The website of Seagram heiress Sara Bronfman-Igtet [sarabronfman.co.uk] states something brand new:
“She has no connection with NXIVM.”
That’s right on her bio – at the very end – this one single sentence appears.
“She has no connection with NXIVM.”
What exactly does that mean?
Is it a condemnation of Nxivm or Raniere? Or just a feeble attempt at distancing herself from the notoriety she has achieved by being one of the chief funders of Raniere, a man who is almost universally despised as a brander of women?
What is Sara saying by saying that “She has no connection with NXIVM”?
Nxivm is no longer an active company. The feds seized the corporation that owned Nxivm, First Principles, Inc., and its related buildings.
There don’t appear to be any active Nxivm classes. Raniere is in prison. Sara’s sister, Clare, is in prison. Nancy Salzman and other Nxivm leaders are awaiting sentencing.
It’s fair to say that no one can be associated with Nxivm today. Nxivm does not exist.
Is that all Bronfman-Igtet means?
Her bio on her website reads in part:
Sara Bronfman was born in New York City but moved to England at the age of five after her parents’ divorce. She spent her childhood with each of her parents on their respective sides of the Atlantic. Her father, Edgar Bronfman Sr., was the Chairman and CEO of Seagram’s, a company started by her grandfather… In 1987, Sara’s mother moved to Kenya…
Sara began her own business career in her early twenties, owning and operating small companies and returning regularly to her certificate studies in International Affairs at NYU. Her first full-time work experience was four years with a skydiving company, starting in sales and rising to become a partner.
[Missing here is her 16 years associated with Nxivm]
She is married to the Zurich-based entrepreneur and Libyan national, Basit Igtet.
[Missing here is any reference to her first marriage which she reportedly ended at the behest of Keith Raniere]
Sara believes strongly in the importance of the natural environment…
Sara believes that if the changes we need to make in our world are to be feasible, it will be essential for all of us to be involved – from parents and educators to entrepreneurs and politicians. Politicians can create the right legal framework, and the scientists and engineers can create the new technologies. But everybody has to play their part in putting it into practice.
She also believes in the power of natural, healthy food to feed longer, richer lives. For her, this is more than work – it is a way of life. Sara and her family are vegetarians, and promote plant-based eating as a vital step towards caring for the natural environment. She has no connection with NXIVM.
The problem with the last sentence is that it is almost meaningless. Sara does not disavow Nxivm. Neither does she offer any explanation. She does not say that it was good at the time and is thankful for the help she got from the courses she took.
She does not explain why, after all these years, she has “no connection with NXIVM.”
In the past, Sara praised Raniere. She utilized his multilingual child experiments [Rainbow Cultural Garden] on her own children.
She funded Raniere to the tune of more than $100 million. She and her sister, the now-imprisoned Clare Bronfman, were the financial strength that enabled Raniere to bring some 40 lawsuits against former girlfriends, consultants, and former students. In addition, the sisters provided Raniere with $65 million to cover his losses in the commodities market.
Sara was as connected to Nxivm as anyone in the organization for years. Now she says “she has no connection to Nxivm” without further explanation.
Does she still support Raniere?
On stage announcing glad tidings for Vanguard.
Clare and Sara Bronfman onstage with the Dalai Lama who they brought to Albany to endorse Keith Raniere.
Clare and Sara Bronfman during the heyday of funding lawsuits against Keith Raniere’s enemies.
Her sister, Clare, said she would not disavow Raniere and the judge sentenced her to three times the sentencing guidelines. She is now serving 81 months in federal prison.
Sara is not saying where she stands at all with Raniere or with what Nxivm was or used to be or a word of support for her sister.
But for the grace of God, she would be in an adjoining cell. She was lucky to have avoided prison time herself.
Ex-Nxians Are Suing Sara and Other ‘Inner Circle’ Members
In the meantime, she is not quite done being considered as associated with Nxivm.
Bronfman-Igtet is a defendant in a lawsuit brought by some 80 former Nxivm members against Raniere and the members of his “inner circle.” That includes Sara and her sister, Clare, and actress Allison Mack.
The civil action suit seeks compensation for financial losses and emotional trauma suffered by ex-Nxians. It lists allegations of fraud, identity theft, racketeering, forced labor, and sex trafficking.
