FILE – John Foley, co-founder and CEO of Peloton Interactive Inc., poses for a photo during the company’s initial public offering (IPO) outside the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York on Sept. 26, 2019. Photographer: Michael N
NEW YORK – Two years after leaving Peloton, former CEO and co-founder John Foley said his fortune had dried up.
Foley co-founded Peloton in 2012 and oversaw its rise to a $50 billion valuation during the pandemic lockdowns. However, the high-end fitness company struggled after people returned to gyms, and the company experienced a series of PR mishaps.
Foley stepped down as CEO in February 2022 and gave up his position as chairman of the board in September of this year. But by the end of 2022, Foley told the New York Post, he had raised $25 million from venture capitalists for his new company, New York City-based Ernesta, which makes carpets to order.
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“Oh, I’m an open book,” said the former billionaire The New York Post in a new interview“You know, I once had a lot of money on paper. Unfortunately, not in reality (in the bank). I lost all my money. I had to sell almost everything in my life.”
“I’m working hard so I can make money again… because I don’t have much left,” he joked to the outlet. “And that’s why I’m hungry and humble.”
Video from 2019: Peloton faces backlash and market losses over a holiday ad that the company says was “misinterpreted”
Critics of the manufacturer of high-quality training equipment say the ad is sexist and classist. Video date: December 4, 2019
Foley said he still spends his summer weekends in the Hamptons, although he has downsized twice, including by selling his $55 million oceanfront estate in East Hampton.
“My family has taken it well,” Foley told the Post. “My wife is very supportive. My kids are probably better off if we stay honest.”
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Several former Peloton executives have joined Foley at Ernesta, which he believes could generate as much as $500 million in free cash flow by the end of the decade. He is optimistic about the future.
“I think John Foley’s best days may still be ahead of me,” he told the Post. “I love a good underdog story.”
