| 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 ( /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 encourages clients to pursue a path of 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]
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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.[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]
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.[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. [8]
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.[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]