How Adam Neumann, the cofounder of $47 billion WeWork, spends his money

Adam Neumann, WeWork's cofounder and CEO, has a net worth of $4.1 billion.

Source: Forbes

But he wasn't always wealthy: Neumann went from broke to billionaire in the past decade.

One of the first businesses he started was Krawlers, which sold baby clothes with knee pads.

"At the time, I was misguided and putting my energy into all the wrong places," Neumann told Business Insider.

After Neumann met his wife Rebekah, they lived an East Village studio "apartment smaller than this office," Neumann told Business Insider.

Neuman would go on to set his sights on bigger and better real estate once WeWork became successful.

Sources: Business Insider, Business Insider

Neumann founded his coworking-space company WeWork in 2010.

Nine years later, WeWork has a $47 billion valuation. The company is under the We Company umbrella, which also includes Neumann's coliving venture, WeLive, and the "conscious entrepreneurial school" WeGrow.

Source: Business Insider

Since founding WeWork, Neumann has spent over $80 million on at least five homes.

Source: Wall Street Journal

In 2012, Neumann bought a house in the Hamptons for over $1.7 million

Sources: Bisnow, Vanity Fair

In 2014, Newman bought a Greenwich Village townhouse in New York City for $10.5 million.

Located at 41 West 11th Street, the property is under 23-feet wide. At the time it was bought, the townhouse had six bedrooms and five and a half bathrooms. The townhouse was erected in 1847.

Source: The Real Deal

In 2016, Neumann purchased a farm estate in Westchester, New York

The Linden Farm estate on 34 Boutonville Road in Pound Ridge sprawls 60 acres. At the time of purchase, the property included: a more than 13,700 square foot, eight bedroom, eight bathroom house; a horse stable and ring for riding; a tennis court; a waterfall and pool; and nearly 4,500 acres of preserved land nearby. The estate was listed at $22 million when it was on the market.

Sources: Biznow, New York Post

In 2017, Neumann bought four units in a Gramercy Park townhouse in New York City for $34.7 million.

According to The Real Deal, Neuman purchased the following in the the seven-story townhouse on Irving Place:

• Two first-floor units for $7.2 million
• A fifth floor, 2,210 square foot three bedroom for $9.5 million
• A duplex penthouse with four bedrooms sprawling over 4,400 square feet for $18 million.

Source: The Real Deal

In 2018, Neumann purchased a 13,000 square foot home in the San Francisco Bay Area for $21 million.

Source: Wall Street Journal, Business Insider

The house has a guitar-shaped room.

Source: Wall Street Journal.

Besides real estate, Neumann has been investing in startups.

Neumann has invested in seven startups since 2013, according to Crunchbase. They are: Pins, Feature.fm, Tunity, Selina, EquityBee, InterCure, and Hometalk.

On behalf of WeWork, Neuman has invested in wave-pool startup WaveGarden and the big-wave surfer Laird Hamilton's superfood startup, which sells things like "performance mushrooms," powdered coconut water infused with beets and turmeric, and highly caffeinated coffee.

Sources: Crunchbase, TechCrunch, Business Insider

And, Neumann has donated over $100 million.

Source: Wall Street Journal

We'll see where Neumann's investments turn, and his net worth heads, after WeWork goes public.

In April, Neumann announced that WeWork had confidentially filed initial-public-offering paperwork in December as the We Company.

WeWork declined to comment for this piece

Read more: WeWork cofounder and CEO Adam Neumann reportedly sold shares he owned in the company and took loans worth $700 million.