Business Focus: Preservation of Wealth

Preservation of Wealth, a multi-level marketing company with a unique concept, has attracted the attention of many local residents. Founded by Dallas-area resident Justin Davis in 2009, Preservation of Wealth now boasts more than 40,000 members.

While most multi-level marketing companies sell consumable items, Preservation of Wealth offers weightier products: gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. According to Preservation of Wealth’s web site, participants buy annual memberships that give them the privilege of buying precious metals at prices typically reserved for those who buy in larger quantities.

Relying heavily on word-of-mouth advertising, Preservation of Wealth makes money not by marking up the price of its products, but by selling memberships to friends and family members. Those members in turn sell memberships to people they know, creating more profit for early members. One of the benefits of becoming a member of Preservation of Wealth now is that the company is in its infancy, says Vanessa Harris, who has recruited enough members to quit her job as a customer service representative.

Vanessa enjoys collecting the silver coins that are offered monthly through Preservation of Wealth. Silver, she says, is a good way for average people to invest in precious metals because it is more affordable than gold. She also likes to invest in silver because it has industrial applications that help ensure its continued worth. “Silver is affordable,” she says. “Anyone can start buying silver.”

Local businesspeople Polo and Sharon Lacoste became members of Preservation of Wealth about a year ago because they wanted to give their grandchildren something of lasting value. “Instead of toys, we wanted to give them something that would increase in value,” Polo says. “On birthdays and Christmas, we give them silver. You should see their eyes light up when they get silver coins.”

Another Preservation of Wealth member, local businessman Rod Schlotte, likes to compare dollars to silver to make his point. In 1964, he says, a silver dollar bought four gallons of gasoline. Today, a dollar will buy only about a quart of gasoline, but the price of silver has risen exponentially so that the amount of silver in a silver dollar is worth about $20, or enough to pay for about six gallons of gasoline.

An annual membership in Preservation of Wealth costs $399 and includes several benefits, including identity-theft protection, legal services, and access to a merchandising web site. The main benefit, however, is the ability to buy precious metals without mark-up, says Steve Cook, a retiree and a member of Preservation of Wealth. “Because of our business model, we make our money on the sale of our benefit package,” he says. Steve feels an urgency to invest as much as possible in precious metals because of the national debt and the possibility of runaway inflation. “Preservation of Wealth is an answer to some of the problems that people are going to face—not all of them, but some of them,” he says. “Get the facts for yourself and make a good, informed decision.”