become so familiar. belong to company employees. However, Yardeni is not a technology director but a spiritualist.

Yardeni at an WeWork event.

Yardeni is a long-time confidant of WeWork co-founder Adam Neumman and his wife, Rebekah. The 55-year-old is also a senior cleric of the Kabbalah Center, an organization with thousands of members founded around the principles of Jewish mysticism.

In fact, the Kabbalah has existed for centuries but the Kabbalah Center is considered a modern organization: It combines spiritual guidance, fundraising strategies and a focus on wealth and fame. Yardeni has advised many stars such as Madonna, Demi Moore, Ashton Kutcher and Roseanne Barr.

Kabbalah has a close relationship with the couple Neumann and WeWork

Rebekah introduced Kabbalah to Adam Neumann in 2009. Before that, she was recruited by the famous cousin, actress Gwyneth Paltrow. Neumann and his wife quickly became VIP members. The Kabbalah Center even forbids its members to show disagreement with Adam Neumann under any circumstances.

Adam Neumann and his wife.

According to a former WeWork employee, Yardeni was frequently seen by Neumann’s side when he was drinking high-grade tequila and smoking marijuana. Insiders said that Neumann was close to other senior members of the organization such as Paltrow, actress Lucy Liu, Demi Moore and singer Madonna.

As the mentor mentor of the Neumann couple, Yardeni of course has access to and has a great influence on WeWork when the startup was valued at up to $ 47 billion, before things plummeted last month. Some close sources said that Yardeni usually runs weekly meetings at WeWork, including the participation of the Neumann couple and many other senior directors.

The Neumann couple’s special interest in Kabbalah is something everyone knows. Former WeWork CEO even said that Kabbalah Center is the inspiration for the startup to share its office space.

A recent investigation by Business Insider found that Kabbalh was not only closely connected to the spiritual life of the Neumann couple but also to WeWork, including investments, financial contacts and relationships. with people related to the Kabbalah Center.

According to some former employees and those who are still working at WeWork and members of the Kabbalah Center, the Neumann couple have been deeply involved in the organization and offer Kabbalah’s teachings and logos into the company itself. they founded. A former Kabbalah Center member described that the organization has constantly made efforts to control the financial and social decision making of the most devout members.

Kabbalah Center was founded by Philip Berg in the mid-1980s. By the late 1990s, the organization was open to non-Jewish members and joined by some famous people like Madonna. They all wore a red string on their left wrist to avoid the “devil’s eye”.

Husband and wife Adam Neumann (left) with Michael and Monica Berg (right) – members of the family that founded Kabbalah.

The former members of the Kabbalah Center describe it as a spiritually tight community combining the elements of Judaism with astrology. They constantly encourage members to contribute as much as possible. Most Kabbalah Center members and staff are in Los Angeles and New York, although the organization claims to have centers in 40 cities around the world.

“This is how a lot of businesses fail.”

At Kabbalah Center, enlightenment, gifts and donations are inseparable. As is common in many organizations, members are encouraged to contribute 10% of their after-tax income directly to the center. However, many former members say they often have to spend more to attract what the Berg family calls “light.”

Neumann’s spokesman refused to answer questions about the amount of money he donated to the organization (if any) but Neumann was among the richest and most famous members of Kabbalah.

Typically, the Berg family and its teachers will attend intimate dinners with VIP members and even take a luxurious vacation with their families. The Neumann couple are no exception. When the Berg family needs a new outfit or a teacher needs a new iPhone, they all turn to members of the organization, who are taught that it is a “privilege”.

A former member revealed that they raised money in the words of the teacher or the Berg family, doing so to ensure the success of big life events such as business. Not only that, they were taught that they would become “invincible” if they contributed enough money to Kabbalah. Tatiana Ganopolsky, who left Kabbalah in 2012, said: “It gives a misunderstanding of success and this is what makes a lot of businesses fail.”

A group member of Kabbalah.

Another said that the Berg house warned members that bad luck would come to those who didn’t donate enough money. The former anonymous member said that after her husband was diagnosed with cancer, the Berg family told her it was because they did not raise enough money, despite the fact that they had contributed millions of dollars during the period. Is a member. And if they continue to contribute money, enough, the disease will be significantly improved.

For many members, the influence of Kabbalah on their decision making goes far beyond the spiritual sphere, from dating, marriage to time and frequency … sexual activity to the management of economic issues. joint.

As a spiritual guide for Adam Neumann, Yardeni’s presence at WeWork sometimes made the company employees uncomfortable. According to an employee, he even helped negotiate the deal, including Neumann’s controversial investment at 88 University Place worth US $ 70 million in 2015.

WeKabbalah

The Neumann couple is not the only Kabbalah follower in WeWork. The couple has created jobs and investment opportunities for many other members of the organization. Last year, two active members of Kabbalah, Jason Bauer and Avi Voda, were brought to WeWork to work as WeWork Space Services, a pilot brokerage firm targeting small and medium-sized companies.

In addition, Kabbalah members consider Adam Neumann a generous supporter of their own business plan. Member Michael Patterson said that former CEO WeWork had invested in his energy storage company. In May this year, the company revealed that it raised $ 88 million from 31 undisclosed investors.

The departure of Adam Neumann

After more than seven years of joining, in 2017, Adam Neumman decided to leave Kabbalah. This happened in the wake of an organizational crisis that left many important members and teachers in a row. Neumann’s departure was a sensation because many members feared the loss of his contributions could significantly affect the success of the organization. Nearly a year later, in a speech, Neumann openly talked about his relationship with a missionary in Crown Heights.

Neumann’s departure was a great loss to Kabbalah.

For those familiar with Kabbalah, the message is clear: Adam Neumann has a new ally and organization, the “golden” member has actually left Kabbalah!

However, it seems that Neumann does not completely cut off ties with Kabbalah, or at least Yardeni. In May 2018, Neumann was seen joining Yardeni’s second wedding. It was then that WeWork began negotiating with SoftBank in a funding round that could double the company’s valuation.

Although a Neumann spokesman said he was no longer associated with Kabbalah, many insiders said the former CEO WeWork had re-established his relationship with the organization’s leader and Rebekah still maintained a friendly relationship with Yardeni.