Ellen G. White: Prophet or Profit?
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Ellen G. White, Review and Herald May 16, 1882
Most Seventh-day Adventists have heard stories of how the Whites started their ministry "penniless," and how Mrs. White died "in debt." Mrs. White's writings are filled with lessons of self-denial and sacrifice. What few SDAs realize is that her early years of poverty were quickly erased as she and James amassed an enormous fortune in money, assets and real estate. This page will present evidence that Mrs. White enjoyed the luxuries of the "rich and famous." In terms of today's dollars, her income was literally in the millions of dollars!
How Did Ellen White Amass Her Immense Fortune?
Book Royalties The vast majority of her income came through royalties on her books. She made well over $100,000 in book royalties in her lifetime. In today's (year 2024) dollars, that is approximately 3.8 million dollars!1
She may have started out penniless in the 1840s, but that situation was soon reversed. By the late 1850s, she was making over $1,000 a year on royalties. Mrs. White earned $11,435 in the decade of 1856 to 1866. In terms of year 2024 dollars, that is $406,077, or over $40,000 per year. Yet these were still lean years compared to what she would make later on. In the 1890s and 1900s she was making $8,000 to $12,000 a year in book royalties. In year 2024 dollars, that amounts to $306,401 to $459,601 a year! That type of income would easily place her among the top 1% of wage-earners in the world.2
In addition, James wrote more than half a dozen books and likely made thousands in royalties, although precise figures are not known. Thus, the Whites enjoyed the income from his writings as well. James was known as a shrewd and gifted businessman. He wrote a letter encouraging Ellen to write more books, holding out the prospect of increasing their income:
With the increased demand for our writings...there will be an income of several thousand dollars annually, besides the immense amount of good our writings will do.3
James understood how to generate wealth from their writings. In one letter he wrote to his wife saying: "Our financial matters stand well, and there is wealth yet in our pens."4
Perhaps Ellen's greatest wealth-maker was the book Steps to Christ. Fleming Revell, the non-Adventist publisher, offered Mrs. White a sweet deal: "5 percent royalty on the first 1,000, with 10 percent on all subsequent issues."5 The book sold for 75 cents and within five years, 100,000 copies had been sold.6 After battling with SDA publishers for years over her cut of the royalties, Mrs. White was well-pleased with this royalty-arrangement. She wrote in 1897:
Steps to Christ was given to Revell. I have received quite a sum of money... more than has come to me from some books; and I think more would come to me if he had more of my books to handle. ... I shall place more books in his hand...for I can receive better satisfaction than I have received from the Battle Creek publishing house.7
10 percent royalties on 100,000 books selling at 75 cents is $7,500. In 2024 dollars, that is $287,251, or about $57,000 per year for just a single book. Exact figures are unknown, but the book likely sold over a million copies in Ellen White's lifetime, generating her an enormous income.
Minister's Salary The Whites each received a salary from the SDA church. Mrs. White received a salary similar to that paid to ministers. Granted this was not much compared to their book royalties, but both of their salaries were larger than was paid to most ministers in the denomination. In 1903, she reported receiving $50 per month, which in 2024 dollars is $1,774 per month.8
Rental Income As the Whites acquired real estate, they rented out properties. While it is difficult to assess their rental income, there are a few examples in her letters. In 1878, Mrs. White mentions renting a home she owns for $65/month, which is $2,149/month in 2024 dollars.9 In 1881, she tells Willie to collect rent from two different renters who were late on paying.10 In 1889, she attempts to rent her home in Battle Creek for $12-$15/month ($426-$532/month in 2024 dollars).11 In 1890, she discusses renting out one of her larger properties for $175 ($6,209 in 2024 dollars).12
Other Income Mrs. White received pay for all the articles she wrote for denominational papers. (Interestingly enough, most other authors contributed their articles gratuitously). The Whites peddled various other merchandise, such as religious pictures. When the "Reform Dress" was being pushed by the Whites in the early 1860s, Mrs. White went to the various churches and sold paper dress patterns for a dollar apiece. That sounds insignificant, but in year 2020 dollars that is approximately $32 a pattern!13
Furthermore, we must remember that Mrs. White lived in an era before the United States' government invented the Personal Income Tax and the Social Security Tax! Therefore, the Whites were able to keep the vast majority of their income.
