Betting On Zero

2017 • 104 minutes
4.3
90 reviews
100%
Tomatometer
Eligible
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About this movie

From 'Darfur Now' writer/director Ted Braun comes a riveting docu-thriller following controversial hedge fund titan Bill Ackman as he puts a billion dollars on the line in his crusade to expose Herbalife as the largest pyramid scheme in history. Herbalife claims Ackman is simply a market manipulator out to make a fortune from short-selling their stock, but Ackman insists Herbalife deliberately targets low-income and immigrant communities and robs them of their life savings. Herbalife is joined on the counterattack by longtime Ackman nemesis (and fellow Wall Street billionaire) Carl Icahn, while Ackman finds an unlikely ally in Chicago activist Julie Contreras, who rallies the Latino community to get the Federal government to intervene. Blending tales of high-stakes corporate intrigue with working-class people caught in the crossfire, Braun paints a stirring picture of the American Dream gone wrong.

Ratings and reviews

4.3
90 reviews
Noelle
April 20, 2017
Amazing movie and the timing is incredible. I was disgusted, thoroughly and totally disgusted to see Secretary Albright as a pitch-woman for Herbalife. She knew FULL well that it was a scam when she did that promo bit, hell, I am decades younger than Albright and I am not smart enough to be a Presidential Cabinet Member and yet I have known since I was a teenager that Herbalife is a scam, EVERYONE I know has known forever it is a scam. And thus the reason Herbalife needed a new demographic to scam--going after undocumented immigrants I think is just about as sick as it gets. Herbalife is an HerbaLIE And, once again, I gotta say, shame on Secretary Albright, for hawking this pyramid scheme. Shame shame shame. I have lost total respect for that woman.
Oscar Gil
June 17, 2017
Obviously this is a one-sided tell on getting Herbalife shutdown. But it was a good film. I've seen SOOOOOOOO many people go through these MLMs and it's interesting to see a bit more into the trenches. Recommend you watch it (or send it to a friend/family member that's signing up for an MLM)
BC “Neutralizer”
April 23, 2017
I thought this was pretty good and spot on about the industry. It's not representative of all of it, but unfortunately, most. There is a big private company company out there at the top of this industry that engages in many of these behaviors, and has a flawed system. I think companies like Herbalife and Vemma are only the beginning....I wish the movie had documented a variety of experiences instead of focusing on a few...and even documenting the presentations that Ahkman gave and what not. Still, well done movie.