SOME SHOCKING STATISTICS
Comparing Multi-Level Marketing* with Pyramid Schemes and Gambling
Based on careful analysis of published reports by Jon M. Taylor, Ph.D.,
Director, Pyramid Scheme Alert
The odds of profiting by investing in a classic, no-product pyramid scheme (with no re-investment by winners) is:
- 1,181 times as great as the odds of profiting from enrolling as an Amway "distributor"
- 197 times as great as the odds of profiting from enrolling as a Nu Skin "distributor"
- 91 times as great is the odds of profiting from enrolling as a Melaleuca "distributor"
The odds of profiting by investing in a classic, no-product pyramid scheme (with all winners re-investing) is:
- 667 times as great as the odds of profiting from enrolling as an Amway "distributor"
- 111 times as great as the odds of profiting from enrolling as a Nu Skin "distributor"
- 69 times as great as the odds of profiting from enrolling as a Melaleuca "distributor"
The odds of winning with a roll of snake eyes in a game of craps in Las Vegas** is:
- 323 times as great as the odds of profiting from enrolling as an Amway "distributor"
- 54 times as great as the odds of profiting from enrolling as a Nu Skin "distributor"
- 25 times as great as the odds of profiting from enrolling as a Melaleuca "distributor"
The odds of winning from a single spin of the wheel in a game of roulette in Las Vegas** is:
- 286 times as great as the odds of profiting from enrolling as an Amway "distributor"
- 48 times as great as the odds of profiting from enrolling as a Nu Skin "distributor"
- 22 times as great as the odds of profiting from enrolling as a Melaleuca "distributor"
*For references and public records used as bases for calculations, see author's Where's The Harm? which is available on the web site for consumers and agency investigators on this topic
**Statistics published for Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, April 6, 2001