Evidence of Her Wealth
Unlike Jesus, the apostles, and many of the Biblical prophets who were often poor and desolate, Mrs. White lived a life reserved for the wealthiest of her day:
Posh Multi-Million-Dollar Estate The last fifteen years of Mrs. White's life were spent at Elmshaven, her elegant two-story ranch home in the exclusive Napa Valley area near San Francisco in Northern California. While the estate was purchased for a bargain $5,000 ($191,500 in today's dollars), if the property were sold today, the beautifully furnished mansion and 74-acre estate would possibly be valued at up to ten million dollars.14 In addition to the mansion, the property included:
- A two-story office building with library and vault
- Two cottages used as living quarters for her staff
- A barn and stable stocked with livestock and equipment
Real Estate HoldingsIt's difficult to ascertain the extent of the White's real estate holdings because records are scant. However, here are some of their documented holdings:
- Moved into home in Greenville, Michigan, in 1867, and sold it in 1875.15
- Owned home in Iowa, which was sold in 1875.16
- Owned property near South Bend, Indiana.17
- In 1876, James built a home for the Whites in Oakland, California.18
- In 1877, the Whites purchased a modest four-room home in Healdsburg, California, sometimes referred to as the "Healdsburg place".19 (This was a different property than Elmshaven.) Mrs. White attempted to sell it in 1904 for $3,000.20
- In 1879, the Whites acquired property in the mountains of Colorado known as the "White Ranch." The property included a small cabin.21
- In 1881, the Whites purchased "a 16-room, three-story brick Italiante mansion...a mile and a half from the center of Battle Creek."22 The estate included 30 acres and 200 fruit trees. James paid $6,000 for the property. This mansion is not the modest Battle Creek home that many Seventh-day Adventists are familiar with, the one that is pictured frequently in Adventist media. On the contrary, this was an elaborate mansion, a home reserved for the financial elite. This mansion was sold by Ellen after James' death, and it later burned down.23
- Owned various homes in Battle Creek, Michigan. In 1890, Mrs. White mentions she needs to "rent my two houses in Battle Creek."24 (This was after the Italiante mansion was sold.)
- Owned a small home in the resort town of Petoskey on Lake Michigan.25
Personal StaffA large chunk of Mrs. White's income went to pay for her extensive staff, although some of them were paid by the SDA Church. From the 1870s onward, she had six to twelve people assisting her with her writings. W. C. White headed up her editorial staff after 1881. He had his wife, Mary K. White, and Marian Davis assisting him, along with Joseph H. Waggoner, Sara McEnterfer, and Jenny Ings. Others assisted on a part-time basis. This group kept the books, articles, and testimonies churning out.
Mrs. White had an extensive household staff as well. Mrs. White is pictured on the right surrounded by her household and office staff at her Elmshaven estate in 1913. Her large staff of 14 people included a personal nurse (Sara McEnterfer), a cook, a copyist, a seamstress, farm hands, several secretaries and various other office assistants and office personnel. It is uncertain how many of her staff were paid directly by Ellen White, and how many volunteered their labor or were paid by the SDA Church. What is known is that while Mrs. White was preparing her book on the life of Christ in the 1890s, she spent $3,000 on literary "workers."26 In 2024 dollars, that is $114,900.
Lavish Lifestyle Not only did the Whites earn big money--they spent big! There is also no doubt they spent money lavishly on themselves. Following are a few examples:
- The Whites were frequent visitors to spas and health resorts, such as Our Home on the Hillside, the Dansville Clinic in New York (pictured on the right). Mrs. White also spent time at the Rural Health Retreat in Saint Helena, Dr. Kellogg's Health Clinic in Battle Creek, and various others health resorts.
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While criticizing others for wasting their money on photography, the Whites spent freely on photographs at a time when they were quite expensive. A letter written to James in 1876 indicates $500 was spent on a single negative. In year 2024 dollars, that is $14,979!27
- According to eyewitness accounts, Mrs. White "dressed richly." To views photographs of her and her relatives wearing fine clothes and jewelry, click here.
