Multi-level marketing ventures found to fund Republicans and win concessions
Same show, different day.
A quartet of major multi-level marketing ventures, described by some as “legal pyramid schemes,” have poured roughly $2.5 million into the political process since the 2024 electoral cycle through campaign contributions from their political committees and leadership, a Washington Examiner review of campaign finance filings has found.
Contributions from Amway, doTerra, Mary Kay, and Herbalife — four of the largest MLMs in America — almost exclusively benefitted members of the Republican Party. Democratic candidates and committees received just around $100,000 of the approximately $2.5 million the industry has paid out between January 2023 and present. In many cases, politicians who receive cash from MLM firms have gone on to pursue legislative actions viewed as beneficial to the industry, which critics often describe as predatory.
In MLMs, unsalaried sales representatives earn money in two ways: by selling products on commission or by recruiting other sales representatives. Successful recruiters receive generous bonuses for each new member they bring in as well as each member their recruits rope in, forming a “downline.”
Often, the only way to make meaningful amounts of money in an MLM is through recruitment, as salespeople must share their profits with everyone above them in the recruiting pyramid. MLM participants are required to purchase inventory — sometimes in quantities exceeding what they can reasonably sell — from the MLM itself, funneling even more cash to the top of the hierarchy.
Some have characterized this arrangement, where the vast majority must operate at a loss so that a select few can profit, as akin to a predatory pyramid scheme. Legally, MLMs are distinct from pyramid schemes because they generate non-recruitment revenue, though that revenue, too, is pushed to the top through inventory payments and commission cuts.
Despite their poor reputation, MLMs have built a robust influence network on Capitol Hill, including several influential members of Congress.
The Direct Selling Association, a trade group representing the interests of MLMs, maintains a caucus of 31 members of the House of Representatives who, through various means, work to assist MLMs using the powers available to them.
Of the caucus’s 31 members, 10 have received at least $10,000 from the MLM industry since the 2024 election cycle across their primary campaign accounts, leadership PACs, and joint fundraising committees. A further six members accepted donations of …
Same show, different day.
A quartet of major multi-level marketing ventures, described by some as “legal pyramid schemes,” have poured roughly $2.5 million into the political process since the 2024 electoral cycle through campaign contributions from their political committees and leadership, a Washington Examiner review of campaign finance filings has found.
Contributions from Amway, doTerra, Mary Kay, and Herbalife — four of the largest MLMs in America — almost exclusively benefitted members of the Republican Party. Democratic candidates and committees received just around $100,000 of the approximately $2.5 million the industry has paid out between January 2023 and present. In many cases, politicians who receive cash from MLM firms have gone on to pursue legislative actions viewed as beneficial to the industry, which critics often describe as predatory.
In MLMs, unsalaried sales representatives earn money in two ways: by selling products on commission or by recruiting other sales representatives. Successful recruiters receive generous bonuses for each new member they bring in as well as each member their recruits rope in, forming a “downline.”
Often, the only way to make meaningful amounts of money in an MLM is through recruitment, as salespeople must share their profits with everyone above them in the recruiting pyramid. MLM participants are required to purchase inventory — sometimes in quantities exceeding what they can reasonably sell — from the MLM itself, funneling even more cash to the top of the hierarchy.
Some have characterized this arrangement, where the vast majority must operate at a loss so that a select few can profit, as akin to a predatory pyramid scheme. Legally, MLMs are distinct from pyramid schemes because they generate non-recruitment revenue, though that revenue, too, is pushed to the top through inventory payments and commission cuts.
Despite their poor reputation, MLMs have built a robust influence network on Capitol Hill, including several influential members of Congress.
The Direct Selling Association, a trade group representing the interests of MLMs, maintains a caucus of 31 members of the House of Representatives who, through various means, work to assist MLMs using the powers available to them.
Of the caucus’s 31 members, 10 have received at least $10,000 from the MLM industry since the 2024 election cycle across their primary campaign accounts, leadership PACs, and joint fundraising committees. A further six members accepted donations of …
Multi-level marketing ventures found to fund Republicans and win concessions
Same show, different day.
A quartet of major multi-level marketing ventures, described by some as “legal pyramid schemes,” have poured roughly $2.5 million into the political process since the 2024 electoral cycle through campaign contributions from their political committees and leadership, a Washington Examiner review of campaign finance filings has found.
Contributions from Amway, doTerra, Mary Kay, and Herbalife — four of the largest MLMs in America — almost exclusively benefitted members of the Republican Party. Democratic candidates and committees received just around $100,000 of the approximately $2.5 million the industry has paid out between January 2023 and present. In many cases, politicians who receive cash from MLM firms have gone on to pursue legislative actions viewed as beneficial to the industry, which critics often describe as predatory.
In MLMs, unsalaried sales representatives earn money in two ways: by selling products on commission or by recruiting other sales representatives. Successful recruiters receive generous bonuses for each new member they bring in as well as each member their recruits rope in, forming a “downline.”
Often, the only way to make meaningful amounts of money in an MLM is through recruitment, as salespeople must share their profits with everyone above them in the recruiting pyramid. MLM participants are required to purchase inventory — sometimes in quantities exceeding what they can reasonably sell — from the MLM itself, funneling even more cash to the top of the hierarchy.
Some have characterized this arrangement, where the vast majority must operate at a loss so that a select few can profit, as akin to a predatory pyramid scheme. Legally, MLMs are distinct from pyramid schemes because they generate non-recruitment revenue, though that revenue, too, is pushed to the top through inventory payments and commission cuts.
Despite their poor reputation, MLMs have built a robust influence network on Capitol Hill, including several influential members of Congress.
The Direct Selling Association, a trade group representing the interests of MLMs, maintains a caucus of 31 members of the House of Representatives who, through various means, work to assist MLMs using the powers available to them.
Of the caucus’s 31 members, 10 have received at least $10,000 from the MLM industry since the 2024 election cycle across their primary campaign accounts, leadership PACs, and joint fundraising committees. A further six members accepted donations of …
