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Rebekah Paltrow Neumann once wanted to be an actress, she told Fast Company. Later, she became a certified yoga instructor.
Instead, she became the Chief Brand and Impact Officer of the We Company, which just filed its S-1.
Paltrow Neumann cofounded the company, originally known by its most famous business, WeWork, alongside her now-husband Adam Neumann and Miguel McKelvey in 2010. She was also an early employee at the first coworking company Adam and McKelvey founded, Greendesk, according to Fast Company.
Paltrow Neumann is described in the We Company's S1 as "one of our co-founders."
"Rebekah has been a strategic thought partner to Adam since our founding and has actively shaped the mission and strategy of The We Company and its global impact agenda, as well as being the primary voice and leading advocate for the We brand," the filing continues.
"Rebekah has never been paid a salary from us," it claims.
Rebekah Paltrow Neumann, 41, is a graduate of Cornell University.
Paltrow Neumann is a native of Bedford, New York, according to New York Magazine.
Neumann majored in business and also earned a minor in Buddishim, according to her profile on WeGrow's website.
Paltrow Neumann worked as a trader at investment bank Salomon Smith Barney before coming to WeWork, according to Fast Company.
She has also dabbled in acting, appearing in several films according to her profile on IMDB.
Paltrow Neumann has long had spiritual pursuits — to the point of reportedly attending one of the Dalai Lama's birthday parties.
Paltrow Neumann has a certification in Jivamukti yoga, according to her profile on WeGrow's website. She has also spent time traveling around the world to learn yoga, according to WeGrow.
Neumann attended one of the Dalai Lama's birthday parties while traveling, according to Fast Company.
Paltrow Neumann is married to WeWork cofounder Adam Neumann, but they don't try to separate work from their personal relationship.
"We don't have a line at all between work and life," Neumann told Fast Company. "It's not even a blurred line. There is no line."
Business Insider previously reported that the couple first met in 2009.
"And he walked in, and I saw that he was my soul mate," Neumann told Fast Company about their first meeting. "It's the truth."
Paltrow Neumann also tries to incorporate the couple's five children into their workplace.
Making her kids feel welcome at WeWork helps Paltrow Neumann balance her career and motherhood, according to Coveteur.
"Kids shouldn't feel like work is something they're not allowed to peek into," Paltrow Neumann told Coveteur. "So, for me, the biggest challenge was being able to bring those two worlds together."
Paltrow Neumann also keeps a basket of toys for her kids in her office, according to Coveteur.
Paltrow Neumann has made some controversial comments about her relationship with her husband.
"A big part of being a woman is to help men [like Adam] manifest their calling in life," Paltrow Neumann said at WeWork Summer Camp in 2018, according to CNBC.
After facing backlash on Twitter for Paltrow Neumann's statements, WeWork declined to comment to CNBC, instead providing more of her remarks for context. "The reality that I see today is that there is nothing bigger that women can do, in my opinion, than empower their partners," Paltrow Neumann also said at the event, WeWork told CNBC, "and that can be a man, a woman, a friend, it doesn't matter, but empower others."
Paltrow Neumann helped Adam help quit smoking and drinking soda, according to Fast Company. The couple proceeded to toss Neumann's soda and cigarettes down the trash chute.
When the pair was first married, they shared a tiny studio apartment in the East Village.
The Neumanns own a six-bedroom townhouse in New York City's Greenwich Village, that has a dedicated "stroller parking garage, according to New York Magazine.
They also own a 60-acre estate in New York's Westchester County, Business Insider previously reported. The estate includes a farm where Paltrow Neumann has brought students from WeGrow, according to Fast Company.
The couple's Hamptons home was purchased for $1.7 million, according to New York Magazine.
The Neumanns spend most of their time in New York but also purchased a $21 million house in San Francisco in 2018 that features a room shaped like a guitar.
Paltrow Neumann is responsible for WeWork's focus on wellness, according to Fast Company.
"Rebekah said, 'Stop. No more talking about money,' " Adam Neumann told Fast Company in 2016. "We're going to talk about wellness, happiness, fulfillment, and if the money is supposed to follow, it will. And if it doesn't, it doesn't matter, because we will be happy and fulfilled."
Now known as the We Company, WeWork represents one of the most anticipated IPOs of the year, Business Insider previously reported. The company is valued at $47 billion and includes the co-living development WeLive, Paltrow Neumann's school WeGrow, gym Rise by We, in addition to the original co-working business.
The business of wellness runs in Neumann's family: She is related to actress and wellness icon Gwyneth Paltrow.
Gwyneth Paltrow is Neumann's cousin, Business Insider previously reported.
Neumann even sat down with Paltrow for an interview for Paltrow's lifestyle blog, Goop, IN WHAT YEAR to discuss WeGrow.
Neumann now serves as the CEO of WeGrow, a primary school run by WeWork.
Neumann got the idea to add a school to the WeWork network of businesses after being unable to find a school liked her own daughter, according to Goop.
"We had a clear vision of the type of school we wanted her to attend—a place that would not only nurture growth in her mind but also her spirit, a place that had a real culture of kindness, where she would have a real connection to nature, and where her individual gifts, talents, and passions would be recognized and supported," Neumann told Goop. "Ultimately, we could not find such a place, so we decided to start WeGrow."
Adam and Rebekah pledged to give $1 billion to charitable causes in the We Company S1.
The S-1 claims that the first contribution of that sort is for 20 million acres of "intact tropical forest," the same featured on the final page of the document, pictured here.
