The Blubber

Peloton was one of the hottest stocks during the pandemic, but as COVID-19 concerns faded, so did the company's fortune. Its former billionaire CEO, John Foley, said his wealth was wiped out as a result.

“At one point, I had a lot of money on paper,” Foley, who co-founded Peloton in 2012 and led it for a decade, told the New York Post. “Not in the bank, unfortunately. I’ve lost all my money. I’ve had to sell almost everything.”

During the early days of the pandemic, when demand for home workouts skyrocketed, Peloton's sales increased by 250%, its stock soared over 400%, and Foley quickly became a billionaire. However, the company misjudged demand as lockdowns ended and people returned to gyms.

By November 2021, Peloton’s stock had crashed, and Foley lost his newly minted billionaire status. Then, in December 2021, the debut episode of the Sex and the City reboot And Just Like That... featured a character dying of a heart attack while riding a Peloton, which Foley described as "brutal." “We were just being trolled…everything was collapsing,” he said.

Once valued at $50 billion, Peloton was struggling to stay afloat when Foley stepped down as CEO in February 2022. His net worth, once $1.9 billion, was reduced to $225 million, according to Bloomberg.

Since then, the company has had another CEO, Barry McCarthy, laid off thousands of employees, raised prices, and closed retail stores to cope with the drop in demand. Peloton’s current market value is a mere $1.8 billion.

Fortune reached out to Foley for further comment.

Peloton's stock collapse didn’t just end Foley’s billionaire status—it also forced him to downsize his life. He sold a $55 million East Hampton home and uprooted his family. Despite the setback, Foley remains optimistic. "My family took it well," he told the New York Post. "My wife’s super supportive. My kids are probably better for it."

Though his fortune has diminished, Foley’s ambition remains strong. Within a year of stepping down from Peloton, he raised $25 million for his new venture, Ernesta, a direct-to-consumer rug company, which he believes could generate $500 million in free cash flow by 2030. “I’m working hard to make money again... because I don’t have much left,” Foley said. “I’m hungry and humble.”

Foley’s experience underscores how fleeting paper wealth can be when it's tied to volatile stocks. Gymshark founder and CEO Ben Francis, named Britain’s youngest billionaire, once said that “none of it is real,” explaining that his wealth is tied to assets that fluctuate in value. "It could double, it could [halve],” he added, emphasizing the importance of not tying one’s self-worth to financial metrics.

For Foley, pinning success on net worth is "a wildly unproductive way to live."