Herbalife was started in 1980 by Mark Hughes. In just two years the company had reached $2,000,000 in sales. With this success also came some controversy. In 1985, Herbalife was sued by the California Attorney General for making allegedly false claims about the effectiveness of its products. A year later the company settled the suit for $850,000 without admitting wrongdoing. Despite the lawsuit, Herbalife became a publicly traded company in 1986. By 1996, Herbalife reached $1,000,000,000 in sales. Mark Hughes, founder of Herbalife, died from a drug overdose in 2000 at the age of 44. The company was acquired by Whitney and Co. LLC and Golden Gate Capital in 2002 and took the company private. Then in 2004 they, once again, took the company public on the NYSE. Net sales at this time were reported as $1.3 billion.

Herbalife's product line categories include Personal Care, Energy and Fitness, Nutrition, and Weight Management. There are many sub-categories within these product lines. These sub-categories include NouriFusion® Skin Essentials, Skin Revitalizers, Body Essentials, Anti-Aging, Hair Essentials, Fragrances, Heart Health, Women's Solutions, Men's Solutions, Children's Health, Healthy Aging, Digestive Health, Immune Solutions, Stress Management, Healthy Meals, Appetite Control, Metabolism Boosters, Enhancers, Protein Snacks, ShapeWorks®, and lastly, Core Products for Cellular Nutrition. The products within these sub-categories are too numerous to list. Herbalife's products are distributed worldwide through a network they claim has 1.9 million distributors in 70 countries.

In conclusion, Herbalife seems to be surrounded by controversy, That being said, there are many supporters and merchants that contend that Herbalife is a legitimate and profitable MLM business opportunity. Despite all the controversy and allegations, the company continues to grow with a reported earnings of $3.5 billion in 2007. As with any MLM or network marketing opportunity, it is the responsibility of the interested party to thoroughly research any and all products and opportunities to determine if that opportunity is the right one for them. If a person wishes to be successful they must first believe in the products or the opportunity they are trying to sell. Without that belief they will not find the success they are looking for.