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NXIVM

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NXIVM Corporation
Company typePrivately held company
IndustryPersonal development
Founded1998
FounderKeith Raniere
Nancy Salzman Edit this on Wikidata
HeadquartersAlbany, New York, US
Key people
Keith Raniere (founder)
Nancy Salzman (president)[1]
ProductsSeminars
Websitehttp://www.nxivm.com

NXIVM (/[invalid input: 'icon']ˈnɛksiəm/ NEKS-ee-əm) is an organisation centred on the provision of classes and seminars that encourage clients to pursue a path of self-discovery,[2] but has been described as a cult by some former members and news reports. Based in Albany County, New York, NXIVM was founded in 1998 by Keith Raniere.[3] To date, people from 33 countries have taken part in the programs offered.[4]

Corporation

The NXIVM training system is administered through Executive Success Programs. The training relies on a technique called "Rational Inquiry" to facilitate personal and professional development.

During seminars, students refer to Keith Raniere and Nancy Salzman, as "Vanguard" and "Prefect", respectively.[5]

History

Reportedly, over 12,000 people have attended the classes between its founding in 1998 and 2010.[6] NXIVM has been called a successful executive coaching program by some supporters[7] and a "cult" organization by some former members and news reports.[8][9]

Notable members

Its clients include Linda Evans, Richard Branson, the Cafritz family, and actress Kristin Kreuk.[6] According to Forbes magazine, 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.[10]

Dalai Lama visit to Albany

NXIVM arranged to bring the Dalai Lama to Albany, New York to deliver a public address in April 2009, which was cancelled by him due to "negative press surrounding NXIVM." The talk was later held, on May 6th 2009, thanks to the World Ethical Foundation, a non-profit foundation funded by the Bronfman sisters.[11][12]


Bronfman case

Columnist Jeane Macintosh from The New York Post and billionaire philanthropist Edgar Bronfman, Sr., a former participant and the father of NXIVM's two biggest financial supporters, Sara Bronfman and Clare Bronfman, have called NXIVM a cult.[5] To which Raniere responded: "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."[10]


On April 24, 2009, the Bronfman sisters said they had received a letter that was signed by several women, including the Bronfman sisters' then financial planner, Barbara Bouchey, that demanded 'they be paid $2.1 million by midnight.'" In a sworn declaration, Clare Bronfman stated that the letter included the threat, "'or else they would go to the press with information they deemed harmful to my sister and I.'" The letter, however, had been sent not to the Bronfmans but to Keith Raniere and Nancy Salzman. Signed by nine senior women members of NXIVM, including Bouchey, it announced the resignation of the nine from the group, and included an itemized bill plus a demand that NXIVM pay them $2.1 million they believed it owed them.[5] 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.[13] 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.[14] Other former members have similarly faced bankruptcy due to litigation after leaving.[6]

In 2003, NXIVM 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. NXIVM filed suits in both New York, and New Jersey , but both were later dismissed.[15][6]

References

  1. ^ "Nancy Salzman". NXIVM online. Retrieved 2011-11-03.
  2. ^ "NXIVM Personal Development". Retrieved 31 March 2011.
  3. ^ "What is NXIVM?‎". NXIVM online. 2003.
  4. ^ "About NXIVM / Executive Success Programs, Inc". NXIVM. Retrieved 5 April 2012.
  5. ^ a b c Andrews, Suzanna (November 2010). "The Heiresses and the Cult". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
  6. ^ a b c d Köhler, Nicholas (September 13, 2010). "How to Lose $100 Million". Maclean's. Retrieved 22 March 2011.
  7. ^ Fairbanks, Phil (27 March 2011). "Local Developer Tangled in Legal battle". Buffalo News. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
  8. ^ Odato, James M. (7 September 2010). "Ex-NXIVM Student: 'I Think It's a Cult'". Times Union.
  9. ^ Odato, James (31 January 2011). "Papers Reveal NXIVM Secrets". Times Union.
  10. ^ a b Freedman, Michael (13 October 2003). "Cult of Personality". Forbes Magazine. New York. Retrieved 2011-11-03. Cite error: The named reference "Freedman" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  11. ^ Ettkin, Brian (6 April 2009). "Dalai Lama Cancels His Visit to Albany". The News-Times online. Retrieved 02 November 2011. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  12. ^ "Dalai Lama to Appear in Albany Afterall". WRGB online. 15 April 2009. Retrieved 02 November 2011. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  13. ^ Odato, James (6 June 2011). "NXIVM Flexes Legal Muscle". Times Union.
  14. ^ Odato, James (14 April 2011). "Ex-NXIVM Official Loses Bankruptcy Bid". Times Union. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
  15. ^ "nxivm corp-v-ross". legal case. Citizen media law company. Retrieved 2/10/2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
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