NXIVM
Encyclopedia
NXIVM is an Albany County
, New York
, United States
-based organization founded by Keith Raniere
. It offers classes and seminars that encourages clients to pursue a path of self-discovery. NXIVM has been called a successful executive coaching program by its successful supporters and a "cult" organization by former members and some news reports.
NXIVM's two largest financial supporters, Clare
and Sara Bronfman
, work as coaches in the group; their father, billionaire Edgar Bronfman, Sr.
, is both a former member and an outspoken critic of the organization.
Students refer to the two leaders of NXIVM, Keith Raniere
and Nancy Salzman as "Vanguard" and "Prefect", respectively. Some 12,000 people attended the classes between its founding in 1998 and 2010.
Some of its clients include Linda Evans
, Richard Branson
, the Cafritz family, and actress Kristin Kreuk
. 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.
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.
NXIVM arranged to bring the Dalai Lama
to Albany, New York to deliver a public address in April 2009, however the Dalai Lama backed out because of "negative press surrounding NXIVM.", but later rescheduled for May 6th 2009.
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.'" 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. 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. Other former members have similarly faced bankruptcy due to litigation after apostasy.
Albany County, New York
Albany County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York, and is part of the Albany-Schenectady-Troy Metropolitan Statistical Area. The name is from the title of the Duke of York and Albany, who became James II of England . As of the 2010 census, the population was 304,204...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
-based organization founded by Keith Raniere
Keith Raniere
Keith Raniere is an American entrepreneur and founder of NXIVM. NXIVM has been described as a successful executive coaching program by its supporters and as "cult" organization in news reports.-Background:...
. It offers classes and seminars that encourages clients to pursue a path of self-discovery. NXIVM has been called a successful executive coaching program by its successful supporters and a "cult" organization by former members and some news reports.
NXIVM's two largest financial supporters, Clare
Clare Bronfman
Clare Bronfman is the youngest daughter of the billionaire philanthropist and former Seagram chairman, Edgar Bronfman Sr.-Background:Edgar Bronfman, Sr. first met Rita Webb in Marbella, Spain. She married him in 1975, two years after his divorce to his first wife, the investment-banking heiress Ann...
and Sara Bronfman
Sara Bronfman
Sara Bronfman, humantitarian and human rights activist is the daughter of the billionaire philanthropist and former Seagram chairman, Edgar Bronfman Sr.-Background:...
, work as coaches in the group; their father, billionaire Edgar Bronfman, Sr.
Edgar Bronfman, Sr.
Edgar Miles Bronfman is a Canadian businessman. He is a member of the Bronfman family.-Biography:Bronfman is the son of Samuel Bronfman, the founder of Distillers Corporation Limited, who purchased Seagram's in 1928...
, is both a former member and an outspoken critic of the organization.
Description
NXIVM claims to offer the keys to the next stage of 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.Students refer to the two leaders of NXIVM, Keith Raniere
Keith Raniere
Keith Raniere is an American entrepreneur and founder of NXIVM. NXIVM has been described as a successful executive coaching program by its supporters and as "cult" organization in news reports.-Background:...
and Nancy Salzman as "Vanguard" and "Prefect", respectively. Some 12,000 people attended the classes between its founding in 1998 and 2010.
Some of its clients include Linda Evans
Linda Evans
Linda Evans is an American actress. She is known primarily for her roles on television, and rose to fame playing Audra Barkley in the 1960s Western TV series, The Big Valley...
, Richard Branson
Richard Branson
Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson is an English business magnate, best known for his Virgin Group of more than 400 companies....
, the Cafritz family, and actress Kristin Kreuk
Kristin Kreuk
Kristin Laura Kreuk is a Canadian actress and producer, known for her portrayal of Lana Lang in the American television series Smallville. She was also a regular cast member on the Canadian teen drama Edgemont, and has starred in movies such as Eurotrip and Street Fighter: The Legend of...
. According to Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
magazine, some 3,700 people had taken part in its Executive Success Program as of 2003, including Sheila Johnson
Sheila Johnson
Sheila Crump Johnson is the team president, managing partner, and governor of the WNBA's Washington Mystics, a position she gained before the 2005 season. On May 24, 2005, Washington Sports and Entertainment Chairman, Abe Pollin, sold the Mystics to Lincoln Holdings LLC, where Johnson served as...
, co-founder of BET
Bet
Bet or BET may refer to:* A wager in gambling* Basic Economics Test * Bet , the second letter in many Semitic alphabets, including Aramaic, Hebrew, Phoenician and Syriac* Brunauer-Emmett-Teller isotherm. See BET_theory...
; Antonia Novello
Antonia Novello
Antonia Coello Novello, M.D., is a Puerto Rican physician and public health administrator. She was a vice admiral in the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and served as fourteenth Surgeon General of the United States from 1990 to 1993...
, former U.S. surgeon general
Surgeon General
Surgeon General may refer to:* Surgeon-General * Surgeon General of the United States* State Surgeon General* Surgeon General of the United States Army* Surgeon General of the United States Navy...
; Stephen Cooper
Stephen Cooper
Stephen Cooper is an American football linebacker for the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League. He was signed by the Chargers as an undrafted free agent in 2003. He played college football for the University of Maine....
of Enron
Enron
Enron Corporation was an American energy, commodities, and services company based in Houston, Texas. Before its bankruptcy on December 2, 2001, Enron employed approximately 22,000 staff and was one of the world's leading electricity, natural gas, communications, and pulp and paper companies, with...
, and Ana Cristina Fox, daughter of the former Mexican president.
Controversies
NXIVM was 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. 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."In 2003, NXIVM unsuccessfully sued
NXIVM Corp. v. The Ross Institute
NXIVM Corp. v. The Ross Institute, 364 F.3d 471 , was a United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit decision that held that defendants’ critical commentary of material obtained in violation of a non-disclosure agreement was fair use despite bad faith on the part of the defendants in...
the Ross Institute
Rick Ross (consultant)
Rick Alan Ross works as a consultant, lecturer, and intervention specialist, with an interest in exit counseling and deprogramming of former cult members. He runs a blog at CultNews.com, and in 2003 founded the Rick A...
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
Non-disclosure agreement
A non-disclosure agreement , also known as a confidentiality agreement , confidential disclosure agreement , proprietary information agreement , or secrecy agreement, is a legal contract between at least two parties that outlines confidential material, knowledge, or information that the parties...
not to divulge information from the manual to others.
NXIVM arranged to bring the Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama is a high lama in the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The name is a combination of the Mongolian word далай meaning "Ocean" and the Tibetan word bla-ma meaning "teacher"...
to Albany, New York to deliver a public address in April 2009, however the Dalai Lama backed out because of "negative press surrounding NXIVM.", but later rescheduled for May 6th 2009.
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.'" 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. 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. Other former members have similarly faced bankruptcy due to litigation after apostasy.
External links
- NXIVM Official site
- The NXIVM Files The three critical articles pertaining to the NXIVM v. Ross Institute lawsuit