I also find it hard to believe that WT is broke. They amassed BILLION$ from the sale of their real estate in the past 2 years -- just in Brooklyn.
The have a steady, guaranteed fixed income from Circus Assemblies where they are now guaranteed a per head "donation".
I suspect that on the CO's visit, every Cong is scrutinized to see if they are sending sufficient funds to Mother each month. If not, the Company Official (CO) will likely threaten counsel the BOE about their lack of generosity.
Sure there are monthly expenses for Bethel properties, just like we all have monthly expenses -- electric, water, phone, maintenance (but they have free labor), but a vast amount of their operating expenses (CO's cars, insurance, weekly expenses, etc) are all covered by the local Cong & Circus.
So what if they have an occasional million dollar abuse settlement? I suspect that every Ass Hall sends in more than that in "voluntary donations" annually. How many Ass Halls are there in the Western World? (3rd World countries likely are not able to contribute like the US, Europe, etc).
I still am suspicious about this constant begging for money. I think they are building a huge endowment fund to be invested off shore to relieve them from the need to depend on sporadic donations. JMHO