Cyber Monday Sale! 50% Off All Access

Former Billionaire John Foley Says He Lost All His Money and Had to Sell 'Almost Everything' After Losing the Peloton CEO Job Foley sold a Manhattan townhouse and an East Hampton estate after stepping down.

By Sarah Jackson

Key Takeaways

  • John Foley says losing his job as the CEO of Peloton cost him dearly.
  • Foley, once a billionaire, told the New York Post that he "had to sell almost everything."
  • The embattled fitness company has since gone through another CEO. Foley founded a rug company.
Kimberly White/Getty Images for TechCrunch via Business Insider
John Foley stepped down as the CEO of Peloton in February 2022.

This article originally appeared on Business Insider.

John Foley is opening up about his financial difficulties after departing as the CEO of Peloton.

Foley, who cofounded Peloton in 2012 and was at the helm for a decade, recently told the New York Post about his financial woes after leaving the company.

"You know, at one point I had a lot of money on paper," he said. "Not actually [in the bank], unfortunately. I've lost all my money. I've had to sell almost everything in my life."

Foley was at one point a billionaire as business for the connected fitness company, which makes exercise bikes and treadmills, boomed during the pandemic. But the company overestimated demand as COVID-19 restrictions lifted, gyms reopened, and people started exercising outside of their homes again.

Foley sold a Manhattan townhouse and an East Hampton estate after stepping down.

"My family took it well," he told the Post. "My wife's super supportive. My kids are probably better for it, if we're keeping it real."

After leaving Peloton, he started a direct-to-consumer rug company called Ernesta with two fellow Peloton cofounders, Hisao Kushi and Yony Feng.

"I'm working hard so that I can try to make money again … because I don't have much left," Foley told the Post. "And so I'm hungry and humble."

Peloton has since cycled through another CEO, Barry McCarthy, and currently has two interim co-CEOs.

In its fourth-quarter earnings, the company showed progress in its turnaround efforts following the management shakeups, a major stock slump, rounds of job cuts, and a massive recall in recent years.

Foley did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Starting a Business

Starting a Nonprofit Business

If you have a passion for a cause, starting a nonprofit could be for you.

Business News

'Pre-Boarding Scam': Customers Furious at Southwest Airlines After 20 Passengers Ask For Wheelchair Assistance to Board

A viral tweet is slamming the airline's wheelchair policy for boarding and disembarking.

Business News

'Something Previously Impossible': New AI Makes 3D Worlds Out of a Single Image

The new technology allows viewers to explore two-dimensional images in 3D.

Business News

'I Stand By My Decisions': A CEO Is Going Viral For Firing Almost All of the Company's Employees — Here's Why

The Musicians Club CEO Baldvin Oddsson fired 99 workers at once over Slack for missing a morning meeting. But there's a catch.

Business Ideas

63 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2024

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2024.