It is a common meme on this board that the leadership of the WTBS is driven by financial considerations.
As my may know, I have been working in financial management, particularly involving real estate for a number of years. I've been thinking about the Society's finances and I've reached a conclusion, either they are not motivated by money, or they've done a piss poor job of pulling it in.
We've seen a number of references to the WTBS' one billion dollars of real estate in NYC, and some one posted a report that the Australian branch reported taking in 14 million dollars. In today's business world neither of these is a remarkable number. Three of my recent employers were mid-sized regional real estate investment companies (apartment buildings and commercial properties). The largest of them had about one hundred employees. All three firms had assets of 100-250 million dollars and annual gross revenue in the 10-20 million dollar range. As another comparison the mormon chuch is reported to take in up to $2,000,000 per day. http://carm.org/mormon-church-statistics
World wide, the two churches are about the same size, but the mormons have a much higher concentration in the US.
If I wanted to run a church to make money, it would look like the mormons, not the watchtower. Mormons are encouraged to go to school, get good jobs, become involved in their communities, run for office, do well in sports, what have. (This is largely true of a lot of mainstream churches as well) JW's are partically ordered to quit school, take menial jobs, isloate from their communities and otherwise separate from the society around them. If you were smart, ambitious, wanted to get ahead and make something of yourself; which church would you join?
The Watchtower's policies over the years have now caught up with them. They have mounting legal expenses involving various challanges, and they have no financial base they can tap to raise the funds. They may have a deep pocket donor here and there, but the base is stuggling to get by. The society can't beat money out of people that don't have it.
Another comparison, the "Christian products" industry. Chistian stores now sell normal looking hardcover and paperback books, both non-fiction and fiction (as opposed to the crappy looking stuff I've seen JW's hawking the last few years). Christian stores now also sell jewelry, music, posters, t-shirts, refrigerator magnets, software and whatever else the market will snap up. It's a four billion dollar a year industry. http://www.christianretailing.com/about_cr.php?id=3
Watchtower share? = -0-
Again this runs to the point noted above, most JW's don't have much disposable income for such things; and the Watchtower thinks it is to "worldly" to engage in such things. (I know, there are a few outfits selling book bags and the like, I don't know that the WTBS gets any of the money and none of it would be considered "fun")
As I said, I think that if money is the motivation they have done a stunningly incompetent job of obtaining it.