Trophy life: A rare look inside the family of a wealthy Scientology ‘whale’
They are two of the themes that have come up again and again in our coverage of late-stage Scientology as it struggles under current leader David Miscavige.
One of those themes is the emphasis not only on fundraising, but the focus on the most wealthy of donors. “Whales” we call them, the Scientologists giving David Miscavige millions of dollars for his legal slush fund, the International Association of Scientologists.
Several times a year we get a look at these rich members accepting large trophies for their gifts to the IAS, and often we wonder, who are these people? Where did their money come from? And how does it affect their families that they fork over so much cash to Miscavige?
The other major theme we run into is how difficult it has become for Scientology to recruit new members in the present climate. With constant and brutal press coverage of Miscavige and his controversies, Scientology has had to turn its focus from recruiting new people and instead “recovering” members who have walked away.
We've noted many times how desperate these recovery efforts can be, and we've often wondered, who does it work on? We know that there are people who leave Scientology and then later go back, but we tend to know little about them.
Now, we have a fascinating inside look at a family that has been deeply affected by both of these themes, and a fascinating species that we are stunned to learn does exist in the wild...
The recovered whale.
Three years ago, we first heard from Stephanie Waymen. She wanted us to know that her ex-husband, Dave Rolfe, had showed up as a whale in our postings as far back as 2014.
That year, Rolfe and his current wife Liz Rolfe were given a big trophy for donating $2.5 million to the IAS and achieving the status of "Platinum Meritorious."
They showed up again in 2022, this time for reaching the level of "Platinum Meritorious With Honors," which we believe represents a donation of $3.75 million. (The next step, Diamond Meritorious, definitely requires a $5 million donation.)
And then again in 2023, Dave and Liz were again recognized for their $3.75 million gift and reaching Platinum Meritorious.
We can't remember seeing that before, where a mid-level whale is given multiple trophies for reaching the same status level. But we double-checked and it is the case. We're not sure what to make of that, other than Dave and Liz got to dress up and receive big trophies for two years running without actually moving up in status.
But in any case, $3.75 million is a huge amount to fork over to David Miscavige for his use without any expectation of services in return.
Stephanie told us she was unhappy to see so much money going to the church when the two children she had with Dave, who are adults now, could have benefited from it instead.
Also, she pointed out to us, she and Dave had actually left Scientology in 1986 and her their kids had never been involved as adults. But then, years after she and Dave split up in 1989, her ex-husband had been "recovered" back into Scientology around the year 2012.
Oh wow, we thought. A recovered whale? Someone who had left, been pulled back in, and was now giving millions to Scientology and freezing out his own family?
Yeah, that seemed like an interesting story to us.
Stephanie Waymen joined Scientology in Vancouver, Canada in 1977, and it took about a year before she connected with Dave Rolfe, who was under the LRH Communicator at the Vancouver Org with the title "Keeper of the Tech."
(The 70s were just the best, weren't they?)
They were married in 1978, had their first child, a daughter, in 1979, and then moved to Los Angeles to Scientology's headquarters.
Stephanie points out that they were literally illegal Canadian aliens for their first nine years in LA, when they took advantage of an amnesty period. (We left a voicemail on Dave Rolfe's phone last week asking for his participation in this story. We'll add his comments if he gets back to us.)
Their second child, a son they named Jasen, was born in 1982, but by 1985, they were becoming disaffected by the changes Scientology was going through while its founder, L. Ron Hubbard, was in hiding. Hubbard died in January 1986, and Stephanie says she and Dave were part of a "huge exodus" of members who decided to leave, many of them seeking out alternative versions of Hubbard's "technology."
Stephanie says her interests led her into New Age practices, while Dave stayed in the Scientologist mindset even though they were now out of the church. That difference, and others, led them to split up in 1989.
According to Dave Rolfe's own websites, archived on the Internet, he was largely focused on Nikken, a Japanese MLM that sells "wellness" products, including magnets that are supposed to promote good sleep, and water filtration systems.
Rolfe boasted at his website that in 1998 he was the first to reach Nikken's "Royal Diamond" level in California, and only the sixth in company history, and it brought him a "seven figure income."
