The Equinox net worth conversation requires a number most people don’t associate with a gym chain: $7 billion. That’s the valuation Equinox carried in its 2020 equity funding round, with a SPAC merger in 2021 exploring a price tag up to $9 billion. For a company that started as a single fitness club on Manhattan’s Upper West Side in 1991, the trajectory from boutique gym to luxury lifestyle conglomerate is one of the most aggressive brand expansions in American consumer history.
The Empire Behind the Eucalyptus Towels
Equinox Holdings operates far more than gyms. Under CEO Harvey Spevak’s leadership since 1999, the company has assembled a portfolio of lifestyle brands: Equinox fitness clubs (107 locations globally), Equinox Hotels, SoulCycle (acquired 2011), Pure Yoga, Precision Run, Equinox Media, and the digital Equinox+ app. The company also previously operated Blink Fitness, its value-tier brand, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in August 2024.
The brand portfolio reflects a strategy to capture affluent consumers at every touchpoint of their wellness life. Wake up in an Equinox Hotel. Take a SoulCycle class. Train with an Equinox personal trainer. Wind down at Pure Yoga. It’s vertical integration of the wealthy person’s daily routine.
Revenue and Financial Trajectory
In 2019, Equinox had approximately 350,000 members and upward of $1 billion in revenue. The pandemic devastated operations, with losses exceeding $350 million on $650 million in revenue in 2020. By 2022, Spevak reported membership sales hitting an all-time high. Revenue grew 27% in 2023, signaling a strong recovery.
In early 2024, the company refinanced with $1.8 billion in new capital, earmarked for building 25 new clubs while exploring domestic and international expansion. Current revenue estimates from industry analysts place annual revenue between $500 million and $1 billion, with the company’s premium positioning insulating it from the discounting pressure that plagues commodity gym chains.
The Investor Stack
Equinox’s capital structure reflects its ambitions. Ares Management, HPS Investment Partners, Silver Lake, Trustbridge Partners, and L Catterton have all invested. Related Companies, the real estate giant behind Hudson Yards, maintains principal ownership through Stephen Ross. The 2017 minority investment from L Catterton, LVMH’s private equity arm, signaled the luxury industry’s recognition that fitness was becoming a luxury category.
However, the ownership structure also brought controversy. In 2019, a widely publicized Trump fundraiser hosted by Stephen Ross prompted boycott calls against Equinox and SoulCycle. The brands distanced themselves from the event, but the episode highlighted the risks of high-profile ownership in politically polarized markets.
What Makes Equinox Different
Equinox charges $200 to $500 per month for standard membership, with premium tiers and personal training packages pushing annual spend well into five figures. The company’s tagline, “High Performance Living,” isn’t just marketing. It’s a positioning strategy that places Equinox closer to concierge medicine than to Planet Fitness.
Moreover, Equinox piloted generative AI for personalized fitness and nutrition programs in 2025, pushing into data-driven wellness optimization. The company holds 2.4% of the U.S. gym industry’s total revenue, a small share of a massive market, but concentrated entirely in the premium segment where margins are highest and switching costs are greatest.
The Hotel Bet
Equinox Hotels, launched in July 2019 at Hudson Yards, represents the company’s most ambitious brand extension. Billed as “the fittest hotel on earth,” the concept embeds Equinox’s fitness philosophy into the hospitality experience, with in-room fitness equipment, nutrition-focused dining, and integrated spa services. Additional locations are expanding the concept.
The hotel strategy mirrors the broader longevity industry convergence, where wellness, hospitality, and fitness merge into a single consumer proposition. If Equinox can prove the hotel model at scale, it validates the thesis that health optimization is the next luxury category, as fundamental to the affluent consumer as fashion or fine dining.
The Valuation Question
Whether Equinox is worth $7 billion or $9 billion depends on which narrative investors buy. The bull case points to 27% revenue growth in 2023, 25 new clubs in development, untapped international markets, and the hotel and digital platforms as incremental revenue vectors. The bear case notes Blink Fitness’s bankruptcy, persistent debt from pandemic losses, and the inherent volatility of brick-and-mortar fitness.
Nevertheless, Equinox’s brand commands a premium that transcends financial metrics. In markets like the Hamptons, Manhattan, and Los Angeles, an Equinox membership signals the same socioeconomic status as a Tracy Anderson studio membership or a medspa maintenance program. The brand is the moat. The gym is just the delivery mechanism.