The ABI invited individuals to purchase various honors as a commemorative in their inclusion for a specific biography. One former employee explained that the company bought mailing lists from organizations, and using those names, they sent out blanket mailings inviting individuals to be in biographical books or to accept awards. Such honors include "International Man of the Year," "Most Admired Man of the Decade" or "Outstanding Man of the 21st Century" (see list below), or to be included in ABI publications, such as
500 Leaders of Science or
The World Book of Knowledge, in exchange for a contribution fee. Those who accept, who provided their own biographies, were offered books or certificates at prices as high as US $795.
World Forum The ABI was the co-host, with the
International Biographical Centre, of a yearly World Forum (previously the International Congress on Arts and Communications), which invited a group for a week of professional seminars, artistic displays, and performances, and culture sharing. Host cities over the 31 yearly meetings have included New York; Washington D.C.; New Orleans; San Francisco; Edinburgh; Cambridge, UK; Nairobi; Madrid; Lisbon; Cambridge, Mass. USA; Oxford, UK.; Singapore; and Sydney. The Maitre Artiste of Ethiopia,
Afewerk Tekle was a regular attendee. No proceedings of these forums were produced except the ABI which included these in a newsletter. The often prestigious location was later listed on their literature as if to add gravitas. In 2007, referring to the
International Biographical Centre, the American Biographical Institute, and
Marquis Who's Who, Jan Margosian, consumer information coordinator for the Oregon Department of Justice, warned consumers to be wary and called the companies "pretty tacky", adding "I don't know why they would put you in there if they weren't hoping to get you to buy the book. "You truly have to look at how they are marketing and what the spin is. It's something you might want to watch out for." ==Awards and titles==