{"id":2647,"date":"2015-10-28T14:15:16","date_gmt":"2015-10-28T18:15:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/?p=2647"},"modified":"2017-07-28T15:54:27","modified_gmt":"2017-07-28T19:54:27","slug":"15-religious-leaders-that-make-more-money-getting-out-of-bed-than-youll-make-all-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/2015\/10\/28\/15-religious-leaders-that-make-more-money-getting-out-of-bed-than-youll-make-all-year\/","title":{"rendered":"15 Christian Leaders That Make More Money Getting Out Of Bed Than You’ll Make All Year"},"content":{"rendered":"
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This list will have some well known scoundrels and some not-so well known scoundrels. Before I get into the nitty gritty of things I want to post a link to the 2007 senate investigation into several of these pastors. The documents and full findings can be seen and downloaded HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Some of the profiles below will be more filled out than others. This is because I could only fill in what I could find evidence for. If more information exists please leave it for me in the comments so I can make corrections.<\/p>\n

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\"John-Hagee<\/a>Honorable Mention:\u00a0John Hagee<\/span><\/h3>\n
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NET WORTH – $5,000,000 +<\/strong><\/p>\n

John Hagee really is the poor man of this group, with a net worth of only 5 Million dollars. He is practically the pauper of the televangelist world. In fact, he is so poor I almost didn’t include him. Why is John so poor among these giants of theology?<\/p>\n

I believe that John is the poor televangelist because made the horrible mistake of going to school<\/a> and learning that the prosperity gospel isn’t the \"john<\/a>main point of Jesus’ message. Even though he only has a partial degree from Southwestern Assemblies of God University<\/a>, he is still the ONLY educated person on this list. If he knew what was good for him he would have dropped out like the brilliant theologians listed here.<\/p>\n

What does John do when he’s not rubbing his two pennies together? He goes house shopping!<\/p>\n

For being the poorest pastor on this list he has a rather expensive home, which I am sure is listed as a tax free parsonage. The Hagee residence at\u00a08 Sherborne Lane can be viewed on google maps and almost any home sale website.<\/p>\n

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\"Eddie-Long\"<\/a>15. Eddie Long<\/span><\/h3>\n
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NET WORTH – $5,000,000 – $15,000,000 +<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to The Richest<\/a> Eddie Long has a net worth of about 5 Million dollars. This might not sound impressive but hold on to your bottoms. This estimate is after he’s been divorced twice, investigated for domestic abuse, investigated for tax fraud, sued over a ponzi scheme, and investigated for multiple accounts of sexual crimes involving young boys. I don’t know how much it costs to lawyer-up for all of that, but I know it costs a lot more than 5 Million dollars to make all that disappear. What I was able to find was only the settlement for the damages done by the ponzi scheme\u00a0which was settled out of court<\/a> for an easy 1 Million dollars (not including lawyer costs).<\/p>\n

Despite looking like he’s only 35, Eddie Long is 62 years old and has in ministry a very very long time. Combine that with being a black pastor in Georgia and some good book sales driven by a 25,000 member church and you have yourself a lot of cash flow.<\/p>\n

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\"randy-and-paula-white\"<\/a>14. Randy & Paula\u00a0White<\/span><\/h3>\n
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NET WORTH – $10,000,000 – ?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I am not sure what is worse:\u00a0the fact that one of the richest preaching couples have gotten a divorce and still get to keep the ministry or that Randy has the balls to call himself a Bishop….. A BISHOP!!! At first I thought this was a mistake, but his Facebook page verifies it. “Pastor, Bishop. Founder of Kristen Renee Foundation.<\/em><\/a>”<\/p>\n

According to The Richest<\/a>, Paula alone is worth over 5 Million dollars. It is hard to tell what the combined net worth was before they had their recent divorce but The Tampa Tribune<\/a> reports that the church was bringing on over 55 Million dollars each year. After the divorce many of the assets got liquidated. Their home in Bayshore was purchased to 1.06 Million in 2007. When they sold it in 2010 it listed for over 2 Million. So even in the middle of ruin they are making money!<\/p>\n

