Bill Ackman and Pershing Square Keep Up Fight Against Herbalife

Companies and Brands

Published: January 8, 2013 4:30 pm

Last Updated: January 9, 2013 6:16 am

Bill Ackman may have seen Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE: HLF) rise more than handily after the initial tank after his short sale position was disclosed, but his Pershing Square is not letting up on his short-selling campaign against what he thinks is a pyramid scheme. At the Facts About Herbalife, the landing page even states:

“[T]he organization is deemed a pyramid scheme if the participants obtain their monetary benefits primarily from recruitment rather than the sale of goods and services to consumers”
— Dr. Peter J. Vander Nat, senior economist at the FTC, Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, Vol 21-1, 139-151, (2002)

Today the company has issued its 13-page Executive Summary of the Ira Sohn Presentation. The summary is titled “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” The summary says Herbalife is a pyramid scheme as its distributors earn more than ten-times as much from recruiting as they do selling their overpriced products to bona fide retail customers. The rest of the summary is here.

Herbalife shares closed up almost 5% in Tuesday trading and the 52-week trading range is $24.24 to $73.00. This stock closed out 2012 at $32.94, but shares were around $42.50 on December 18 (a day before the short selling position was disclosed) and the stock hit its yearly low of $24.24 on December 24.

The Average American Has No Idea How Much Money You Can Make Today ^(Sponsor)

The last few years made people forget how much banks and CD’s can pay. Meanwhile, interest rates have spiked and many can afford to pay you much more, but most are keeping yields low and hoping you won’t notice.

But there is good news. To win qualified customers, some accounts are paying almost 10x the national average! That’s an incredible way to keep your money safe and earn more at the same time. Our top pick for high yield savings accounts includes other benefits as well. You can earn up to 3.80% with a Checking & Savings Account today Sign up and get up to $300 with direct deposit. No account fees. FDIC Insured.

Click here to see how much more you could be earning on your savings today. It takes just a few minutes to open an account to make your money work for you.

Our top pick for high yield savings accounts includes other benefits as well. You can earn up to 4.00% with a Checking & Savings Account from Sofi. Sign up and get up to $300 with direct deposit. No account fees. FDIC Insured.

¹https://www.fdic.gov/national-rates-and-rate-caps