multilevel marketing

In the shadowy world of cryptocurrency, the enigmatic figure known as Ruja Ignatova, the infamous "Crypto Queen," orchestrated a Ponzi scheme, bilking billions of dollars from unsuspecting investors through her audacious creation, OneCoin. Join us as we delve deep into the chilling tale of deception, greed, and a woman whose cunning mastery of the digital underworld has earned her a place among the most notorious cybercriminals of our time.

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Show Transcript

Created, Produced & Hosted by Keith Korneluk

Written & Researched by Jim Rowley

Edited, Mixed & Mastered by Greg Bernhard

Theme Song You Are Digital by Computerbandit

Multi-Level-Marketing (MLM) companies are big businesses around the world and they have rightfully attracted much criticism for questionable business practice. Many have called them illegal pyramid schemes, but today these companies continue to operate in most developed countries around the world and rake in billions of dollars in profit in any given year all with the blessing of local trade authorities. So, what are these businesses? Let's park personal opinions on how annoying it is to be roped into one of these MLM meetings for the moment and assess the fundamental economics behind this business model.

Robert is joined by Jack O'Brien to discuss Amway.

FOOTNOTES:

1. https://jacobinmag.com/2018/09/richard-devos-amway-multi-level-marketing-conservatism
2. https://www.motherjones.com/politics/1996/09/she-did-it-amway/
3. https://www.nytimes.com/1977/09/17/archives/amways-direct-sales-foster-zeal-success-and-criticism-amways-direct.html?_r=0
4. https://archive.org/stream/MerchantsOfDeception/MerchantsOfDeception_djvu.txt
5. https://www.michigandaily.com/uncategorized/dems-devos-owned-troubled-nursing-home/
6. https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Amway/AUS/directly.htm
7. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1984/01/22/rearranging-amway-event-for-reagan/b3e74482-5ce0-4d20-9f98-ebdc9b4d4918/
8. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/15/opinion/joe-nocera-the-pyramid-scheme-problem.html
9. https://time.com/5877434/first-ponzi-scheme/
10. https://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/ponzi.htm
11. https://thebaffler.com/salvos/dreams-incorporated#anchor1
12. https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/default/news/2017/01/23/296947/the-devos-dynasty-a-family-of-extremists/
13. https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/12/30/rich-richard-devos-obituary-amway-politics-2018-223306/
14. https://www.metrotimes.com/detroit/you-dont-know-dick/Content?oid=2185621

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In Part Two on the Ku Klux Klan, Robert is joined by Katy Stoll and Cody Johnston to discuss how The KKK became a multi-level marketing scheme.

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