Anyone Know JW's who Donated Inheritances, Estates,$$$ to WT Society ?

by flipper 60 Replies latest jw friends

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  flipper

  If so - without divulging any names , approximately how much was donated to the WT society ? If you are aware of approximate amounts. As many know the WT society yearly puts out calls in their publications for witnesses to donate trust funds, wills, inheritances, estates, jewelry, cars and whatever else they have to promote the aleged " kingdom interests " in furthering the " good news " around the world.

  Personally I feel it's all been a scam to continue exercising control over witnesses by influencing them to financially deprive themselves so the WT society can continue it's operations. If enough people here on the board are able to share how much this is going on and how much $$$ are going into the WT society - then perhaps it will open peoples eyes who are newly exiting the JW cult to see that the motives are NOT all pure and generous at the top of the organization. So have any of you heard anything about people donating large sums to the WT society ? As always I look forward to hearing what you say
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  MMXIV

  Hi flipper,

  This will differ from country to country but the WTS in the UK in 2009 the financial statements showed income fom legacies totalled 23% of voluntary income or 10% of total income.

  2009 £2.815m

  2008 £2.813m

  2007 £2.534m

  2006 £3.759m

  That is seperate to each Congregation who may also receive legacies to help build a KH which IMHO would be more. There are hundreds of Cong's that are listed as charities so would be an effort to trawl through all of them and they tend only to have a single year of results on-line.

  This can all be freely found on the www.charity-commission.gov.uk site.

  Hope this helps.

  MMXIV
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  StAnn

  The legacies I know of were to the local KH. One was for $15,000 and the other was for the entire balance of the estate, which exceeded $100,000 after probate.

  My parents have a joint will that divides things up. However, my mother has another will so that, if she outlives my dad, when she dies, everything goes to the WTS. She even used a form the WTS provided. Unless the markets completely go under, this means the WTS will get about $2 million from my mom and her children will get nothing.
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  Little Imp

  MMXIV

  I have looked at this charities website before and firstly I was only able to see about seven congregations by searching "Jehovah". Not sure how all other congregations are listed.

  However, something I noticed was that most if not all the KHs made profit. When comparing this with any other charities listed they seemed to pretty much break even which is what I would expect as surely charities aren't about making a profit but using the funds in a charitable way?

  Not sure whether you have carried out more research than me and having anything else to add?

  LI
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  Scarred for life

  I have not personally known any JWs that have had any money at all. Most of the ones I have known that have died probably did not have enough to pay for their funeral and burial.
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  JWoods

  I knew a family in Oklahoma City that had a prominent lumber business - they were solicited by the society and the senile old lady at the head of it left everything to the society. This left her nephew out in the cold, and he became a truck driver.

  Famous society lawyer Hayden Covington handled the paperwork.

  This was done prior to my parents starting up with the witnesses in 1962 - I would guess in the 1950s. The amount of money was substantial for the time - probably 1 to 2 million. The left out nephew told be about it later - he pretty much left the witnesses over it.
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  St George of England

  No, not personally but I well remember the case below where someone left a large sum to the WTS but was subsequently disfellowshipped. When he died the WTS still took the money and even refused to make an ex-gratia payment from it to the mans autistic nephew!

  http://freelancefundraisers.dreamhosters.com/?p=9

  George
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  St George of England

  I have looked at this charities website before and firstly I was only able to see about seven congregations by searching "Jehovah". Not sure how all other congregations are listed.

  If you go on the charity commission site below it will take you to advanced search. Simply enter Brighton Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses in the search box (or whatever cong you are looking for) and it will bring up a list of all congs in Brighton. You can list up to 500 at a time.

  George

  http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/ShowCharity/RegisterOfCharities/AdvancedSearch.aspx
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  clarity

  Good morning Mr flipper,

  I must say that when coming in contact with JW'S many decades ago, their claim that no collections were ever taken Impressed me. Only a box somewhere in the back, suggesting that if you could even find it .....well, OK sure you could donate - butonlyifyouwantedto!! lol.

  Needless to say when the full page Ads in the Watchtower started showing up, soliciting for Money, Real Estate, Insurance policys, Stocks & Bonds, RSPs, Jewellery hey what ever youv'e got - SEND IT .... I litterally felt sick!!

  They have no shame. From what I can see, the borg has more Real Estate holdings than they are even using. How come they need all this when we, R&F are told all we need is food for the day and some little rental to live in, cause hey Armaggedon is right around the corner! Well why do they need all our stuff sooooo badly if that's really true.

  Here is a story from Barara Anderson's "the Governing Body Grow's Old", regarding how some donations end up!

  Warning: You may lose your cookies!

  "Suiter wasn't replaced and remained a GB member until his death. One-time poster here, Maximus, a former Bethelite and CO, told us how Suiter came to a city, it seems to me was Baltimore, Maryland, on WT business where Maximus was a CO. Suiter called Maximus a few days earlier and invited him to lunch. Much to his surprise, they met at one of the most expensive restaurants in the city. Maximus was not happy about this because he was CO in one of the poorest sections of the city and it seemed to him to be out of order for them to eat at that place while JWs in his territory lived in extreme poverty.

  During lunch, Suiter, the overseer of the Treasury Department, pulled out of the pockets of his very expensive suit, jewelry that he asked Maximus to make an offer on. Maximus had no money. He came into the circuit work right out of Bethel and he was incredulous at Suiter’s cavalier attitude.

  Maximus said he saw lots of very fine jewelry during that lunch which Suiter had just thrown in different pockets. While he displayed gold chains, diamond rings, etc., he complained how he was constantly trying to get rid of the stuff that was willed to the Society by JWs. That’s why he was there, to sell jewelry at outlets. Even the flashy rings Suitor wore on his fingers were part of the loot. This experience was one that disgusted Maximus so much that it contributed towards his leaving the organization ".

  c
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  cantleave

  Many of the "friends" in the 1950's and sixties did not have children - the end was too close for that sort of thing.

  These ones have no one to leave their assets to and hey presto! the WTS gets it.

  I know many who have left their properties and cash assets to the borg. I am sure if my mother finds out that we have exited and "forsaken Jehovah" she will leave half of her estate to the borg - and that is fairly substantial.

  As L Ron Hubbard famously said - if you want to make a real fortune start a religion.