No.

Mr. Hubbard was one of the most successful writers of modern times and even after his death his books continue to sell as many copies or more than those of top bestselling authors in the world today. More than 110 million copies of Mr. Hubbard’s books have been sold in 32 languages and distributed in 98 countries.

He of course received royalties from the sales of his books, as do all authors.

It is an old criticism that Scientology was just there to make money for L. Ron Hubbard, and one which he always laughed at. In the end this unfair attack was exposed for what it was. While seeing that his family was cared for with modest bequests, Mr. Hubbard donated the great bulk of his estate to the Scientology religion—not to any individuals. And, to this day, royalties from sales of his books benefit the Church and not any one individual, as a result of his gift. So in fact, it is the Church that is the beneficiary of his substantial earnings as an author.

Wasn’t L. Ron Hubbard mostly a science fiction writer?

No. Clearly the intention of those who attempt to classify Mr. Hubbard as only a science fiction writer is to cast the shadow of “science fiction” over Dianetics and Scientology.

Although there is no dispute that Mr. Hubbard was one of the greats of the Golden Age of science fiction, his output in that genre totaled less than a quarter of what he produced in the other fiction genres he wrote in. He was equally prolific as an author of western, adventure, romance, mystery and other stories and had already established himself as a writer in these fields before turning to science fiction.

Mr. Hubbard’s life and works defy attempts to narrowly classify him. He was equally accomplished in many fields—including photography, aviation, engineering, cinematography, administration, exploration, music, philosophy, education; he was even a master mariner. The fact is, L. Ron Hubbard was a successful professional in many fields and as such defies comparison. He was a genius. And, as one of the most widely read authors of our time, Mr. Hubbard was able to support his own research and development of Dianetics and Scientology.

Of course, to those seeking to denigrate Mr. Hubbard and Scientology, categorizing him as for example, an engineer and founder of Scientology, would serve no purpose. In fact, by survey, Mr. Hubbard is best known as the author of Dianetics, a more appropriate short-hand description that identifies him to readers of media stories.