Betting on Zero

"Betting on Zero" is a documentary film about hedge fund manager Bill Ackman's legendary feud with a multi-level marketing corporation known worldwide as "Herbalife".

Herbalife is a public company whose stocks are traded on the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange), they sell dietary supplements and encourage customers to recruit other people into the fold as distributors of their products. The company seems to be big proponents of providing financial freedom to their customers yet most of their customers who are responsible for selling their products and recruiting others people into the Herbalife cause find themselves filing for bankruptcy. This dichotomy reveals a more nefarious modus operandi that is based on preying on the vulnerable, as so aptly put in words by many: "Herbalife in Robin Hood in reverse".

Bill Ackman first became aware of the dubious stats of the company and became interested soon as he realized that this was in all essence a billion pyramid scheme operating in broad daylight. To him the company was a lie so audacious that people had no way but to believe that it was true. So he took it upon himself to drag the company through the mud, to expose it's true colors and to make a neat profit while at it.

Meanwhile there were is another faction on the ground level, away from the machinations of Wall Street, mostly made up of the Latino community, along with a few others who have experienced the harmful effects that Herbalife firsthand. They have lost a lot of money and are dealing with the very real repercussions that come thereafter.

For the most case Bill Ackman and the Latino community, who are hit the hardest by the ill effects of Herbalife, remain in their own separate worlds. They are largely uninformed of each other and have to deal with the problem in their own way. These are two starkly different worlds and have their very differing views of how to deal with the problem. While the Latino community engages in protesting and providing community support while Bill Ackman engages in shorting Herbalife stock. The documentary highlights the key moments in their struggle against Herbalife. The documentary is very US-entric and leaves much of the global operations of Herbalife mostly untouched, save for a brief mention. Although Bill Ackman gets painted in a sympathetic light, the disenfranchised masses are those who retain all sympathies.

The documentary does well to show the corrosive effects that these fraudulent corporations can have on a community the helplessness that comes therein. But even in the face of the dehumanizing effects of these large systems, the community remains resilient. Beaten down again and again till they had someone like Ackman on their side did they have any hope of winning.

It's an interesting story, but there's 15 minutes of useful content in the story; the remaining ninety minutes is pure filler. As you're watching, whenever you feel "god we get it, you've already said this a dozen times" jump forward 20 min -- you won't miss anything.

I have nothing to say beyond that. Hopefully IMDB won't force me to pad this reviews with vast amounts of filler!

Overall this is movie is really interesting. William Ackman does his best trying to expose the business model used by Herbalife, which is cleary unethical and the potential to harm a lot of uneducated and unsophisticated investors. Meanwhile, another CEO of an investment firm tries to fight him by buying buying shares from Herbalife, which creates this competitive rivalry between investors. It does a great job highlighting all sides and the consequences the business model has (which is not officially defined as a pyramid scheme by the FTC, but is pretty damn close).

For me, someone that studies banking and finance this movie could be a lot more attractive than for someone that is uninterested in finance or markets in general, my advice is therefore watch it if you are interested in the field of finance or like documentaries regarding economicies, else this is propably not worth it.

William Ackman, quietly charismatic investor and producer of Inside Job, has made a short bet on Herbalife, which he claims is a pyramid scheme benefiting the rich at the top and stealing from the poor at the bottom. Betting on Zero is the fascinating documentary about the battle between equally charismatic Herbalife CEO, William Johnson, and Ackman.

The ambiguity comes on two levels: Is Johnson a con man or a brilliant business man? Is Ackman in this game to bring down the price of Herbalife's stock and cause the company to close, or is he looking to make a huge profit (he promises to spread his profit to the poor, mainly Latinos, who bought into the pyramid)? This doc is not as pro-Ackman as you might expect. By tracking him coming to a meeting like a rock star out of a black SUV and increasing skepticism about his motives, it seems to support a balanced view. Yes, Johnson has been part of a management that has made the company worth over $50 billion and many at that high level, millionaires, yet the evidence is that the need for more and more managers merely means more people in the lower levels will never make a buck.

As with The Big Short and Margin Call, both about the bad mortgage game, the tension is ripe even though we know the outcome of a potentially nerdy story. However, these stories are all fraught with human drama and educational enlightenment for those of us not versed in financial language and events.

These real-life stars carry the moral ambiguity of Shakespearean tragic characters, which, in this case, appear to honor and protect the consumers who buy their products. You will leave the theater with a better understanding of shorting and more than that, a wariness about door-to- door products and slick purveyors.

I had heard of Herballife before, but I never really looked into it. I have to admit that only by name and the vague promise of healthy living/eating, I'd say I would be interested in that product. But having watched the movie and having checked online for other sources, I wouldn't do it in hindsight. The Pyramid thing of selling, is something I despised from the moment someone tried to sell it to me.

Back then I got introduced into the life insurance business. Where when you got people signing a contract, you got a percentage. But you could also get other people involved, lean back and let them do the hard work. Obviously, the most money would land with the people at the top ... all those below would get a smaller amount ... all the way to the crumbs at the bottom. The movie portrays different sides and gives voice or offers perspective from Herballife too. There are more than a couple of warning signs. But if someone promises you riches and a lot of money ... well some people do fall for that. Intriguing and compelling editing does the rest