Jasen Rolfe, Dave's 42 year-old-son, says that his father may have been riding high at one time, but he says each of his father’s business ventures eventually failed, which may have made him vulnerable to being recovered by Scientology in 2012.
"As I was growing up my dad was always emotionless. His only solution to my problems was giving me money, so I grew up close to my mom. She was always available emotionally," Jasen tells us. "When my dad rejoined, he became even more detached and so non-reactive he was just in denial about anything that questioned Scientology. He likes to pretend I can't see through his bullshit, but I can see exactly how numb he became. He's literally like talking to a robot now. No emotion, no reaction, and not willing to own up to any of his mistakes."
Jasen says his father was also dealing with emotional problems of his own when, after hitting a low point, he signed up for what sounds like a grim re-entry program into the church.
"He moved to Inglewood to do a one-year service to be able to rejoin Scientology. He lived in really crappy apartments with tons of other Scientologists at the main Hollywood location and in Inglewood," Jasen says.
Dave's third marriage broke up about that time, but then he married his fourth wife, Liz Roberts, a longtime Scientologist and donor, who came with her own financial stability.
"I'm pretty sure the $3.75 million he's given to Scientology came from his current and fourth wife. She makes a lot of money and my dad moved into her house. He was broke when they met. That's why I think the church arranged their wedding," Jasen says.
"When he rejoined the church it felt like I lost my father. I had a lot of resentment and struggled with him not being available anymore. He went through a night-and-day change and was no longer there for me. I literally felt abandoned and ashamed and embarrassed. It took me several years to come to accept his decision to rejoin, which ultimately led to him having almost no relationship with me and my sister."
Jasen is intimately familiar with the place were his father is now living in San Rafael, because he went to stay there after a medical emergency and then began to feel trapped.
"I was having seizures. So I stayed at his house. That's when I saw how far gone he is," Jasen says. "I think the church was telling him to disconnect from us. He's either hiding it or lying about it."
Having temporarily lost his drivers license because of the seizures, Jasen said that although he was becoming increasingly uncomfortable at his father's house, he was unable to leave until a friend "rescued" him.
"My father used to be funny. A decent person to be around. Scientology took all of that away from him. He's like a robot now. No emotion at all," Jasen says.
We asked him if seeing his father give away so much money to David Miscavige has exacerbated his feelings about his father.
"Yes, the money part disappoints me. I have learned not to depend on my father since he rejoined the church, but yeah, what son wouldn't want some kind of legacy or inheritance? I would like to have a piece of land or something. He doesn't care about any of that. If anything, he should be helping my sister with her child, my niece," Jasen says.
"What I don't like about it is he hides everything from me and my sister. He's not honest about anything related to money or the church," he adds.
"After all this time since he rejoined, he has become more and more brainwashed and unavailable. It's gotten so bad and weird that I've decided to tell my story publicly with the slightest hope my dad might wake up and see how he has lost his family — which he claims is the most important thing in life,” Jasen says.
“When I was staying with him recently during my medical situation, he kept telling me, 'family is number one,' and that's why he was letting me stay at his house. It was a waste of my time and recovery. It only made my recovery slower."
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"He likes to pretend I can't see through his bullshit"... Jasen Rolfe has excellent insight into his father's condition. The eradication of 'human emotion and reaction' (H E and R?) is supposed to be an end phenomenon of the $cieno mind set. Dave Rolfe sounds like the perfectly brain washed Clam. No wonder he forks over big bucks with his current wife. That is what every $cieno is supposed to do, isn't it? All that lack of H E and R towards his children is also a $cieno sacrament.
"Be kind to people who have to walk away from family. Some of their stories will never be told because of how complex and painful they are. Estrangement is a necessary path for many who are broken hearted." -- Nate Postlethwait
And on walking away from family (members)"That was never their plan. They tried hard to make it work. It's been costly and full of grief" -- Nate Postlethwait
Thank you for telling part of your story Jasen, I hope you continue to find peace and support and I am glad you have your mom and sister and the friend who rescued you. It is hard to speak up, even when Scientology isn't involved. My love to you, your sister, and especially your mother on being cycle breakers.