- Mrs. White apparently had an appetite for fine meats. In 1882, she wrote to daughter-in-law Mary Kelsey White, asking her to purchase some "herrings" and "oysters."28 According to Dr. John Kellogg, when she visited the Battle Creek Sanitarium during the next several years, she "always called for meat and usually fried chicken," much to the consternation of Kellogg and the cook who were both vegetarians.29
- Mrs. White was a world traveler during an era when world travel was quite expensive. Not only did she travel across the United States, but she also traveled to Europe and Australia, ostensibly to assist with the work in those locations. She frequently traveled first-class.
Financing the SDA Cause There is no denying the Whites gave liberally to their cause, the Seventh-day Adventist sect. The Whites gave tithes and offerings to the SDA Church. By 1885, the Whites, by their own estimation, had contributed over $30,000 to the SDA cause over the prior four decades.30 In 2024 dollars, that is well over a million dollars. Assuming they gave a liberal 20% of their income, then it can be calculated that in those four decades they earned at least $150,000, or in 2024 dollars, over 5.3 million dollars. And those were their leanest years!
Manipulated Others to Sell Her Books?
Mrs. White had an incredible advantage in selling her books. She could write a testimony promoting her books, and her loyal followers, thinking the testimony was inspired by God, would purchase her books and peddle them to others. Notice how she promoted her works:
"The larger books, Patriarchs and Prophets, Great Controversy, and Desire of Ages, should be sold everywhere. These books contain truth for this time,--truth that is to be proclaimed in all parts of the world. Nothing is to hinder their sale. Many more of our larger books might have been sold if church-members had been awake to the importance of the truths these books contain, and had realized their responsibility to circulate them. My brethren and sisters, will you not now make an effort to circulate these books? Work earnestly."31
Not only were the faithful followers exhorted to buy Ellen White's books for themselves and their neighbors, but they also had to pay outrageous prices for them. In 1890, the Norwich Town SDA Church complained about this testimony:
This testimony appears very significant when we take into consideration the price for which these books are sold. Books as large, and bound equally as well, can be bought for fifty cents per volume. The Testimonies sell for $1.50 per volume. Now here are directions professing to come from a divine source that call upon all to buy these books. If these Testimonies contain the 'revealed will of God,' why not sell them at a 'live and let live' price? Do I need to say more? -- selling Testimonies at $1.50 per volume which call for free contributions! Is this what the 'gift of prophecy' is for, to sell books at an exorbitant price? to 'move the brethren' to contribute freely?36
The Bible Readings Battle
In the 1880s, Franklin E. Belden—Ellen White's nephew—was a superintendent at the Review and Herald Publishing Association office in Battle Creek. In 1883, he and other SDA leaders devised a plan to create a new evangelistic book called Bible Readings for the Home Circle. Those working on the project agreed to this principle: "No one was to get any royalty for his work on the book."37 This arrangement was perfect for both the Review and for SDA colporteurs. Not only did that leave more money for colpeurtors, but the Review, which was struggling at the time, could make more profits. It seemed like a win-win situation.
In 1888, the book finally came out for publication. The Review leaders were happy. Colporteurs were also happy because they had a book without the name "Ellen White" on it. That name carried a lot of negative baggage. At this time, SDA critic D.M. Canright was making a lot of noise about Mrs. White's plagiarism. A Bible-based book would be a lot easier to hawk to an unsuspecting public than one written by a perceived false prophet!
During this time, Belden was losing faith in his aunt's "gift." After the 1888 General Conference session, Belden—along with many other leading SDAs—had become suspicious that his aunt was under the influence of W.C. White.
After 1888, Belden and others began promoting Bible Readings at the expense of Ellen White's books, such as the 1888 version of Great Controversy and her 1890 book Patriarchs and Prophets. Ellen White was keenly aware that this exclusion would result in a loss of royalties for her. She called their behavior "contrary to the light God has given me" and added that it was "certainly a device of Satan."38 Indeed, anything interrupting Mrs. White's royalties was surely a device of Satan!
