Amway
The world's largest MLM, founded in 1959 in Ada, Michigan. Amway sells Nutrilite supplements, Artistry skincare, and home products through independent business owners in 100+ countries, with roughly $7.4 billion in 2024 sales.
Amway is the world's largest MLM and the company whose 1979 FTC case set the legal line between MLMs and illegal pyramid schemes — it was ruled not a pyramid. It is free to join and refunds unsold product, but its own 2025 income disclosure shows the average U.S. distributor earned about $750 before expenses, and 38% earned nothing at all.
- Sources
- 3
- Accounts
- 0
- Updated
- Jun 2026
Income reality
From the company’s own disclosure · 2025From Amway's own U.S. Income Disclosure. Note: Amway publishes averages, not medians, so the headline figure here is the company's published average, not a true median (which is lower, since a large share earn $0). For 2025: the average annual earnings for all U.S. IBOs at the Founders Platinum level and below were $750 before expenses (this includes those with no sales); among IBOs who reported any product sales, the average was $1,161. 38% of U.S. IBOs had no reported sales, did not sponsor anyone, and received no payment; 59% received a payment in at least one month. The cost figure ($62) is the annual renewal — there is no fee to join. Earnings are gross, before product, training, and event expenses.
Could this work for you?
A reality check built from this company’s own income disclosure — not a prediction or a promise. Adjust the inputs to see where people in your situation tend to land.
Illustrative only. Built from the published average-gross-compensation distribution (about 38% earn nothing; $750 median among earners) plus typical reported product, qualification, and club costs. Your actual result depends on factors no calculator can capture. Not financial advice.
Is Amway a pyramid scheme?
Is Amway a pyramid scheme? This is the original case that defined the question. In 1975 the FTC accused Amway of operating an illegal pyramid. After four years, the 1979 ruling (In re Amway Corp., 93 F.T.C. 618) found that Amway was not a pyramid scheme, because its compensation was tied to product sales rather than to recruitment. That decision created the "Amway Safeguards" — the 70% rule, the 10-customer rule, and inventory buyback — which remain the primary benchmark courts use to separate legal MLMs from pyramids.
So by the defining legal precedent, Amway is a legitimate MLM. Two caveats matter. First, the same 1979 ruling found Amway guilty of price-fixing and of exaggerating distributors' likely earnings, and in 1986 Amway paid a $100,000 penalty for violating the order with misleading earnings ads. Second, the FTC has since clarified that an MLM can still be an illegal pyramid even with real products if it is driven by recruitment — the safeguards only protect a company that actually enforces them. The financial reality is unchanged: most IBOs earn very little.
What is Amway?
Amway is the world's largest multi-level marketing (MLM) company. Founded in 1959 by Rich DeVos and Jay Van Andel in Ada, Michigan, it is privately held by the two families through parent company Alticor and reported about $7.4 billion in global sales for 2024 — routinely the #1 company on the DSN Global 100.
Amway sells through more than a million independent business owners (IBOs) in over 100 countries, with major strength in Asia. Its product lines include Nutrilite supplements, Artistry beauty, eSpring water treatment, XS energy, and Legacy of Clean home care. Amway is also historically pivotal: its 1979 FTC case created the legal test that distinguishes lawful MLMs from illegal pyramid schemes.
Amway at a glance
- Founded
- 1959
- Headquarters
- United States
- Website
- amway.com
- Category
- Health & Wellness
- Business model
- Multi-level marketing (direct selling)
- Status
- active
- Typical cost to join
- $62
- Risk level
- Low Risk
- Verification
- moderator verified
- Sources
- 3 linked
- Last updated
- Jun 2026
Where to find Amway
Links open on the platform’s own site. We don’t load their trackers here — nothing is sent to Amway’s networks until you click.
How it worksThe day-to-day reality of participating
You register as an IBO — for free — then buy Amway products at wholesale and sell them at a retail markup. You can also sponsor other IBOs and earn performance bonuses based on your own and your team's sales volume. This is the "Core Plan."
Income grows through a stairstep structure: as your personal and group volume rise, you reach higher monthly bonus brackets (Silver, Gold, Platinum), and higher ranks (Ruby, Diamond, and above) unlock leadership and differential bonuses. To qualify for bonuses, the "Amway Safeguards" require you to sell at least 70% of the products you buy each month and to make sales to at least 10 separate customers — rules meant to keep earnings tied to real retail rather than stockpiling. Amway also buys back unsold, marketable product.
