In a new report from Vanity Fair’s Gabriel Sherman on Monday, sources claimed WeWork cofounder and CEO Adam Neumann said Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase, was his “personal banker.”
Neumann also claimed that Dimon, one of the biggest names in the financial world, would leave the institution to run Neumann family’s personal investment fund, according to the report.
Representatives for Neumann denied the claims to Vanity Fair, and a source close to Dimon said the executive has no plans to leave JPMorgan Chase, the report said.
The report comes amid revelations that Dimon and Neumann met in New York over the weekend to attempt to get the embattled startup’s IPO back on track. The coworking company delayed its public offering amid investor uncertainty around the company’s finances, its unusual governance structure and potential conflicts of interest with Neumann’s other business interests.
JPMorgan is leading the listing, which would occur in October at the earliest because of the delay. WeWork was initially planning to list in September.
But JP Morgan also has a long history with WeWork and with Neumann. A JP Morgan fund bought a stake in the company five years ago. The bank helped Neumann when he wanted to borrow money against some of his stock. And Neumann has also borrowed almost $40 million in mortgages from the bank, Bloomberg’s Sonali Basak reported.
Meanwhile, Neumann is under siege by his board of directors and investors, according to several reports. The board convened on Monday to discuss whether or not to oust Neumann, reports said, but it wasn’t clear where the group landed at the end of the day.