Years later, still boiling over her lost royalties, Mrs. White wrote in 1899:
No one can have been hurt financially more than I was hurt when "The Great Controversy" lay for nearly two years dead in the Office. Just work was not done in this matter. The book "Bible Readings" was crowded in before "Great Controversy," which was already printed, and which should have been placed in the canvasser's hands first, because it was first, and contained important matter which the people needed to have as soon as possible.39
Thus, Mrs. White continued to stew in a jealous furor for years over the fact that a royalty-free book had pushed her books into the background for several years. Bible Readings was much more successful than any of Ellen White's books peddled by SDA colporteurs. By 1945, Bible Readings had sold 1,547,639 copies in English.40
The disagreement over which book to promote created a strain in Belden's relationship with his aunt. He later quit the Review and eventually went to work for J.H. Kellogg. Belden rejected the prophetic calling of his aunt, believing her inspiration was coming from W.C. White. He was later expelled from the SDA sect in 1907. He never reconciled with his royalty-loving aunt or her sect.
Fund-raising
Fund-raising was a central theme of Ellen White's message. In 1849, during a period when Ellen's spirit guides were falsely warning her, "time is almost finished,"41 she implored the brethren to sell all their possessions to fund the Whites' ministry:
I saw it was the will of God that the saints should cut loose from every encumbrance--dispose of their houses and lands before the time of trouble comes, and make a covenant with God by sacrifice. I saw they would sell if they laid their property on the altar and earnestly inquired for duty.42
Not all of the brethren were pleased to be constantly badgered for money by the Whites. One early Adventist, disgusted with the visions calling for money, decided in 1854 that he would have no part of it:
I must and will be free of the responsibility of publishing and sending out Ellen's visions to open the hearts of the Br'n to give, and then have that means used so that it would be better to use her own words 'Sunk in the bottom of the Ocean.'43
By 1857, the Whites had decided the end was not quite so imminent, so Mrs. White toned down her visions, saying God did not need Adventists to part with their homes just yet, but if they were willing to downsize to a cheaper home, the Whites would be glad to collect the difference:
I saw that at present God did not call for the houses his people need to live in, unless expensive houses are exchanged for cheaper ones.44
While they could keep their homes for the time being, Mrs. White wrote that rich Adventists should "cheerfully spend their means to advance his cause" because that "can thwart the design of Satan," and they should "cheerfully let it go" to "advance the cause of truth."45
She insisted the wealthy were to cut loose with at least part of their possessions or risk losing their calling:
But if those who have of their abundance do not hear his voice, and cut loose from the world, and dispose of a portion of their property and lands, and sacrifice for God, he will pass them by, and call for those who are willing to do anything for Jesus, even to sell their homes to meet the wants of the cause.46
It's unknown how successful Mrs. White's religious threats were in manipulating the wealthy to "cheerfully" dispose of their assets for the cause of the Whites.
In 1859, Mrs. White continued her mantra of "give before it's too late." She used her visions to attempt to convince a man of "considerable means" that God wanted him to fork his money over to the Whites:
Dear Brother, I saw that the Lord wanted your means which he has lent you. He calls for you to use it to advance His cause. ... I saw that you should work as fast as possible to remove the means which God has lent you from the hands of unbelievers and transfer it to the believers... I saw that the scenes of this earth’s history are fast closing. It will soon all be finished, and what is to be done must be done quickly.47
Similar fund-raising scare-tactics were used by Ellen throughout the remainder of her ministry. Sadly, employees of the SDA Corporation continue the practice even to this day. The author has heard more than one sermon preached wherein the thought was expressed that it was better to give sacrificially now rather than lose it all during the time of trouble—which was, of course, imminent!
Contradicts Plain Bible Teachings
Mrs. White frequently exhorted her followers to fill the church's coffers with their hard-earned money rather than give it to those who really needed it—the poor. Mrs. White gave specific instructions that tithe money was to be used exclusively for the gospel ministry:
The tithe is set apart for a special use. It is not to be regarded as a poor fund. It is to be especially devoted to the support of those who are bearing God's message to the world; and it should not be diverted from this purpose.48
Mrs. White said tithe was not to go to the poor. What does the Bible teach about tithe money?
