by PopeOfEruke 23 Replies latest watchtower bible
My husband and I've had this same discussion. It seems the lawyers are "in control". If you look at the history, Rutherford, the Societys lawyer, manipulated things so he became "el-presidente" even though Russel's will stipulated differently. He was in control, and no one else knew different since he knew the legal in's and out's. Maybe that's what would happen now, the lawyers would get everything, and who else would know any better?
Little Bo Peep
The WBT$,is a multi-Billion Dollar Company!!..A billion is:1,000 times,1 million dollars..They are not going out of business soon...OUTLAW
But much of that is tied up in land, buildings, machinery, and other property. Currently, the WTS is have a cash flow problem. So like any other corporation, they are trying to cut costs, becoming leaner and meaner.
With the end of subscriptions, once monthly Awakes, paperback books (even Bibles), reduction of personnel, selling property (such as Furman building for $20 million), I see an organization trying to stem the flow of cash out; since 1990 the cash flow in has been greatly reduced, and the disenchanted rank and file are donating less.
Blondie
All good points Blondie..A multi-Billion dollar company!!..Wouldn`t you like to have thier problems?..LOL!!...OUTLAW
Hello all!!!!!
Blondie; Didn't the Furman building sell for much more than $20 million?
jimbo (of the I want a share of the $$$ class)
With the end of subscriptions, once monthly Awakes, paperback books (even Bibles), reduction of personnel, selling property (such as Furman building for $20 million), I see an organization trying to stem the flow of cash out; since 1990 the cash flow in has been greatly reduced, and the disenchanted rank and file are donating less.
This is a unique business in that their sales force is also their clientelle. Most businesses on experiencing a downturn in receipts from customers would start responding to client needs and wants. The WBTS's clients, however, are their unpaid volunteer workforce. Some poorly run businesses can probably get away with "whipping their staff into shape", but you can hardly ever do that to your customers. The only ones buying the 'Tower's product, the R&F Dubs, are increasingly voting with both their feet and their wallets, and are leaving in droves. But Teddy boy thinks he can scare and bully everyone back into submission.
That's like asking 'what will I do when I win the $100 Million lottery jackpot. It isn't going to happen love, just let them go.
That is a mystery but as I understand the GB do not have any more control over the financial aspect of the WTS but only on the doctrinal side. The lawyers and accountants are always very good at cooking the books and finding loop holes in the law to shift money around. They really know how to juggle around with financial issues.
Blondie; Didn't the Furman building sell for much more than $20 million?
Slip of the finger: $200 million
Furman-Atlantic Witness building goes to contract
The view of 360 Furman St. from the Brooklyn Heights promenade looking toward Atlantic Avenue. The Brooklyn Papers File / Greg Mango |
By Deborah Kolben
The Brooklyn Papers
A developer is in contract with the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society to buy the religious order?s mammoth, 12-story waterfront building at 360 Furman St.
While several developers expressed interest in the site, RAL Development Services purchased the Brooklyn Heights property for an undisclosed sum and plans to convert the 1 million-square-foot book and video distribution center into waterfront apartments, as first reported by The Brooklyn Papers.
The Manhattan-based company is best known for converting the Arthur Levitt State office building at 270 Broadway into residential and commercial use.
The Furman Street building, which rises at the end of Atlantic Avenue, between the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and the East River, will serve as a gateway to the planned Brooklyn Bridge Park, a 1.3-mile commercial and recreational waterfront development between Vinegar Hill and Brooklyn Heights.
David Semonian, a spokesman for the Watchtower Society, commonly known as the Jehovah?s Witnesses, declined to comment on the sale price of the building but said all the proceeds would go towards ?worldwide Bible education work.?
According to sources, the building sold for $200 million.
The Watchtower society acquired the property in 1983 and own approximately 35 buildings throughout DUMBO and Brooklyn Heights. They have moved some of their printing plants to upstate Wallkill.
?It was our aim to not only sell the building but to locate a buyer who was interested in the objectives and goals of the community,? said Semonian.
Robert Levine, president and principal owner of RAL, says he is currently in discussions with the city and state to determine the future uses of the building and what relationship it will have to Brooklyn Bridge Park.
?We plan to use 360 Furman St. to enhance the southern gateway to the new park and provide an exciting waterfront destination,? Levine said in a written statement.
Details of the relationship between the building and the park are still being hashed out.
In November, Councilman David Yassky sent a letter to Deputy Mayor Daniel Doctoroff requesting that the taxes generated from the sale go into funding the park. Any new taxes generated from the building would be new revenue since the building has been tax exempt because it is owned by a religious organization.
?In this fiscal crisis, New York City has little money to create and sustain parks, we need to find creative ways to guarantee income for the Brooklyn Bridge Park,? Yassky wrote.
Deborah Wetzel, a spokeswoman for the Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Corp. (BBPDC), a subsidiary of the Empire State Development Corp. charged with building the park, said BBPDC officials are in discussions with the developer to determine whether the building should be included in the boundary of the park.
The deal is expected to close in May and the Watchtower society will remain in the building for one more year.?
I agree with Bo Peep that the Lawyers will arrange it so they get all the money that's left in some legal manuevering.
My two cents worth- the real value to the insider is keeping WTS alive, no matter what.
A non-prophet (sorry, couldn't help that one) organization still has costs. If you need to sell your
$20 milllion building just ot afford jetting around the world, you will do so. Everything the insiders
do can be justified as expenses. They cannot close shop and just TAKE the money, but they can
continue to SPEND it if the WTS stays open.
The lawyers, though, circling like vultures- they would say their EXPENSES to close shop exceeded the
net worth of the collapsing WTS.
