Bill Britt is one of the most successful and well known Independent Business Owners (IBOs) in the Amway/Quixtar business. He started in the business in 1970. Amway co-founder Richard DeVos in his 1994 book Compassionate Capitalism said "Britt has gone on to become one of the greatest mentors in the history of our company".[1] Britt was a Diamond as of 1973 and Crown Ambassador as of 1996. In 2002, together with his wife Peggy Britt, he qualified for the corporation's highest award; Founders Crown Ambassador. As of 2007 he was serving as a Presidents Cabinet Representative on the Independent Business Owners Association (IBOA) International Board.[2]
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Britt World Wide
Britt registered with Amway in 1970, in the downline of Dexter Yager. In the Amway business every new IBO is sponsored by an existing IBO. The downline of an IBO refers to the people sponsored by him, people sponsored by those he sponsored, and so on. Bonuses to an IBO are based on sales of his own as well as his those of his downlines. In 1981 Britt split from the organization of Yager and started his own motivational organization called the Britt World Wide (BWW). BWW, like other IBO Support Organizations, helps Amway/Quixtar IBOs in Britt's downline to grow their businesses, by providing them with training and motivation through books, tapes and seminars. A large number of people in his downline are in the downline of Indian Diamonds Kanti & Hemi Gala. They have separated from BWW and started their own motivational organization called Winners International.
Controversies
A common characteristic of several IBO Support Organizations, including BWW, is that besides the bonuses on sale of Amway products, IBOs, after reaching higher levels receive bonuses on sale of motivational products like books, tapes, seminar tickets etc. There are allegations that most income of some high level IBOs comes from this support business rather than the Amway business.[3] Other allegations of cult-like relationships being created in these organizations are made by exit-counselor Steve Hassan on his website "Freedom of Mind". In 1991, Britt and Yager were the two main IBOs named in a Forbes magazine article criticizing the business for its cult-like characteristics and for making a few people rich at the cost of the rest.[4] In 1994, Britt and Yager were served a class action lawsuit by five former IBOs who accused them of making false claims about potential income of IBOs, importance of motivational materials and links between Amway and other large corporations.[5][6] In the 1998 Woods v. Amway case number CV98-511 in the Circuit Court of Lauderdale County, Alabama, Amway and several of its IBOs including Britt are accused by David Woods and Yan Woods of fraud with the motivation business, breach of contract in Amway enforcing its rules, civil conspiracy in the tools business, and tortuous interference with business relationships.[7] In 2004, Amway/Quixtar and some high level IBOs like Britt were investigated by Dateline NBC, which reported on the motivation business and cult-like activities. NBC reported that "If Quixtar is a religion, one man is its pope. His name is Bill Britt, and legend has it he's worth millions, all because of Quixtar." [8]
Investment loss
In 2001, Britt invested $5 million with two securities dealers who promised him a 10 percent per month return on his money from investment in a "private placement program". In 2003, the two dealers were arrested in what was described as the largest financial fraud case in North Carolina history.[9]
References
- ^ Compassionate Capitalism, Rich DeVos, Plume, September 1, 1994, ISBN 978-0452270510
- ^ IBOAI site. Retrieved on 2007-01-10.
- ^ Dateline NBC.
- ^ Klebniov, Paul. "The Power of Positive Inspiration", Forbes Magazine, 1991-12-9.
- ^ "Amway Faces Class Action", Time Out, 94-8-10.
- ^ "Vendors File Class Action Suit Against Amway", The Legal Intelligencer, 1994-10-2.
- ^ David Woods and Jan Woods v. Amway Corporation, Bill Britt and Peggy Britt et al, Circuit Court of Lauderdale County, Alabama, 8/26/98, Case Number: CV 98-511
- ^ Hansen, Chris. "Dateline investigation: Inside story of business that attracts people with promise of easy money", NBC News, May 7, 2004.
- ^ Weisbecker, lee. "Scam goes down in Raleigh; exec loses $5M", Triangle Business Journal, 2003-8-8.
