Peloton chief executive John Foley has quietly snatched up a $55 million estate in East Hampton — even as employees of the exercise-bike company fret about their futures as its stock price tanks, The Post has learned.
Foley’s new 4-acre spread — which includes a 5-bedroom, 7-bath mansion designed by architect Francis Fleetwood that spans 6,100 square feet and straddles 400 feet of private oceanfront — got scooped up on Dec. 2, according to a little-noticed Instagram post by Catherin Juracich, a real estate agent at Douglas Elliman.
Juracich didn’t identify Foley as the buyer, but sources confirmed to The Post that the fitness tycoon bought the lavish compound above its asking price of $52.5 million. The spread at 442 Further Lane went on the market in September listed by Hedgerow Exclusive Properties.
Elliman declined to comment. When told about the sale, a current Peloton employee told The Post: “I’m disappointed, but somehow I’m not surprised.”
The employee said that the value of their Peloton stock options has plummeted by 75 percent in 2021. Investors have soured on the stock as vaccines and loosening COVID-19 restrictions send fitness fanatics back to the gym.
With the company’s share price tanking, the employee said some staffers are considering leaving the company — if they aren’t laid off first.
“People to be honest with you now are worried about layoffs,” the employee said. “Morale is at an all-time low.”
Meanwhile, Peloton suffered another blow Thursday when it yanked advertisements tied to the Mr. Big character on “And Just Like That” after the actor Chris Noth was accused of sexual assault by two women, according to a report, which Noth strongly denied.
The character had died after riding a Peloton bike in the Sex and the City reboot, a plot line that sent the company’s shares falling sharply.
But pandemonium at Peloton isn’t stopping Foley from making real estate deals.
Just last month, the CEO made headlines when he put another East Hampton retreat up for sale — a 6-bedroom, 6,400-square-foot farm house at 12 Koala Lane that sits on 2.2 acres — just a short drive away from the new place.
His asking price: $4.5 million — less than a tenth of what he paid for his new beachfront pad. The Post was first to report Foley had listed the more modest home, which he bought in 2016 from investor Billy Macklowe, son of real-estate magnate Harry Macklowe.
Over the summer, Foley also kept a yacht — complete with a multi-person staff — off the upscale 3 Mile Harbor marina, a source with direct knowledge told The Post. During the summer he used the yacht to ferry his family back and forth from the city.
News of Foley’s high living in the Hamptons comes as Peloton shares have slid more than 70 percent so far this year. The company’s shares stock finished 2020 at more than $150 per share and are now trading under $40 per share.
Peloton on Thursday did not respond to requests from The Post for comment on behalf of the company or Foley.
Some Peloton employees who joined the company in the months before Foley instituted a company-wide hiring freeze in November have strike prices on their stock options that are higher than the company’s current share price, an employee told The Post. That means that the employees’ stock options are useless because the cost of exercising them is higher than the shares would be worth.
“People have been working, giving their blood sweat and tears, and have nothing to sell,” the employee said. “Their options are worthless. And here he’s out buying a $55 million house.”
Adding insult to injury, most Peloton employees weren’t invited to an opulent holiday party that Foley held at New York’s luxury Plaza Hotel on Dec. 8. Just a group of Peloton instructors — not other employees — were invited to the event, even the company cancelled its annual Christmas party amid concerns about its future, according to a Peloton insider.
Foley talked about the party on Tuesday in a email to staffers obtained by The Post, telling staffers that it was an event “for our vaccinated family and friends to celebrate all NYC has been through over the past two years.” The company also claimed that the money for the party came out of Foley’s pocket.
But as staffers continued to seethe, Foley did not address the issue during a copmany-wide question-and-answer session on Wednesday, according to a source who attended the meeting.
“They can control the questions,” the source said. “So nothing came up about that party whatsoever.”