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\"ed<\/a>13. Ed Young<\/span><\/h3>\n
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NET WORTH – $11,000,000 – ?<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to a Dallas News station<\/a> Ed Young enjoys all the standard assets of the wealth. He owns his own 8.5 Million dollar private jet, a 1.5 Million dollar home, a 1 Million dollar condo, a 1 Million dollar salary, and a $240,000 housing allowance. Ed young is so rich that his TAX FREE housing allowance is quadruple most people’s annual salary.<\/p>\n

Ed Young also has a Million dollar wife and he keeps preaching sermons on to let people know that he has a ton of sex<\/a> with. The best money can buy!<\/p>\n

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\"Joyce<\/a>12. Joyce Meyer<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n
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NET WORTH – $25,000,000 – ?<\/strong><\/p>\n

According the The Richest website<\/a>, Joyce has a net worth of over 25 Million dollars. Imagine for a second that the average American made about 50k each year. They would have to work for 500 years to make what Joyce Meyer makes in just one year.<\/p>\n

Joyce Meyer makes so much money that some of her furniture costs more than most people’s new cars. In a congressional report done on some of the televangelists, it was found that Joyce had a $23,000 camode and a $30,000 coffee table and \"Joyce<\/a>much more. A partial list can be obtained HERE<\/a> which has initial findings from the Jefferson County real estate assessor’s office. A snippet of the letter\u00a0shown here in this post shows that these items have already been assessed and a value assigned.<\/p>\n

In addition to extravagant furniture, Joyce Meyer also has a mansion that would be fit for a whole continent of Kings. Not only that but her property contains other house including a pool house that would dwarf most people’s real home. The best part is that since they are listed as “parsonages” they are under the tax-exempt umbrella. Isn’t to great to do God’s work?<\/p>\n

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\"Benny<\/a>11. Benny Hinn<\/h3>\n
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NET WORTH – $45,000,000 +<\/strong><\/p>\n

Benny is known for blowing people and hitting them with his coat. What people don’t always know is that he’s made millions pushing people over. Not just a few millions but about 45 Million and growing.<\/p>\n

According to The Richest<\/a> Benny has a 4.5 Million dollar private jet and an $80,000 SUV, and $80,000 sports car, a $265,000 BMW, a 1 Million dollar annual salary, and a 10 Million dollar mansion. This man knows how to live in luxury!<\/p>\n

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\"Pastors<\/a>10.\u00a0Chris Oyakhilome<\/h3>\n
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NET WORTH – $50,000,000 +<\/strong><\/p>\n

This\u00a0preacher was at the center of a $35 million money laundering case in which he was accused of siphoning funds from his church to foreign banks. But do not fear, he has also amassed millions from the hard working poor of Nigeria.<\/p>\n

Like #2 on this list, Chris was able to take the money he received from the church, reinvest it in secular businesses, and become even richer! Among his business are\u00a0newspapers, magazines, a local television station, a record label, satellite TV, hotels and extensive real estate. (Reported by Forbes<\/a>)<\/p>\n

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\"Joel<\/a><\/h3>\n

9. Joel Osteen<\/h3>\n
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NET WORTH – $55,000,000 +<\/strong><\/p>\n

Newsmax <\/a>lists Joel’s net worth between 40 and 55 Million dollars depending on how book sales are included. It pains me that he is on this list because he no longer takes a salary from his church but when he was receiving a salary form the church it was a humble $200,000.<\/p>\n

His current house in River Oak<\/a> is less than humble at 10.5 Million dollars. His previous property which he still owns is valued at 4 Million dollars. Of all of the uber-wealthy televangelists Joel might be the most palatable. Even though he practices the prosperity gospel principles, he does not make that the core of his message and he no longer takes a salary from his church…… even though I assume he is receiving other favors from the church in the form of tax relief and housing allowances. I know that he was investigated on the housing allowance but I do not know the details.<\/p>\n

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\"TD<\/a>8. TD Jakes<\/span><\/h3>\n
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NET WORTH – $18,000,000 – $150,000,000 +<\/strong><\/p>\n

