Former billionaire John Foley says he lost all his money and had to sell ‘almost everything’ after losing the Peloton CEO job

John Foley stepped down as the CEO of Peloton in February 2022. 

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.