I read about this years ago in my local paper (my teen hometown, Clearwater, FL, is the “spiritual headquarters” for Scientology—known in Scientology as Flag Base), The St. Petersburg Times, and on a site run by Scientology dissidents and refugees, including Miscavige’s niece, Jenna Miscavige (she published a book on her journey out just last month). Hubbard had been underground for years due to IRS problems and civil suits by former members. His personal aides were Miscavige and Miscavige’s wife, who had joined in their teens. Hubbard had a son, his intended heir to the thrown, who had earlier fallen out and committed suicide. Mrs. Hubbard had jumped ship and sued him repeatedly long before this.
The three of them, Hubbard and Mrs. & Mr. Miscavige ended up in a stronghold in the high desert near Lake Arrowhead, California where the old man died in ‘86 and Miscavige simply announced his anointment after a minor scuffle with the few remaining loyalists to Hubbard, mostly family. Miscavige had been building a powerbase within the “church” for years. It is all very Greek.
Miscavige is a man with little formal education beyond grammar school, but formidable energy, intelligence and ambition. And, by the way he reacts to the slightest perceived threat to his interests, shows signs of paranoia, megalomania and general sociopathy. He is very healthy physically and in his teens earned black belts in various forms of karate-type disciplines and is an expert shot. Nobody stands in his way and he is known to be a vicious, unforgiving opponent who will use his world-wide resources to hunt the most trivial transgressor to the ends of the earth and destroy them through character assassination, terror, and financial and physical harm. He is feared.
His wife, Shelly, disappeared a couple of years ago. Like ~POOF~ —gone. Miscavige made no explanation as to his wife’s disappearance. It was soon noticed by other Scientologists and they were punished for asking where she was. Leah Remini, brought into Scientology as a child by her mother in the 1970s, the woman who plays the wife on The King of Queens, and a good friend of Shelly’s, was publicly rebuked by elite members when she asked about Shelly’s whereabouts at Tom Cruise’s wedding a few years ago. After being interrogated for years afterward (a very special Scientology punishment method called Auditing), she recently left the “church.”
In short, this guy is a real asshole.