TD really brings in some cash. According to the Atlanta Black Star<\/a>, Jakes is worth more than 18 Million dollars. That is over 200 times the average wage for the community in Texas that attend his church.<\/p>\n

Just like Joyce, TD rakes in a lot of money from books sales and speaking arrangements. What does someone like Jakes charge for a speaking gig?\"TD<\/a><\/p>\n

According to PreacherPimp.com<\/a> TD charges a minimum of $122,000 to show up and preach a sermon at your place. Maybe I am wrong, but once you’re a millionaire 18 times it seems like you can probably afford to do some preaching without charging the equivalence of a regular person’s wages for 2 full years.<\/p>\n

A report<\/a> on wealth pastors made by Nehanda Radio<\/a> reported that Jakes had a total net worth of over 150 Million, but no list of assets can be found other than his 2 Million dollar home. Whether it’s 18 Million or 150 Million, this man is swimming like Scrooge McDuck in money.<\/p>\n

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\"pastor-robert-tilton\"<\/a>7. Robert Tilton<\/span><\/h3>\n
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NET WORTH – $100,000,000 +<\/strong><\/p>\n

Robert Tilton might be the undisputed king of the late night healing programs. It is next to impossible to know exactly what his net worth total is because he’s been in the business so long. But it’s been reported<\/a> that during the peak of his\u00a0career<\/em>\u00a0he was making 80 Million dollars each year. I am not talking about a grand total, I am talking about a yearly income.<\/p>\n

If I had to guess I would say he still owns hundreds of millions of dollars, but without a financial disclosure or an IRS report it is hard to tell.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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\"Paul-Jan-Crouch\"<\/a>6. Paul & Jan Crouch<\/span><\/h3>\n
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NET WORTH – $100,000,000 +<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you are at all familiar with the TBN preacher you will have seen this couple here and there. Together with the crooks Tammy and Jim Bakker, they co-founded the TBN. So all these wealth televangelists on this list have these guys to thank. They basically invented the QVC of preaching.<\/p>\n

It is also difficult to know just how much wealth was amassed by these two but what we do know<\/a> is that they have 13 different mansions, a $100,000 RV, a 50 Million dollar private jet, about half a million each year in ministry related expenses. All in all, one would have to assume that hundreds of millions of dollars in assets are sitting in their names and now their kid’s names.<\/p>\n

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\"Peter<\/a>5. Peter Popoff<\/span><\/h3>\n
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NET WORTH – $100,000,000 +<\/strong><\/p>\n

The good and honorable reverend, Peter Popoff, is another late night info-mercial evangelist. His gimmick is usually giving away free items like Miracle Spring Water or Miracle Manna which will magically make all your dreams come true. He will send this free gift to you for no charge…….and then will follow it up with 100 letters and petitions for money or else the thing he just shipped you wont work.<\/p>\n

In estimating Peter’s net worth one has to take into account that he is in round #2 of this whole stealing your money \"peter-popoffs-house\"<\/a>business. In the first round he was knocked down hard and almost KOed due to racking up huge debts with over 800 creditors. It was reported<\/a> that before filing for bankruptcy in 1987 he was making over 4 Million dollars each year.<\/p>\n

He made a comeback in in the late nineties and by 2005 he was making around 23 Million dollars a year. His mansion on 430 Long Canyon Road, in Bradbury California, is listed as a $41,000 tax liability. That means that Peter and his wife Elizabeth pay more in property taxes<\/a> than most people will make all year. The house on Zillow<\/a> is listed as a 10 Million dollar home.<\/p>\n

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\"creflo-dollar\"<\/a>4. Creflo Dollar<\/span><\/h3>\n
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NET WORTH – $100,000,000 +<\/strong><\/p>\n

Creflo Dollar is reported by The Richest<\/a> as having a meager net worth of about 27 Million dollars. This is calculated mostly based on assets in his name. Two of these assets are homes. Creflo has one home in Atlanta, worth a humble 1 Million dollars. His other home in New Jersey is worth over 2 Million dollars. The really sad part about all this is that he actually stole money from the church in order to buy the house. He was arrested and still owns both homes. That is impressive.\"Creflo<\/a><\/p>\n