At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay [it] up within thy gates: And the Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which [are] within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest.49
The Bible instructs the Israelites to save up their tithe for three years, and then disburse it amongst the Levites, foreign visitors, orphans, and widows. If that is not a "poor fund," then what is? A portion was to go to the ministers (the Levites), but the people were also commanded by God to share their tithe money with those who were poor and could not support themselves.
The Great Controversy over Royalties
In 1882, SDA banker Archibald R. Henry was brought in to prevent the financial collapse of the Review and Herald Publishing Association in Battle Creek. In his efforts to save the Review, he reduced the amount of royalties paid to authors.50 At that time, they were being paid ten percent royalty on the retail price of the book, which was common for publishers in that era.
Uriah Smith, who was on the board of the Review, was favorable to Henry's idea of lowering royalties to keep the Review afloat. He voluntarily agreed to take only ten percent of the wholesale price rather than the retail price.51 When Mrs. White found out, she was livid. The brethren urged Mrs. White to lower her royalties so the Review could be saved from financial ruin. They presented to her the generous and self-sacrificing example of Uriah Smith, who graciously agreed to lower royalties on his book so the work could go forward.52 Apparently flabbergasted and humiliated by Smith's example, she responded with a well-timed "vision" to turn the tables upon the publishers:
I have been shown that some men worked with Elder Smith, in an underhanded manner, in order to lead him to place the lowest possible royalties on his books. Elder Smith was deceived in the object of these men; he thought that they were really trying to advance the cause of God; and they obtained their desire. Then they came to me and to others, telling us that Brother Smith received only so much for his books, and urging that the canvassers would rather handle books that would sell rapidly.But the night after this plea was made, the matter was opened before me. I saw that they had visited Brother Smith and obtained his consent to a low royalty in order that they might present this as that which I and others should do. This was obtaining terms of royalty by fraud. I was shown the spirit that prompted these men to action."53
According to the new arrangement, the publishing house agreed to pay her only $0.15 per book sold (in 2024 dollars, that is equivalent to $5.32 per book). Under previous arrangements with her book publishers, Mrs. White got all the profits from the first edition of a book. Profits from later editions (at least the 2nd) were split between the book salesmen and herself. As will be shown below, she viewed the paying of those selling the books, at least for the first edition, to be "unjust."
In the past, Mrs. White had been accustomed to getting some special deals on the publishing of her books. According to the Nov. 6, 1866, Hope of Israel, "We are credibly informed that her books are all published free; so that she will have all the profit on their sale." However, by 1885, the situation had changed, and in the following letter Ellen White threatens to take her book publishing business elsewhere:
With reference to my book, I desire to say that I am not complaining because I think the office has been receiving too much for publishing it, but because I am not satisfied with the income it brings to me. Some plan should have been devised whereby more than fifteen cents royalty per copy would come to me. I do not remember that I was ever consulted regarding this matter. I thought that my brethren would guard my interests as sacredly as they would their own interests ...Only the expense of publishing and selling my book, Vol. IV, should have been taken from the profits. The rest should have been saved for the author. No canvassers were needed for Vol. IV. It could have been sold without going to all this expense. I am not satisfied with the result. Those who have felt that they were doing me justice by awarding me fifteen cents for each copy sold have erred in judgment. ...
I will make no rash moves, but I cannot submit to the arrangements made. They are unjust. The money used in paying canvassers for selling the first edition was misspent, for I should have received the profits on that edition. I know where to use this means to the very best advantage, and yet I have nothing to use in any way. I economize in every way possible, and still do not have sufficient to meet running expenses.54
W.C. White was called in to help solve the crisis over royalties. He addressed his mother's concerns by showing her evidence of the royalties of other SDA authors and telling her that "the income from your books is much larger than other authors get."55 Then, in the same letter, he points to the real cause of her financial woes: "buying out Edson so he could go east, the expense of the farm, the schooling of [nieces] Addie and May, the building at St. Helena, and the loan to [niece] Mary Clough."56
W.C. was right. She did have a lot on her plate. She started to realize that with W.C. siding with the Review, she was not going to be able to mow them down with a fake testimony as she had done in the past. However, she saw a golden opportunity when Fannie Bolton wrote an excellent book called Steps to Christ. Mrs. White knew it would be a blockbuster. She tried once again to negotiate with SDA publishing houses but they would not give her what she demanded. So, in 1891, she took the book to a non-SDA publisher who was willing to give her the royalties she desired.
