Tenka Ikka no Kai (天下一家の会, Tenka ikka no kai, literally meaning "The Society of One Family under the Heavens") was a pyramid scheme run by Ken'ichi Uchimura (内村健一). Behind the Tenka Ikka no Kai was the Dai-ichi Sōgo Keizai Kenkyūsho (第一相互経済研究所), run by Uchimura. This organization, established in 1972, once had a million members. It was a cause of the enactment of Japan's law prohibiting pyramid schemes. In 1986 the Dai-ichi Sōgo Keizai Kenkyūsho declared bankruptcy, leaving debts amounting to 189,600,000,000 yen.[1] It has been called "the biggest pyramid scheme in history."[2]
References
edit- ^ 天下一家の会・第一相互経済研究所 / ワードBOX / 西日本新聞 Archived 2010-08-12 at the Wayback Machine Nishinippon Shimbun (Retrieved on March 17, 2009)
- ^ 天下一家の会・第一相互経済研究所 | ニュースクリップ [読売新聞] Archived 2011-07-22 at the Wayback Machine Yomiuri Shimbun (Retrieved on March 17, 2009)
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