The revenue from his church is simply staggering. In 2006 his church reported taking in over 69 Million dollars. How much of that money that goes to fund Creflo’s life style is uncertain. What is certain is that he already owns one private jet and recently got in hot water for pressuring his congregation for more money so he can buy an even better jet!! The shocking part of this whole thing is that he’s actually getting the 70 Million dollar jet even though the mass media ravaged him over the ordeal. Why is he getting it? He says its “necessary for the ministry.” I’m sure it is Creflo. Whatever you have to tell yourself to sleep at night.<\/p>\n

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\"Bishop<\/a>\u00a03.\u00a0Bishop David Oyedepo<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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NET WORTH – $150,000,000 +<\/strong><\/p>\n

David Oyedepo is listed by Forbes<\/a> as having a net worth of over 150 Million dollars. At this level of wealth the first couple pastors on this list appear to be mere novices in the business. In addition to having a higher net worth than the country he lives in (Nigeria, and not that’s not really true) he also has 2 mansions and 4 private jets. This pastor is so wealthy that he has his own fleet of jets.<\/p>\n

One might ask how a pastor in one of the poorest countries on earth has a net worth of over 150 Million dollars, and that is a fair questions. The reason this is true is because the poorest people one earth are also the ones with the least education and the most likely to give money to religious people promising them riches in return. How else did he obtain such wealth? He invested some if it to start his own publishing company. Because what’s better than publishing a ton of book? Answer: Publishing them and also printing them yourself at a high margin.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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\"Edir<\/a>2.\u00a0Edir Macedo<\/span><\/h3>\n
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NET WORTH – $1,100,000,000 +<\/strong><\/p>\n

Edir is right on level with the richest pastors in the world (below) or even surpasses him. With an estimated net worth of 1.1 Billion dollars, he is easily the #2 or #1 richest pastors to ever walk the earth.<\/p>\n

How did he acquire such wealth? Some would say (me) that he is taking money from poor people and laughing all the way to the bank. The only problem with this statement is that he IS the bank. Edir is so wealthy that he actually owns his own bank.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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\"Kenneth<\/a>1. Kenneth Copeland<\/span><\/h3>\n
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NET WORTH – $1,200,000,000 +<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kenneth Copeland is the Donald Trump of televangelism. From his own mouth<\/a>, he has claimed to have over a BILLION dollars. According to his own words\u00a0God told him he needed to be a billionaire.<\/p>\n

Ken also owns TWO of his own private jets, a Cessna 550 Citation Bravo and Cessna 750 Citation X. Because one just isn’t enough to fly him to parts unknown. His first jet was known as the “preaching machine.” I can only imagine what the second jet was called.\"Kenneth<\/p>\n

Kenneth Copeland was also investigated by the Senate in 2007, along side Joyce Meyer, Benny Hinn and others.
\nIn the letter from Senator Grassley<\/a> it was reported that his private jet had made several layovers in Maui, Fiji, and Honolulu, which were all claimed to be ministry trips and therefore qualified the jet to remain tax exempt. Also tax exempt is their huge mansion, valued at just over 6 Million dollars and includes its own landing strip.<\/p>\n

The letter also details that the church alone has over 20 Million dollars in assets yet it takes huge loans from the Copelands, only to be paid back shortly after with high interest rates. That doesn’t seem fishy at all.<\/p>\n

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Did I miss anyone? Let me know! Comments are welcome below!<\/span><\/h4>\n
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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This list will have some well known scoundrels and some not-so well known scoundrels. Before I get into the nitty gritty of things I want to post a link to the 2007 senate investigation into several of these pastors. The documents and full findings can be seen and downloaded HERE. Some of the profiles below … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2829,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[9,433,1084,10,11,1100,19],"tags":[1253,1252,1254,1244,1240,1257,1249,1256,1239,1245,1248,1250,1241,1243,1251,1233,1242,1232,1231,1235,1247,1234,1246,1255,1238,1236,1237],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2647"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2647"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2647\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2829"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2647"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2647"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2647"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}