Maybe? I mean, for the baristas and whatnot, sure, I feel bad for them. But for educated professionals? Especially the kinds of people who can extract significant compensation in equity? I struggle to feel particularly bad.
Everybody involved knew (or should have known) that the recent round of money-losing IPOs were high-risk ventures. And I would hope anybody thinking about taking options instead of cash would learn enough about pricing options to be pretty clear on the risks involved.
Also, if the con had gone on long enough for the "rank and file" to cash out after the lockup expired, how many of them would be giving money back to investors after WeWork's problems were revealed? I'm guessing zero. Let alone the salary they got for building what turned out to be worth way less than what was invested.
