[laserlight]

> Scams usually don’t make their victims millionaires.

A “victim” of a pyramid scheme can become a millionaire, if they entered early enough. Those people play a very important role for the scammers. They will be used as examples of how well the scheme works to those entering the bottom of the pyramid.

[dahwolf]

So now it's a pyramid scheme?

A scam and a pyramid scheme are not synonyms. Toxic promotion culture is neither a scam nor a pyramid scheme.

A scam is where you pay for something yet do not receive the promised item. Nobody promised you a promotion at Google so it's not a scam.

A pyramid scheme is where an ever growing amount of low level newcomers pay for the returns of those on the top. When you're a low level newcomer at Google, you don't pay for the higher level employees. Google does. Nor does it require an exponentially growing amount of newcomers for the system to not collapse.

[cjrp]

I'd say they're less of a victim, more of a co-conspirator

[b112]

Not sure on this one.

Before the Internet, and before Amway in the US, many average folk did not know what a pyramid scheme was. So some of the earlies, in a pyramid, might not even understand.

If this promotion method is a scam (I'd say no, but...), and those trapped inside benefit, they may not think it is, too.

So maybe not a victim, but also not a conspirator?