Watchtower long prided itself on not soliciting money, criticising greedy Churches for demanding collections and tithes. Yet, with billions of dollars in assets around the globe, is Watchtower really different from other religious groups?

Watchtower has amassed a fortune, without conspicuous demands for donations. As detailed below, the Brooklyn headquarters alone sold for over two Billion US dollars. This article shows how Watchtower became so wealthy.

Watchtower has five main pillars supporting its growth into a multibillion-dollar financial empire.

Literature sales
Financial Donations
Volunteer Labour
Real Estate
Corporate investment schemes
Upon launching the Watch Tower Society in 1879, Russell claimed in its accompanying magazine that if Jehovah was backing the organization, there would never be need to beg, petition or take a collection for money.


Watchtower 1879 Aug p.20
"We have never considered it proper to solicit money for the Lord's cause, after the common custom . . . It is our judgment that money raised by the various begging devices in the name of our Lord is offensive, unacceptable to him, and does not bring his blessing either upon the givers or the work accomplished." Watchtower 1899 Aug 1 p.201
""We never take up a collection," explained Brother Russell." Watchtower 1915 Jul 15 pp.218-219.
Russell's stance has continued to be quoted with pride.

"As early as the second issue of the Watch Tower, in August 1879, Brother Russell stated: “‘Zion’s Watch Tower’ has, we believe, JEHOVAH for its backer, and while this is the case it will never beg nor petition men for support. When He who says: ‘All the gold and silver of the mountains are mine,’ fails to provide necessary funds, we will understand it to be time to suspend the publication.” Consistent with that, there is no begging for money in the literature of Jehovah’s Witnesses." Proclaimers p.340
In 2014, Watchtower continued to promise to never solicit money, and that begging is offensive.

“Jehovah’s people do not beg for money. ... They hold to what the Watch Tower long ago said: “We have never considered it proper to solicit money for the Lord’s cause, after the common custom . . . It is our judgment that money raised by the various begging devices in the name of our Lord is offensive, unacceptable to him, and does not bring his blessing either upon the givers or the work accomplished.””


God’s Kingdom Rules (2014) pp.195-196
"How Is Our Worldwide Work Financed? ... We do not tithe, charge dues, or take up collections. Although the costs of supporting our evangelizing work are high, we do not solicit money. Over a century ago, the second issue of the Watchtower magazine stated that we believe we have Jehovah as our backer and that we “will never beg nor petition men for support”—and we never have! —Matthew 10:8. Our activities are supported by voluntary donations." Jehovah’s Will (2014) p.27

Some Kingdom Halls proudly proclaim that collections are not taken, such as in this 2016 photo.

Attribution: JThomas under Creative Commons Licence

Watchtower is highly critical of Christendom's lust for money and money scamming collection procedures.

"IN Christendom today there seems to be a lack of cheerful giving. ... What of church-sponsored bingo games and raffles? What about the popular money envelopes that call not only for the date of gift but the name of the giver and the amount enclosed? What about passing the collection plate? What about the increasing tendency to discourage small gifts by embarrassing one into giving larger amounts, perhaps more than one can afford? "The priest in a small French village," reports the Readers Digest of February, 1963, "has increased his Sunday collections by using a butterfly net as a collection box. Coins fall through the net. Only bills are large enough to be accepted."" Watchtower 1963 May 1 p.277
Watchtower may not have been as conspicuous in requests for donations as some religious organisations in the past, but its methods have become more obvious since the turn of the century. This article highlights whether Watchtower is any reprehensible than other Religions in how it has accumulated wealth, and whether it can still claim it does not solicit money as Russell originally promised.

Literature Sales
An important distinction Watchtower has is that it was printing and distributing Bible literature at a profit from inception. For this reason, Russell did not need to aggressively solicit donations. Watchtower produced over 1,000 different magazine editions and book titles in less than 150 years. (See List of Jehovah's Witnesses publications on Wikipedia.)

The Bible warns against excessive publishing of books.

(Ecc. 12:12) "To the making of many books there is no end, and much devotion [to them] is wearisome to the flesh."
Watchtower wealth is primarily attributable to its initial roots as a publishing company
Does Bible truth need to be re-interpreted every month, year and decade, or did Watchtower print this multitude of publications because of the profits made through selling them? Watchtower became a multibillion-dollar organization on the back of being a publishing company that has used free labour to produce and sell literature at a profit.

As a publishing company, Watchtower amassed considerable wealth from the sale of literature from the 1800's to the 1990s. There was no need to resort to the same collection efforts typical of other religious groups. This changed in the 1990 with a tax ruling against Jimmy Swaggart. (See the section regarding Jimmy Swaggart in the article Political Involvement) The United States Supreme Court determined despite religious not-for-profit status, Swaggart was liable for tax on the sale of religious material. The sale of Watchtower publications fell under this ruling. Watchtower decided that rather than pay tax on the money it was receiving from the sale of Watchtower literature, it would be better to direct Jehovah's Witnesses to start asking for donations from people who accepted Watchtower journals in the house to house ministry work. This led to a decline in income.

