The Watchtower's money problem

by stuckinamovement 28 Replies latest jw friends

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  stuckinamovement

  The 8/15/12 Report on the annual meeting contained very interesting information.

  In October of 2011, Guy Pierce reported that plans were moving forward with the construction of the new headquarters complex in Warwick and Tuxedo. He mentioned that after the project was finished in 4 years then the Society would then sell off the Brooklyn properties. Ok that makes sense.........

  Fast forward to today, a mere 8 months after the Annual meeting, and the Society is quickly unloading their Brooklyn properties often at a price significantly below the asking price. The only reason corporations will sell assets ahead of schedule and at a bargain basement price is if they were desperate for cash.

  Why has the plan changed in 8 months? Why are they divesting themselves of their core capital facilities before they have a replacement compound, headquarters built?

  I believe they have either lost their ass in the stockmarket crash, or they simply just don't have enough revenue or borrowing capacity to fund the new projects. Either way it looks like the Watchtower will need to ask Jehovah for a line of credit.

  SIAM
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  Diest

  Good catch, I bet you are right.
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  therevealer

  I don't think you have a grasp on just how much they own in New York. Not just a couple buildings. It is a great deal of real estate. I know we would love to think they are struggling but it is simply not the reality.
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  Gayle

  What they 'say' to their members and what they 'do' in the for real money market world definitely has contradictions.

  Thanks,SIAM, for identifying quite clearly the WTS 'twist' on this.
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  LostGeneration

  I think they are dropping the smaller residence buildings right now right?

  The huge buildings can't really be sold until they are operational at Warwick I would suspect.
• 

  doinmypart

  SIAM

  I was thinking the same thing.

  Another reason I think they're having money/liquidity problems is a recent letter sent to KHs with construction loans from the WTS. Each year the WTS wants the BOE to poll congregation publishers for how much they can pay monthly towards their loan. I think they're interested in early loan payoffs.
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  Gayle

  This is very interesting about "Downsizing."

  http://humanresources.about.com/od/layoffsdownsizing/a/downsizing.htm

  I see these tactics totally in WTS dealings right now. I know the WTS will only be concerned about protecting the organization. I know the WTS are experts on not being concerned about the "disgruntled." Now that they disfellowship the "brazen," next disfellowshipping offense will be the"disgruntled."
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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  I was surprised that they sold Bossert. I thought they were planning on keeping that for some time as housing for JW "guests" and for the school for elders. It was one of their Heights "crown jewels" where they could brag about how they improve the neighborhood. And it has a painting on one of the lobby walls featuring Chuck Russell returning to Brooklyn by boat. I wonder if they can remove and relocate it. Since I think it's painted on the wall, it would be funny if it had to stay and get painted over by the new owners. The old-timers always talked like WT property would forever stay in WT hands. Nope.

  They probably do need the cash. Their original plan of using Bossert for JW guests was probably losing money since their flow of dubs would be erratic and minimum-wage dubs could only afford to pay a few dollars where the Corp expected them to pay big bucks for the 'privilege' of staying in Bossert. I have the feeling that they sold it because they saw it losing money to maintain.
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  cedars

  SIAM - I'm with LostGeneration. I think the buildings that are being sold now are those that have already been made obsolete by replacement facilities in upstate NY. I think when Guy Pierce referred to selling "our property in Brooklyn" before the final move, he was talking about key facilities such as those circled below, the famous headquarters building where the GB used to have their weekly meetings...

  

  In case you're wondering, I dug this photo out of my own personal collection! It's not one of my finest photographic triumphs I'm afraid... It was taken in the lobby infront of a map clearly designed to show off all the Brooklyn properties. It seems pretty poignant looking back at this and other photos of my trip there ten years later when the Society's decline is well and truly underway.

  Cedars
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  tornapart

  And why are they getting involved with hedge funds in Africa?