Werner Erhard

John Paul Rosenberg (born September 5, 1935 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) adopted the name of "Werner Hans Erhard" in 1960 in the process of leaving his wife and four children and moving to California with his lover, June Bryde. Following a brush with bigamy and experience selling cars and encyclopedias, he began selling human potential "transformation" in the early 1970s, setting up Erhard Seminars Training or "est" in San Francisco as his vehicle. "est" later became Werner Erhard and Associates (WEA).

After allegations of domestic violence and tax-payment disputes, Rosenberg sold WEA, allegedly claiming persecution by the Church of Scientology, and left the United States for Russia, Ireland, Costa Rica, the Cayman Islands and places remote. He continues, under the name "Werner Spits", to have indirect family, consulting and financial links with the WEA-successor organisation, Landmark Education.

See the books:

• Werner Erhard: The Transformation of Jack Rosenberg, by William Warren Bartley

• Outrageous Betrayal: The Real Story of Werner Erhard from Est to Exile, by Steven Pressman