by Chris Staron | Sep 28, 2021 | Episodes
Multi-level marketing companies behave like cults. Does that make MLMs cults?
Multi-level marketing companies have many similarities to cults:
- They tend to have strong authoritarian leaders
- They expect you to believe their philosophy
- They separate you from your loved ones and people who question the MLM
- They make utopian promises
Why don’t we think of them as cults? Well, we don’t like to think of businesses as being cults. MLM companies and organizations have connections in high places like the White House and the Chamber of Commerce.
Robert FitzPatrick joins us once more to discuss his research. He’s the founder of www.pyramidschemealert.org and the author of the book Ponzinomics: The Untold Story of Multi-Level Marketing.
by Chris Staron | Sep 21, 2021 | Episodes
People as diverse as Kamala Harris and Donald Trump support multi-level marketing
Multi-level marketing companies have very powerful friends. Here is a list of some of the well-connected people tied to MLMs:
- Vice President Kamala Harris
- Former President Donald Trump
- Mitt Romney
- Madeleine Albright
- Former President Bill Clinton
- The former head of the Chamber of Commerce
- and many more
How is it that a business model where over 99% of the people involved will lose money is still legal? The answer is in the list.
My guest today is Robert FitzPatrick from Pyramidschemealert.org. His excellent book is Ponzinomics: The Untold Story of Multi-Level Marketing.
Helpful links:
- A New York Times article about Kamala Harris and Doug Emhoff’s involvement with Herbalife
- A second NYT article about Harris and Emhoff
- A Washington Post article about President Trump’s “Trump Network” MLM
- A fascinating piece by Time about Herbalife
- The Washinton Post about Mitt Romney’s involvement with NuSkin
- Interesting Last Week Tonight episode about MLMs (contains strong language)
by Chris Staron | Aug 31, 2021 | Episodes
How do pyramid schemes work and what is multi-level marketing?
What is multi-level marketing? It is a very popular business model that targets Christians and other people of faith. But… it is almost guaranteed to fail. Because MLM’s and direct sales companies are not designed to sell a product but to sell the business itself. Joining us for this episode is Robert Fitzpatrick. He’s the president of Pyramid Scheme Alert and the author of the new book “Ponzinomics: The Untold Story of Multi-Level Marketing“.
Also mentioned in the episode is the podcast The Dream. Season one talks in great detail about pyramid schemes. Please be aware that some of the episodes use strong language.
Topics covered in this episode:
- What is multi-level marketing?
- What is a pyramid scheme?
- What is a Ponzi scheme?
- Who are Ponzi schemes named after?
- Who was Charles Ponzi?
- Is multi-level marketing the same thing as a pyramid scheme?
- What is the difference between a pyramid scheme and multi-level marketing and a Ponzi scheme?
- What is a good book about pyramid schemes?
- Will I lose money with multi-level marketing?
- Is Amway considered multi-level marketing?
- Is Herbalife multi-level marketing?
- Do pyramid schemes target Christians?
- Should I join an MLM?
- Which MLM should I join?
Looking for the Amway stats we mentioned? You can find them here: https://pyramidschemealert.org/half-of-amways-products-are-retailed-really-plus-other-wacky-numbers-3/
