In 1980, the firm relocated its headquarters from an office complex on the Emeryville marina to a state-of-the-art skyscraper in downtown San Francisco's Financial District.

[7] In March 1989, Shaklee Corporation received an unsolicited acquisition proposal from a group led by Irwin L. Jacobs, the Minneapolis financier known also by his nickname "Irv the Liquidator".

The Jacobs group had been aggressively accumulating Shaklee shares, and disclosed it currently held a 14.98 percent stake in the San Francisco-based company.

[13] In April 2004, Yamanouchi sold Shaklee Corporation to American multi-millionaire Roger Barnett, managing partner of Activated Holdings LLC and a member of the Wolfson family, for $310 million.

"[22] Shaklee was further sanctioned by the FTC in 1976 for "requiring, coercing, threatening, or otherwise exerting pressure" on its distributors to maintain or advertise suggested retail prices.

[24][25] In July 2012, the Massachusetts Securities Division charged Cranney with implementing a financial investment Ponzi scheme to defraud 36 victims in multiple states of about $10.4 million and for using the funds for personal gain.

[27] Several victims sued Cranney to recover damages and he sought federal bankruptcy protection for his home, valued at $3 million.