Secrets of the great pyramids

John Oliver has some hilariously spot-on things to say about those pyramid schemes known as MLMs, including but not limited to the infamous Herbalife, as well as Youngevity. Here you go:

Herbalife CEO Michael O. Johnson

Granted, this was a far from comprehensive examination of the scourge of MLM, but it did cover some basic truths in a largely humorous way, without being unsympathetic to the victimized. And as Salty Droid has done in greater depth over the years, Oliver focused on the ways that some of the most economically and socially vulnerable demographics are being targeted by ubiquitous giants such as Herbalife.

I would have liked to have seen a mention of now-imprisoned serial scammer Kevin Trudeau's Global Information Network (GIN). In its glory days GIN scammed thousands of people out of millions of dollars, without even offering a tangible product that would have allowed the notorious phenomenon known as "garage qualifying" (in which participants buy their way into a certain position in the compensation plan by purchasing hundreds or thousands of dollars worth of product, which ends up unsold in their garages). The "product" for sale in the GIN MLM back in the day was a $1,000 Level One membership in GIN. But since that old GIN MLM is no longer operating at those monetary levels, I can understand why the producers would have wanted to focus on more current and higher-dollar scams.

All things considered, I think Oliver's effort is a worthy addition to the critical and cautionary content regarding MLMs. I hope it finds a wide audience.

Related on this Whirled:

• 29 April 2016: True Spanish lies: A scam in any tongue is still a scam -- Herbalife, Youngevity/Livinity and the ways they exploit Latinos
  
  
• 22 December 2013: Kevin Trudeau's pyramid continues to crumble -- The FTC declared Kevin Trudeau's Global Information Network (GIN) MLM to be an illegal pyramid scheme. (Note: The old MLM was discontinued in November 2013 but it rose again in a more modest form under GIN's new owners.)
  
  
• 9 December 2013: Tin Promises: How MLMs Can Tear Lives Apart (Part 1 of 2) -- Natch, the link to Part 2 is included.
  
  
• 16 July 2012: Back in Time with the big sick machine -- A little history, but not enough to hurt you.