$10,000 Pyramid Scheme

When the $10,000 Pyramid debuted on March 26, 1973, who knew the affect a game show could have on a whole generation.  As Boomer college students were getting high and watching the $10,000 Pyramid, some of the more greedy and ambitious ones realized that someday, when they were in business, they may use the concept of the pyramid and take advantageous of their fellow comrades.

Well, their time came in the mid 1990's.  As Boomers were consuming more material goods and living for today, many of them realized that they were now in their fifties and it was time to start thinking about retirement.  The problem, for most Boomers, was that they did not save a dime in their adult life.  According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute, the personal savings rate in the United States saw a consistent decline from the early 1980's.  While the personal savings rate was over 10% in the late 1970's, by the mid 1990's the rate had declined to around 5%.  In the 2000's, the personal savings rate actually declined so far that by 2005, it dipped below zero.

So, with no savings and retirement just around the corner, the Boomers were ripe for get rich pyramid schemes.  And in the last twenty years, there were many.  One of the largest was the Dotcom bubble of the 1990's.  The greedy Boomer bastards on Wall Street colluded to convince a financially incompetent generation that the traditional metrics to measure stock value were antiquated and investment in Internet based companies led to quick riches.

Some of the more hilarious stories from the Dotcom bubble include:

• Pets.com - According to Wikipedia. Pets.com spent 11 million on advertising when they only made $619,000 in 1999.  I just can't figure out why their stock went from a high of $11 to a low of $0.19.
• eToys - They raised 166 million in venture capital with a business model that had them buy retail and sell retail.  Strangely enough, the stock went from a high of $84 to a low of $0.09. 
• Webvan - With traditional grocery stores having razor thin margins, it seems logical that an online grocery with very high fulfillment costs would be a great idea. Suckering inept and desperate Boomers for quick riches, the stock hit $30 and of course, the stock became worthless since groceries are barely profitable.

While some individuals that started the Dotcom pyramid scheme made out like kings, just about all the suckers that invested in Internet-based stocks lost a ton of money.  As the new millennium began, the Boomers were really in trouble.  No savings and what little they had was lost in the Dotcom bubble.  But, no fear....here comes real estate...and that will be the ticket to a wealthy retirement....or something like that.