How Legitimate is the MLM 500 Top Earners List?
In my last post, Why I’m Blogging About Network Marketing, I mentioned hearing about the MLM 500 Top Earners list from a soccer teammate. He was excited because it seemed to be evidence that the MLM company he’s associated with was one that produced an inordinate number of top earners. It made me suspicious. So I decided to look into it.
Here’s some of what I’ve found so far. The people producing the list are certainly not doing so for altruistic reasons. You can see from their site that accessing it now requires a subscription. That’s fine. Capitalism is a good thing. But did they purposely disseminate inaccurate information in order to create an uproar and then profit from it? Don’t know. More on that later.
I found the list posted elsewhere. Right at first glance you can see some issues. Of the top 20, 9 are from MonaVie and 6 are from Amway.Those 2 companies have produced 15 of the top 20 earners? Really? Want to guess how many of the top 65 are from MonaVie? Why, 46 of course.
Is it at all disconcerting that from number 29 through 65, every earner is from MonaVie? Umm, yes. Consider the block of Amway distributors that monopolize all but 3 of the 60 positions from #77 to #137. Statistically speaking, how does that happen?
Is there any possible way that this data could be legit? I’m pretty sure there’s not – partly because while I was viewing the list my college statistics professor came back from the grave and began screaming at me to close my web browser before he died a second death.
Even without a ghostly visit, or a college degree, or a 7th grade math class for that matter, any rational person would toss the list out as meaningless.
Still, I couldn’t help but notice a few more oddities:
- Usana shows up only 4 times in the top 150?
- There’s only 1 Herbalife distributor in the top 100?
- There are only 2 Xango distributors in the top 100?
- Nu Skin only shows up 6 times out of 500 and not until #158.
- There is only 1 Melaleuca distributor in the entire top 500?
Ok. So the list is clearly bogus. The people putting it together either didn’t even try or perhaps had ulterior motives. I think that deserves some analysis.
Uh oh, I think I just felt my ethics professor roll over in his grave. Gotta run. I’ll be back with more later.
My analysis of the top MLM earners list continues in this post about motivations behind such a list.
If you wonder, like I do, why an MLM company would publish their top earners’ numbers, and why a typical distributor would publicize that, you might find this article interesting: Which MLM Comp Plans Screw the Typical Distributor?.
Hi,
Thank you for your observation. The MLM 500 rankings is a list which has approx. 30 % of all Top Earners listed. So if you miss people that is the only reason. It’s a lot of work, but our list growth every day. We are independent of which direct selling company may exist. Some companies and ditributors however are more willing to share there top earnings income then others.
So if you have top earners information to share we are more then willing to review that and to place it on the list.
Best regards,
Ted Nuyten – Founder http://www.businessforhome.org
Ted was kind to comment on this post and clarify things. Taking his points into consideration I’ve dug a bit deeper in my follow-up post and invited Mr. Nuyten to reply but haven’t yet heard from him. Here’s the follow-up post: http://www.mlmanalyst.com/a-response-to-the-author-of-the-mlm-top-500-earners-list/.
Herbalife has 6 in the Top 100……please do a little research or be accurate with the information you post. There are many other mistakes “The Analyst” has, but do not have the time for all this.
Greg, perhaps I should have been more clear that when I wrote this particular post I was referencing the original release of the MLM 500 Top Earners List. In fact I covered some of those changes in a follow-up post. And if you keep browsing the site you’ll see further discussion about whether such a list could ever become accurate over time and whether it should be taken seriously no matter how far it progresses.
Dear Analyst,
The internet is a strange place. It is indeed full of information on an very interesting topic like MLM.
The million dollar question always rises when I stumble on information is to ask if it is true. I personally try to check all necessary recources available to keep myself informed on the industry. I am happy to call myself a networkmarketing pro as Eric Worre would say.
There is a strict factor I personally use when “analysing” information found on the net. This factor is simple: does it come from a source that I can identify. Meaning is the source indeed who they say they are?
I read on your “about” page that you apologize for your “anonymity” and that it will help your “objectivity”. I personally don’t see how this can be? What has “objectivity to do with anonymity??
