Yes, banks have too much money (I'm not even kidding here, they have too much money and not enough good transactions to lend money for). So if they find someone potentially great (think Elon Musk, Patrick Drahi, John Malone, or this guy) they are all over it.
In all honesty, small businesses are super high risk. This is generally lower risk, because the legal / due diligence / etc will have been done better. Also the likelihood of plain fraud is less.
It's a combination of both. At the end of the day, there are always things that need to be financed. That's whether you're worth a million or a billion. So might as well build up a good relationship. It's easier to establish those relationships with big accounts, but it's also a more competitive environment (so you need to give good rates and not waste time with bullshit offers -- like they often do in retail).
It won't be personally guaranteed. Overcollateralized, sure. Maybe he can take out a $3-400m loan against $1bn worth of stock. Also mind that these loans were taken out before the company was valued at $47bn.
Someone who built up that much wealth, even on paper? Every single bank will want to lend him money, at competitive rates. He's going to need / want debt for life to do future deals, even after his WeWork days. You want to be the preferred bank to that person.
Banks would much rather lend out $100m than $1m 100x, as it takes a lot less effort. Hence they like these clients. I think you'd be surprised on the terms he got on those loans.
The more money you need, the easier generally it is to do a deal.
The fact that it's an impressive feat of engineering is the main reason why I bought a mechanical watch (JLC). Besides, heck, we're talking about watches that can easily last 50+ years. And some even appreciate in value.
In all honesty, small businesses are super high risk. This is generally lower risk, because the legal / due diligence / etc will have been done better. Also the likelihood of plain fraud is less.
It's a combination of both. At the end of the day, there are always things that need to be financed. That's whether you're worth a million or a billion. So might as well build up a good relationship. It's easier to establish those relationships with big accounts, but it's also a more competitive environment (so you need to give good rates and not waste time with bullshit offers -- like they often do in retail).