The institution

The Money

One hundred billion dollars, thirteen shell companies, a federal fine, and no disclosure since 1959.

The point in one sentence

The Church accumulated a reserve estimated over 100 billion dollars while requiring 10 percent of members' income for temple access, disclosed nothing for over 60 years, and in 2023 was fined by the federal government for hiding the fund through 13 shell companies.

The scale, in context

Annual humanitarian spending against annual tithing receipts and the accumulated reserve.

Humanitarian spending, per year$1B

Estimated tithing receipts, per year$7B

Estimated Ensign Peak reserve$100B+

Sources: Church 2022 annual report; NBC News analysis of tithing revenue; whistleblower complaint reported 2019

The exhibits

Exhibit A

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, enforcement order against Ensign Peak Advisors and the Church

February 21, 2023

Ensign Peak created thirteen shell LLCs and, with the Church’s knowledge and approval, used them to prevent disclosure of the securities portfolio it managed, filing federal forms that misstated who controlled the assets, from 1997 to 2019.

What it establishes: A U.S. federal regulator found the Church knowingly structured its investments to hide them from the public for over two decades.

SEC announcement

Exhibit B

The same SEC action, on penalties

February 21, 2023

"Ensign Peak agreed to pay a $4 million penalty and the Church agreed to pay a $1 million penalty."

What it establishes: The Church itself, not only its investment arm, paid a federal penalty. This was a settled enforcement action, not an accusation.

SEC announcement

Exhibit C

The SEC order, on the size and motive

February 21, 2023

The order states the portfolio grew to approximately $32 billion by 2018, and that the concealment was driven by concern over the consequences of disclosure.

What it establishes: This $32 billion is only the securities the SEC examined, and only as of 2018. Independent estimates of the total reserve, including real estate and other holdings, run past $100 billion, a figure that traces to the 2019 whistleblower and remains an estimate.

SEC announcement

Exhibit D

The Church of Jesus Christ, official Newsroom response

February 21, 2023

"We affirm our commitment to comply with the law, regret mistakes made, and now consider this matter closed."

What it establishes: The Church’s entire public response to the penalty. It does not dispute the findings.

The statement

Exhibit E

Ensign Peak Advisors, most recent public Form 13F (via SEC EDGAR aggregators)

portfolio dated March 31, 2026

The most recent public filing reports roughly $53.7 billion in U.S. equity holdings alone.

What it establishes: The reserve has continued to grow since the penalty. This figure is read from filing aggregators rather than hand-verified against the raw filing, so treat it as approximate.

The 13F record

Exhibit F

Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, on financial transparency

peer-reviewed history

The Church gave itemized public financial reports to members every year from 1915 to 1959, then stopped. It has disclosed no detailed finances to its members since 1959.

What it establishes: Members are asked for ten percent of their income with no accounting of where it goes, a practice that would be illegal for a public charity in many countries.

The journal article

The framing that lands

A full 10 percent tithe is required for a temple recommend. There is no exemption for low income. Members in poverty are taught to pay tithing first. Meanwhile the institution collecting it built a reserve larger than the endowments of Harvard, Yale, and Princeton combined, disclosed nothing, and was fined for structuring its filings to keep that hidden.

When they say

"It is a rainy day fund." Reasonable in principle. But a savings account does not require 13 shell companies. The SEC did not fine them for saving money.

"That was a paperwork violation, not fraud." Correct, and say so. But the order describes intentional structuring across 13 entities to prevent public knowledge.

"Over a billion a year goes to humanitarian aid." It does, and grant it fully. The question is proportion, and the fact that the members funding it are not permitted to see the books.

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