And it also claims Nxivm leadership engaged in “the unauthorized practice of psychoanalysis and mental health counseling.”
Two Plaintiffs in the civil case against Nxivm leadership: Sarah Edmondson and Mark Vicente
Most of the people suing Nxivm leadership are named as John Does and Jane Does. The exception is Sarah Edmondson, Toni Natalie, and Mark Vicente, who all appeared in HBO’s The Vow docuseries.
The complaint lists a staggering 928 points against the defendants. There are items like, “Not a single DOS member understood when she gave that first collateral that she was signing up for a life of servitude and sexual slavery under a cruel grandmaster and his circle of mistresses.”
Keith Raniere. The civil lawsuit is full of chilling and salacious claims against Keith and others. Example: “Slaves were prohibited from masturbating or having any sexual activity or gratification at all, and some were assigned to seduce and have sex with Raniere.”
Sara Bronfman was not a member of DOS.
As for Sara, the lawsuit says she and sister Clare “served in leadership positions and… invested their vast wealth – reportedly $150 million– to fund the operations and obstruct the ability of others to uncover the misconduct.”
Sara is also alleged to have funded the illegal human experiments conducted by Brandon Porter. He is a doctor who lost his license as a result of his role in those experiments.
She Is a Main Defendant in the Lawsuit
Out of all the defendants in the case, Sara has the most wealth.
The legal complaint paints this picture of her involvement with Nxivm at the time it was filed:
Sara Bronfman:
Is a member of NXIVM and former NXIVM trainer
Is the head of Rainbow Cultural Garden
Was on the NXIVM board
Was one-time “Master of Humanities”
It then goes on to say she:
Contributed millions of dollars to finance the campaign of legal terror that Keith Raniere and his followers waged against critics and witnesses.
Funded other aspects of the operation, including the purchase of three commercial properties used as the headquarters, administrative offices and center for operations of NXIVM.
She promoted NXIVM, using her social status as a recruitment tool.
Sara Once Was Proud of Her Nxivm Association
Back in 2013, Sara boasted of her connection with Nxivm/ESP.
From her bio then:
… In September 2002, after studying both in the US and abroad, interning with NFPs and NGOs and engaging in successful entrepreneurial endeavors Sara discovered Executive Success Programs, Inc. earned the prestigious positions of Director of Humanities, Regional VP and Professional Coach. Through her training with ESP and her personal and professional development Sara gained a deep understanding of:
The mind-body connection, human behavior, and human psychodynamics Language, communication, and emotions
Practical tools for achievement, success, goals, inspiration, and motivation
Systems theory and organizational development
Personal and professional ethics
Sara inspired the creation of the World Ethical Foundations Consortium (WEFC), a highly directed non-profit initiative dedicated to furthering compassionate ethics. Their efforts garnered the support of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, among other Nobel laureates and dignitaries, for the WEFC’s initial, high profile events…
Having grown up in a family of change-makers, Sara continues the family’s philanthropic legacy. However, while her family has typically focused on Jewish causes Sara, often together with her sister Clare, seeks to find innovative, cause-oriented ways to promote the welfare of all people – supporting individuals and organizations promoting ethics, the ethical use of resources, and humanitarianism…
That was 2013.
In late 2017, Sara was fighting to support Raniere after he had been exposed for his role in DOS and was under FBI investigation.
She went on the record for the New York Times Magazine, Inside Nxivm, the ‘Sex Cult’ That Preached Empowerment in defense of Raniere and Nxivm.
After Raniere was arrested, Sara kept a low profile. Her sister Clare was arrested in July 2018, but by that time, Sara had left the US.
She made no appearances throughout the Keith Raniere trial or during her sister’s court hearings.
She moved to France, where she and her husband tried their hand at operating a resort hotel and then running a French version of Rainbow Cultural Garden.
The hotel was a flop, and they closed it and are being sued for failure to pay the lease payments on the property.
The Rainbow project was also a disaster. The people of Provence found out about her association with Nxivm and Raniere, and government officials withdrew their support of her school. It closed and reportedly she moved to Portugal.
Now she says “She has no connection with NXIVM.”
But what the hell does that mean?
Painting of Sara Bronfman by artist Marie White.
Related: Sir Richard Branson Endorsed Raniere; Now Denies Knowing Him
