The Learning Annex

The Learning Annex is an American education company based in New York City. It was founded in 1980 by Bill Zanker in his New York City studio apartment with a $5,000 investment. It is considered the largest adult education company in North America.

The Learning Annex
TypePrivately held company
IndustryEducation
FoundedNew York City (1980)
HeadquartersNew York City, New York, USA
ProductsReal Estate Wealth Expo, Trump Expo
RevenueUS$102 million (2007)
Number of employees
114 (2007)
Websitelearningannex.com

The Learning Annex provides continuing adult education offering a wide range of classes on diverse topics, including "How to Develop & Write a Winning Business Plan", "Intro to Pole Dancing", "How to Write a Book Proposal That Publishers Can't Refuse", "How to Talk to Your Cat", "How to Buy Foreclosed Property", "Make Contact with Lost Loved Ones", "How to Shoot Your Own Live Adult Video", "Kabbalah-Dating", "How to Create Magical Spells", "Discover Your Past Lives - Who Were You Before?", "How to Make Your Own Soap", and "How to Marry the Rich".

The Learning Annex has achieved pop culture status with references to it appearing on Sex and the City and other television shows as well as being a subject of monologues and a component of movie and television plots.

In 1991, Zanker sold the Learning Annex, but he repurchased the company in 2002. At the time of his repurchase, it had very little marketing and a roster of little-known speakers. Zanker invested millions of dollars into advertising and marketing and revitalized the company.

In recent years, The Learning Annex has concentrated its efforts on large-scale events featuring notable speakers such as Donald Trump, Robert Kiyosaki, and Anthony Robbins. Other high-profile speakers include Al Gore, Rudy Giuliani, Alan Greenspan, George Foreman, Julius Erving, David Bach, Joe Montana, Bill Walsh, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Richard Branson, Suze Orman, Russell Simmons, Barbara Corcoran, and John Demartini.

Donald Trump received $1.5 million for each of the 17 one-hour presentations he did for The Learning Annex's "real estate wealth expos" in 2006 and 2007.[1][2]

In September 2006, William Zanker paid $73,200 to purchase a used Lincoln Town Car belonging to American investor Warren Buffett, reportedly in a bid to coax Buffett into conducting a Learning Annex class.[3] In November 2005, Zanker paid $57,100 to have lunch with media mogul Rupert Murdoch.[4]

The Learning Annex was No. 346 on the 2007 Inc. 5000 (a list of the nation's fastest-growing private companies) with a reported three year growth of 794.1%, revenue of $102 million, and 114 employees.[5] It ceased operations later that year.[6]

References
  1. "In Pictures: The 10 Most Expensive Speeches", Louis Hau, Forbes, March 18, 2008
  2. Robertson, Campbell (2006-01-08). "... It's How You Say It". The New York Times. Retrieved 2017-01-30.
  3. "Going, Going, Gone - Warren Buffett Sells His Used Car to The Learning Annex President for 10 times its value", PR Newswire, September 25, 2007, Archived 2007-03-11 at the Wayback Machine
  4. "Cityfile: Bill Zanker". Archived from the original on 2010-02-27. Retrieved 2010-06-12.
  5. "No. 346 The Learning Annex". Inc. 5000. 2007. Inc.com.
  6. Lakey, Jack (7 November 2007). "Learning Annex is gone but shabby boxes remain". Toronto Star. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
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