Empty Halls, Full Ledgers: How Scientology Still Brings In Cash - Secrets of Scientology #3

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Step inside Scientology’s balance sheet and the picture changes fast: small, friendly intro courses up front, a steep climb of costly counseling and training behind the curtain, and one Florida powerhouse quietly bankrolling the whole machine. We break down how local orgs pitch low‑cost classes, enforce nightly study quotas, and celebrate tiny wins, even as their course rooms sit empty. Then we follow the cash to Clearwater, where Flag Land Base concentrates services, pressure, and status to pull in one to two million dollars a week, covering international management, massive events, and a constant burn of promo and mailings.

We unpack the franchise‑style setup that sends rent back to an “International Landlord,” the weekly finance policy that slices income into rigid buckets, and the pivot from service delivery to pure fundraising for buildings and the IAS war chest. You’ll hear how prepaid “up to Clear” packages become a revenue trap, why commissioned recruiters have powerful incentives to push harder, and how the 1996 Golden Age rollout coincided with deep declines across key stats. We also compare glossy claims of “unprecedented expansion” with a striking data point: an ideal org’s two‑month completion list that could fit at a single table.

The human story runs just as deep. We revisit Heber Jentzsch’s final years, allegations of isolation at the international base, and a death certificate listing “Golden Era Homes-Hospice” at the very address of the Hole—raising urgent questions about elder care, licensing, and transparency. Along the way, we talk Sea Org labor at Flag, foreign recruitment, and the day‑to‑day grind that keeps the flagship humming while local orgs scrape by.

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