- NXIVM
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NXIVM Corporation Type Privately held company Industry Personal development Founded 1998 Headquarters Albany, New York, US Key people Keith Raniere (founder)
Nancy Salzman (president)[1]Products Seminars Website http://www.nxivm.com NXIVM (pronounced /ˈnɛksiəm/ neks-ee-əm) is an Albany County, New York, United States-based organization founded by Keith Raniere.[2] It offers classes and seminars that it claims allow its clients to pursue self-discovery.[3] NXIVM has been called a successful executive coaching program by its successful supporters[4] and a "cult" organization by former members and some news reports.[5][6]
NXIVM's current members include Clare and Sara Bronfman, Seagram distillery heiresses, who work as coaches in the group.
Contents
Description
NXIVM describes itself as the turning point in human evolution, which has "clearly demonstrated tendencies that sway between awe-inspiring rises and cataclysmic falls." It advertises itself as having developed a scientific and psychodynamic understanding, an educational program.[2]
Students refer to the two leaders of NXIVM, Keith Raniere and Nancy Salzman as "Vanguard" and "Prefect", respectively.[7] Some 12,000 people attended the classes between its founding in 1998 and 2010.[8]
Some of its clients include Linda Evans, Richard Branson, the Cafritz family, and actress Kristin Kreuk.[8] According to Forbes magazine, some 3,700 people had taken part in its Executive Success Program as of 2003, including Sheila Johnson, co-founder of BET; Antonia Novello, former U.S. surgeon general; Stephen Cooper of Enron, and Ana Cristina Fox, daughter of the former Mexican president.[9]
Controversies
NXIVM has been called a cult by columnist Jeane Macintosh from The New York Post and by billionaire philanthropist Edgar Bronfman, Sr., a former participant and the father of NXIVM's two biggest financial supporters, Sara Bronfman and Clare Bronfman.[7] Responding to such claims, Raniere has stated that "there's nothing in his operation that makes it a cult, and indeed, many enrollees see Executive Success as a good coaching program and nothing more."[9]
In 2003, NXIVM unsuccessfully sued the Ross Institute alleging copyright infringement for publishing excerpts of content from its manual in three critical articles commissioned by Ross and posted on his website. Rick Ross posted a psychiatrist's assessment of NXIVM's "secret" manual on his website — the report called the regimen "expensive brainwashing." The manual was obtained by Ross from former member Stephanie Franco, a co-defendant in the trial, who had signed a non-disclosure agreement not to divulge information from the manual to others. The case has been cited in a number of case law books as an example of a case in which fair use is affirmed despite the copyrighted material having been obtained in violation of a non-disclosure agreement. One year later, NXIVM hired Interfor, a security consultancy firm headed by Juval Aviv to investigate Ross. Ross claimed that during this time, an actress posing as the concerned mother of a NXIVM member approached him about a rescue. Ross claimed the plan was scrapped after he told the actress that he had a policy never to be left alone with a cult member during a deprogramming.[8]
NXIVM arranged to bring the Dalai Lama to Albany, New York to deliver a public address in April 2009 in Albany, New York, however the Dalai Lama backed out when he learned about Raniere's cult activities.[10][11]
On April 24, 2009, a letter was sent to Raniere and Salzman that was signed by nine women, including the Bronfman sisters' financial planner, Barbara Bouchey, and that demanded 'they be paid $2.1 million by midnight.'" In a sworn declaration, Clare Bronfman stated that the letter also included the threat, "'or else they would go to the press with information they deemed harmful to my sister and I.'"[7] In a lawsuit filed in state court against Bouchey, NXIVM alleged that Bouchey had disclosed NXIVM's confidential and proprietary information, had breached her fiduciary duty to NXIVM, and had misused trade secrets.[12] Bouchey later unsuccessfully filed for bankruptcy, citing legal entanglements with the Bronfmans that she claimed prevented her from building her business. Her case was dismissed in 2011 after having inaccurately disclosed the value of her assets.[13] Other former members have similarly faced bankruptcy due to litigation after apostasy.[8]
See also
References
- ^ "Nancy Salzman". NXIVM online. http://www.nxivm.com/nancy_1024.php. Retrieved 2011-11-03.
- ^ a b "What is NXIVM?". NXIVM online. 2003. http://www.nxivm.com/.
- ^ "NXIVM Personal Development". http://www.nxivm.com/personal_1024.php. Retrieved 31 March 2011.
- ^ Fairbanks, Phil (27 March 2011). "Local Developer Tangled in Legal battle". Buffalo News. http://www.buffalonews.com/city/article377475.ece. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
- ^ Odato, James M. (7 September 2010). "Ex-NXIVM Student: 'I Think It's a Cult'". Times Union. http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Ex-NXIVM-student-I-think-it-s-a-cult-645823.php.
- ^ Odato, James (31 January 2011). "Papers Reveal NXIVM Secrets". Times Union. http://www.timesunion.com/default/article/Papers-reveal-NXIVM-secrets-985662.php.
- ^ a b c Andrews, Suzanna (November 2010). "The Heiresses and the Cult". Vanity Fair. http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2010/11/bronfman-201011?currentPage=1. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
- ^ a b c d Köhler, Nicholas (September 13, 2010). "How to Lose $100 Million". Maclean's. http://www2.macleans.ca/2010/09/09/how-to-lose-100-million/. Retrieved 22 March 2011.
- ^ a b Freedman, Michael. "Cult of Personality". Forbes Magazine (New York). http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2003/1013/088.html. Retrieved 2011-11-03.
- ^ Ettkin, Brian (6 April 2009). "Dalai Lama Cancels His Visit to Albany". The News-Times online. http://www.newstimes.com/news/article/Dalai-Lama-cancels-his-visit-to-Albany-118447.php. Retrieved 02 November 2011.
- ^ "Dalai Lama to Appear in Albany Afterall". WRGB online. 15 April 2009. http://www.cbs6albany.com/news/appearance-1262571-albany-dalai.html. Retrieved 02 November 2011.
- ^ Odato, James (6 June 2011). "NXIVM Flexes Legal Muscle". Times Union. http://www.timesunion.com/default/article/NXIVM-flexes-legal-muscle-1410120.php#page-2.
- ^ Odato, James (14 April 2011). "Ex-NXIVM Official Loses Bankruptcy Bid". Times Union. http://www.timesunion.com/default/article/Ex-NXIVM-official-loses-bankruptcy-bid-1336139.php. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
External links
- NXIVM Official site
- The NXIVM Files The three critical articles pertaining to the NXIVM v. Ross Institute lawsuit
Categories:- 1998 establishments in the United States
- Companies based in Albany, New York
- Companies established in 1998
- Human Potential Movement
- Large Group Awareness Training
- Personal development
- Privately held companies based in New York
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