During this same period, the global publishing industry was experiencing a decline in revenue and profits due to the mainstream launch of the internet in 1995. This further exacerbated the revenue declines Watchtower was experiencing from no longer being able to sell its books and magazines.

Watchtower did not need to pass a collection plate whilst it was making money from selling books. When this income stream started to dry up, Watchtower was forced to look to other sources of income, and in the twenty-first century there has been a noticeable shift in two areas, more open requests for donations and changes in the ownership of Kingdom Halls.

Not For Profit
It is important to understand what it means for the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society and its affiliated corporations to be classified as not-for-profit, as the term blindsides many people unversed in finance to mistakenly think a "not-for-profit" organization does not make a profit. This is not the case at all.

When I was working at Bethel Australia in the early 1990's, I found out that each Watchtower magazine cost on average about 21 cents to print, during a time when they were being sold for AUD 40 cents. When I told a friend about the profit margin, he was shocked because "Watchtower is a non-profit organisation." This classification does not prevent Watchtower from making a profit on the sale of literature.

"Not-for-profit" organisations can make tremendous profits, as Watchtower has done. The term simply means that under the rules of its incorporation, the profits cannot be distributed to shareholders. Huge wealth can be accumulated as long as it is kept within the organization. In the event of a not-for-profit winding up, any excess capital is to be distributed to other charities. Watchtower's Amended Certificate of Incorporation includes such a clause.

"NINTH: Upon winding up and dissolution of the corporation, after paying or adequately providing for the debts and obligations of the corporation, the remaining assets shall be transferred to the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. If the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania is not then in existence and a corporation exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or the corresponding section of any future federal tax code, then the remaining assets shall be distributed to any organization designated by the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses that is organized and operated exclusively for religious, educational, and/or charitable purposes and is a corporation exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or the corresponding section of any future federal tax code." (See Exhibit D on page 27 of QCSTelecom 22 Oct 2013.
Not-for-profit does not prevent a company becoming incredibly wealthy or using its wealth to provide lavish lifestyles to it leadership. 1

Consider Rutherford's leadership of Watchtower. During the Great Depression, with unemployment in the United States of America at over 20% and followers struggling to afford basic food and accommodation, Rutherford owned a luxury Bugatti and a winter house in California, referred to as Beth Sarim.

Not-for-profit status carries the significant benefit of being exempt from paying a range of taxes. Watchtower confirmed this in a letter to the New Your State Public Service Commission, Petition to Transfer Ownership of QCSTelecom, Inc. 22 Oct 2013, a 34 page filing requesting the tranfer of a follower's telecommunications company into its own name. The document states:

"Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc., is a New York not-for-profit corporation incorporated on March 4, 1909, and recognized as exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986."
Financial Donations
Watchtower criticizes Churches for petitioning donations whilst doing exactly the same. There may not be a collection plate physically passed to members, but contribution boxes have stood in the corners of kingdom halls for decades.

"A collection plate is never passed. Rather, there is a box in a fixed location for any who wish to make a contribution." Watchtower 2010 May 15 p.31
Towards the end of every year, a Watchtower article appears to motivate Jehovah's Witness donations by claiming contributions "honour God".

"In addition to our labor of love, we can honour God by way of our voluntary contributions. They are used to further the worldwide preaching work, which includes supporting missionaries and other special full-time servants. In addition, the preparation and translation of literature and videos, the assistance with disaster relief efforts, and the construction of new Kingdom Halls are all cared for by our voluntary contributions. We can be assured that "the generous person will be blessed." Moreover, when we give our valuable things to Jehovah we honor him." Watchtower 2017 Nov Study Ed p.18
The article is followed with instructions outlining recommended ways in which to donate. This includes cash, jewellery, other valuable personal property, insurance policies, bank accounts, stocks and bonds, real estate, gift annuities, wills and trusts.

Watchtower 2013 page 9

Similar information now appears on the official Watchtower website under the Frequently Asked Questions article "How is the Work of Jehovah's Witnesses Financed?"

Kingdom Ministry articles detail how to include Watchtower as a beneficiary of a will or trust.


Kingdom Ministry 2012 Jun 1 p.2

Another example is likening the Israelites funding the tabernacle to "financially supporting Kingdom Halls, Assembly Halls, remote translation offices, and Bethel complexes".



Image Attribution: Life and Ministry Meeting Workbook 2020 Sep p.6