UNITED STATES
Salon
July 18, 2018
By Gewnda Bond
On this episode of “Cult Faves,” an examination of the role “Atlas Shrugged” played in NXIVM’s philosophy
If you have even a passing interest in cults and cult-like organizations — or for that matter, celebrity scandals — you’ve probably heard about how the leader of the oddly-named NXIVM Keith Raniere and high-level follower and former “Smallville” actress Allison Mack have been charged with sex trafficking, conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, and forced labor. It’s not every day, after all, that someone who used to play opposite a teenage Superman is alleged to have recruited women to be sex slaves and to have branded them, all in service to what the New York Times describes as “a sex cult,” with other celebrity and socialite names in the mix.
On our podcast “Cult Faves,” my co-host Cher Martinetti and I couldn’t wait to dive into the disturbing ocean of material about NXIVM to see if we could make some sense of it. (In case you’re wondering, the alphabet soup name is pronounced NEX-ee-um, like the heartburn medication; at least that’s the most commonly held belief. You’re welcome.)
Keith Raniere fits the profile of a cult leader in several ways. The first is that he claims to be an exceptional human. Among the accomplishments he’s reportedly claimed at one time or another are: speaking in full sentences by age one, having one of the highest IQs in the world, and, oh right, the ability to set off radar detectors by his sheer existence if he drives. The second is he has a shady past. In 1990, he founded something called Consumers’ Buyline Inc., which sold memberships in a discount buying club. Twenty-three states and two federal agencies investigated and decided it was a pyramid scheme. In the mid-’90s, Raniere signed a consent order that didn’t admit wrongdoing, but did force him to agree he’d never initiate another con game of that exact variety.
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