I applaud people like Mr. Nuyten who takes on the nerve for creating a site like businessfrohome.org and not onl because we are practically neighbours (Mr. Nuyten is Dutch and I am Belgian and I apologise in advance for any grammatical mistakes here…) but for his objectivity and openess. Please note that Mr Nuyten is active in VEMMA and I am active in MonaVie so we are simply professionals partnering with another company and I am not in Mr. Nuytens downline or even in VEMMA for that matter.
Mr. Nuyten does not hide in anonymity like you “The MLM Analyst”. Simply because Mr. Nuyten is a professional that wants to share facts about our industry. And Mr. Nuyten does so in a honorable way explaining his site is a BIG work in progress. In fact he is approachable and can even be called on the phone or SKYPE. I am also like that. When I make statements I will always be approachable. And when I make a mistake I will tell the world. It’s part of our profession and it is time we don’t hide anymore. When we write, say things we are always approachable. A good professional (networkmarketing professional of another one for that matter) always takes responsability for their actions.
There is a simple way of getting certain information (to a certain point of course) when looking for a company and that is visiting the companies sites.
Companies like Xango, MonaVie, VEMMA, Herbalife and so on all have a wide range of information on topics like growth, income statements and so on…
But information is just that: information.
I choose MonaVie not because of their income disclosure statement but for their product and because I am active in a great team. I personally know some top income earners in other companies here in Belgium and we constantly learn from each other. There is lots of space in our market as opposed to what people want to believe.
But information is just that: information. And on your site it comes from someone I cannot put a face on…
I’d like to point out that I like your site. It is one of many that provides information on MLM…the only thing that questions its value is indeed your anonymity…weather you choose for it with good or bad intentions is not really the point.
I therefore suggest to create an openess like Mr. Nuyten does – or other professionals for that matter evne so you claim not to be active in MLM.
Randy Gage has some interesting videos on this subject…
Kind regards,
Bart Hungenaert
I personaly know about 4 of the monavie guys in the top 100. They realy do make the kind of money shown on the top 500. Ive seen it myself. The product and company are amazing. Seeing it for myself I just joined that company. Trust me no scam there. In 3 weeks I became a bronze(18k) a year. There is definately something to it. People love to slam the MLM because meny people get in and only a few understand how to build it. Most drop out like every other business in the world. I know a trash man that makes 5mill a year. Not all trash men make that beleve me. But they all gather and despose of trash. How is that wrong? Same thing with the MLM.
According to this website…no company even comes close to Monavie for producing top income earners in the industry.
Here is a brief breakdown…
Monavie holds 3 of the top 10 income earners.
Monavie holds 49 of the top 100 income earners
Monavie holds 86 of teh top 500 income earners.
So who competes with Monavie?
Amway also holds 3 of the top 10, 16 of the top 100 and 82 of the top 500. But does that really compare? Amway has been in business for 60 YEARS!!! Monavie has been in the game for a measley 3.5 years!
The other competitor is Herbalife…
They have 0 in the top 10, 2 in the top 100, but a whopping 256 of the top 500! But again…they’ve been around for 28 years!
And i am also in Monavie i have a personal friend named scott henry who makes 13k a week and i know this because i saw it and his dad is a black diamond that makes 1.5million a year and i also saw that so i know its not fake. I just started with my dad we hit Gold Executive which is 51k a year and we are knocking on Ruby executive which is 100k a year this week. Monavie has a amazing compensation plan and product and Im 16 and the reason why people beat on MLM so much is because they dont know how to build it just like steve fedrics also has said.