Over the subsequent years, while Mrs. White was in exiled in Australia, she wrote to Henry "a great many times" but he refused to change his mind on royalties.57 Because SDA General Conference President O.A. Olsen would not remove Henry, she cast dispersion upon him as well as Henry. For example, in 1896 she complained that Henry, "has no faith in my mission or testimony, and yet Brother Olsen has made him his right-hand man."58 She urgently desired that Henry would be removed from his position, but SDA administrators were pleased with the fact that Henry's measures had turned the Review into a profitable business. Olsen continued to turn a deaf ear to her pleas and he incurred her wrath throughout his rocky eight-year tenure as president. For example, in 1896 she wrote that Satan had taken possession of A.R. Henry's mind and that Olsen, by associating with Henry, had "perverted his spiritual eyesight."59
Henry was finally removed from the Review in 1897, but he knew who was behind his expulsion. He filed a $50,000 lawsuit against the Review, "claiming that letters from Ellen White which Olsen had circulated about him were libelous and had heavily damaged his character in Battle Creek and among Adventists generally."60 During arbitration, it was revealed that Henry—selflessly desiring to save the Review from ruin—had taken far less than he was entitled to during his tenure at the Review. The arbitrators agreed to pay him $33,000, but the Review never paid him.61
Mrs. White made much more than other SDA authors, but she also had significant expenses. These expenses included not only her lavish lifestyle, but also financing her extended family, her farm, her staff, and various church projects. These unbounded expenditures were likely the cause of her financial woes. To her credit, Mrs. White donated some of her royalties to her own sect:62
- Used foreign-language royalties from Europe to assist SDA students.
- Used royalties from Christian Temperance for sanitariums
- Used royalties on Christ Our Saviour to assist her son Edson's work in the Southern U.S.
- Used some royalties to start a school in Melbourne, Australia.
- Royalties from Christ's Object Lessons and The Ministry of Healing were used to relieve SDA institutional debt.
Interestingly, James White chose not to profit from some of his books, as Mrs. White states in a testimony below, but supposedly a vision convinced her to be more selfish with her book profits:
Some years ago the matter of publication of books came up, and plans were laid, which I cannot now fully call to mind. A decision was made something like this, that no one individual was to be benefited by the publication of his own books. A proposition was then made to us, which my husband ... assented to, that the publishing association should have the benefit of his books. I was considering the matter and thought like this: I wish the testimonies to go to as many as possible; they are a message from God to this people, and I wish no personal benefit from this work. Thus we stated the matter. But shortly after, I was shown that this was not wisdom, to relinquish our right to control our own writings; for we would know better how to use the profits of these books than would those who had far less experience.63
Yes indeed, the Whites did know better how to use the profits of her books. They used them to build a financial empire for themselves while living the life of the rich and famous!
Conclusion
Some have tried to paint Ellen White as an impoverished, self-denying prophet. They point to her early ministry when the Whites barely made enough money to survive. They point to the fact that she died "in debt." However, they fail to mention that in today's dollars, her books alone brought her an income well over three million dollars. This is not to mention the wealth and real estate amassed by James White. This is not to mention the income from her minister's salary, and the money from the other business enterprises the Whites engaged in. The truth is that according to the living standards of the 1800s, the Whites were enormously wealthy. Yes, they gave liberally of their money to their family and church projects. But they also lived the life of the "rich and famous." Mrs. White visited exclusive spas and health resorts, wore fine clothing, dined on the best food, traveled the world in first class, and finally settled in a posh multi-million-dollar mansion with her staff, including a nurse, a cook, and a seamstress.
Seventh-day Adventism was highly profitable for Ellen White. The question for you to ponder is: Was it Prophet or Profit?
See also
More than a Profit, Less than a Prophet Learn more about Ellen White