What it costs to join
Amway is unusually low-cost to start: there is no fee to register as an IBO and no requirement to buy products to join — a meaningful difference from many MLMs. Annual renewal runs about $62.
The real costs are ongoing and optional: product you purchase to sell or to reach qualifying volume, and training, events, and materials from "Approved Providers" (Amway-licensed training groups, which cannot charge you in your first contract year). Amway also offers a 90-day full refund on registration and buys back unused, marketable product, which lowers the downside compared with MLMs that require non-refundable starter purchases. Even so, the income disclosure shows most IBOs earn little after these costs.
How you'd make moneyThe compensation plan explained
Amway pays IBOs two ways: the retail markup on products sold to customers, and sales commissions (performance bonuses) based on the volume of products you and your downline sell. The company is explicit that you cannot earn by recruiting alone — bonuses follow product sales.
The plan is a stairstep/breakaway structure: higher group volume moves you into higher bonus percentages, and at upper ranks you earn differentials on your downline plus leadership, Ruby, and Diamond-level bonuses. As with most MLMs, earnings are heavily top-concentrated — in Amway's 2019 disclosure, the top 1% of paid IBOs averaged about $72,850, while the median paid IBO earned a small fraction of that. The 70% rule and 10-customer rule (the "Amway Safeguards") are the structural features meant to keep the plan tied to genuine retail demand.
Field testimony
If you've worked with or bought from Amway, yours would start the record.
File the first accountModerated · first-hand only · links removed
Community Q&A
Community Q&A for Amway isn’t open yet. Soon you’ll be able to ask anything and get answers from ex-members, active members, and verified moderators — kept as a permanent, searchable part of this page.
In the meantime, the most useful thing you can add is a first-hand account.
Share your experiencePros, cons & who it's forBalanced decision aid
Strengths: free to join with a product buyback, so the financial downside is lower than at many MLMs; large, established product lines with genuine retail customers; and the security of being the industry's legal benchmark company.
Considerations: Amway's own 2025 disclosure shows the average U.S. IBO earned about $750 before expenses and 38% earned nothing; income is heavily concentrated at the top; meaningful income requires building and retaining a downline against heavy churn; and Approved-Provider training and events add cost.
Who it tends to suit: people who genuinely use and retail the products for modest supplemental income and value the no-fee, buyback structure — not people seeking a primary income, which the economics rarely support.
Frequently asked
Is Amway a pyramid scheme?
No. The landmark 1979 FTC ruling (In re Amway Corp.) found Amway is not an illegal pyramid because pay is tied to product sales, not recruitment — establishing the 'Amway Safeguards' still used to judge MLMs today.
How much do Amway IBOs make?
Per Amway's 2025 income disclosure, the average U.S. IBO (Founders Platinum and below) earned about $750 before expenses; 38% earned nothing; among those who reported sales, the average was $1,161. Earnings concentrate heavily at the top.
How much does it cost to join Amway?
Nothing to register — there is no joining fee and no purchase requirement. Annual renewal is about $62, and Amway buys back unused, marketable product. Real costs come from product purchases and optional training.
Is Amway legit?
Yes as a company — it is the world's largest MLM (about $7.4B in 2024 sales), founded in 1959, and the legal benchmark for the industry. A legitimate company is not the same as a profitable opportunity: most IBOs earn little.
What are the 'Amway Safeguards'?
The 70% rule (sell 70% of product bought), the 10-customer rule (sell to 10 customers monthly), and inventory buyback — the protections from the 1979 FTC ruling that distinguish a legal MLM from a pyramid scheme.
Who owns Amway?
It is privately held by the DeVos and Van Andel families through parent company Alticor. It was founded by Rich DeVos and Jay Van Andel in 1959 and is headquartered in Ada, Michigan.
Keep researching
Sources & references
- Amway Reports Sales of $7.4B for 2024amway.comnews
- In re Amway Corp., 93 F.T.C. 618 (1979) — landmark "not a pyramid" rulingen.wikipedia.orgregulatory
- Amway Overview and Analysisexample.orgnews
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