I am a firm believer in FACTS. The fact is, there are many very wealthy individuals in MLM. This industry has created more millionaires than any other (FACT). There are many products, services, concepts being marketed (FACT). MLM is the fastest way to penetrate and bring a product to market (FACT). Sad Facts-people do not always do business ethically. The reason the MLM industry has gotten the misnomer of a “pyramid scheme” is because they wrap their lies in a cloak of spin marketing. The honest truth? There are many companies out there that are offering Leadership Recruitment Bonuses. It’s become common place. This means that they are paying large lump sums of money to bring in big names and those people come not for the product, the comp plan, the leadership, the good of all the nation BUT for the almighty dollar. If companies are not paying lump sums then are providing monthly check subsidies or placing unearned volume into a “power leg”. Now, the true problem comes when the BOUGHT AND PAID FOR leadership begins to share their earnings yet neglect itemize the true nature of the source. This is unfair, misleading, and continues to place a black eye on the industry. The worst part is that they don’t tell their people that there’s NO WAY they could make the same amount of money in the same amount of time – They are NOT duplicatible
Whether people trust or mistrust the anonymity of mlm analyst, at least you don’t see a million ads on his site! The individuals constructing these Top Earners, Movers and Shakers, etc lists are doing more than just trying to keep everyone informed. They are making money on all the advertising and hoping that people will keep coming on to the site to increase stats thus increase advertising charges. It’s like webmd.com
Unfortunately, not many out there know enough about the industry to ask the right questions and people that create and maintain sites such as these have a moral obligation to really explain the information they’re providing. The disclaimer on the inaccuracy of the information should be placed at the TOP of the page not at the bottom!
Hoping that we can educate people one post at a time.
Bart, I appreciate your comments. And, like you, I respect Mr. Nuyten. Also, like you, I enjoy putting a face and a name to information, opinions and products. However, there is a big difference between me and other sources of MLM information – that is, I’m not selling anything. I’m doing this because I enjoy it. I make my income from a completely different industry, and frankly, having my name and face tied to this blog and the network marketing industry in general would confuse my actual customers. Please feel free to agree or disagree with me based on the merits of my thoughts, information, analysis, etc., but I believe my anonymity and neutrality should not negatively reflect upon what I write. If anything, it should add to the value of my statements.
Hi Steve, I’m glad that you are seeing some success. I’ve never stated or implied that there was anything scam-y about MonaVie. By reading my articles you’ll notice that I’ve also never “slammed” MLM. My arguments are that when people make important decisions, they shouldn’t rely too heavily upon incorrect information, like inaccurate lists, or mere anecdotes for that matter.
Shannon, wow. Well said.
Frankie, I appreciate the comment, but it sort of looks like you posted it without reading the article. My article and the related posts, pretty much argue that all of the data you quoted is bogus, shouldn’t be repeated, and certainly not used to make a case about one company or another.
I feel like I’m going to have to write some more posts about relying upon anecdotes (isolated stories) to make decisions or for recruiting. Since you are 15 we’ll give you a pass on repeating all of yours, but as you grow older you’ll realize how dangerous and misleading it can be to create expectations based merely upon what you’ve seen or heard a few people “do.”
Do you also think the INC magazine top 500 companies (in the September issue) list is also bologna because MonaVie is the only mlm that made the list. Should we also be calling that publication a bogus, bias, poorly researched and invalid lie?
@Dave
Hi Dave. Thanks for the question. The Inc. list is useful for some things but not for others. It is not useful in comparing private companies ON the list to private companies NOT ON the list because the vast, vast majority of private companies in the country do not even submit their financial information to INC. Magazine. Thus, the magazine never even looks at them when they do their analysis and comparisons.
What if Monavie was the only MLM nutritional company that even submitted their information for consideration? MonaVie distributors have milked that list for all it’s worth. Who wouldn’t? But to be honest about their claims, Monavie distributors should try to understand the facts a bit more clearly. Same thing with the Top Earners list. Once you scratch the surface to really understand it, you realize you can’t run around trumpeting your company’s placement on it without being somewhat disingenuous.
Fact is, it seems, Mona Vie is the fastest mlm company to $1Bill tham any other, so it makes sense they would have the most distributors at or near the top of the list,even if they are not all the way accurate. The more volume the company does, in turn the more money more distributors are making. I spoke to Brig Hart’s wife in a Whole Foods parking lot in Tustin,CA and she said that figure was from 1 yr. ago about and that they have even got higher checks in 2009.
I think the larger point here is not a dig at Monavie, but just recognition that there are numerous wealthy mlm earners who are not listed. IMO, this list gives a good snapshot of the kind of income attainable in MLM, but should in no way imply that it is all inclusive.
For instance, I have a friend who earned as much as $1.6 million dollars per month in MLM in the mid 90s. Today, he owns his own MLM company, where top distributors are earning in the $200k per month range. No mention of any of that here. I am positive that there are many more such omissions.
For proponents of MLM, this is good news. This list justs scratches the surface of the type of wealth being generated in this industry today.