John Foley is opening up about his financial difficulties after departing as 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 boomed for the connected fitness company, which makes exercise bikes and treadmills, during the pandemic. But the company overestimated demand as COVID-19 restrictions lifted, seeing gyms reopen and people exercising outside of their homes again.
Foley sold both a Manhattan townhouse and an East Hampton estate after stepping down from his post.
“My family took it well,” he told the Post of his departure from Peloton. “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,” he told the Post of his new endeavor. “And so I’m hungry and humble.”
Peloton has since cycled through another CEO, Barry McCarthy, and currently has two interim co-CEOs.
The company, however, showed progress in fourth-quarter earnings towards its efforts to turn its fate around following the management shakeups, a major stock slump, multiple rounds of job cuts, and a massive recall in recent years.
John Foley did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
