Cashing In On Church: The Richest Mega Pastors in America

Many people don’t believe that pastors can make much money. However, these pastors will show you that they can indeed make the big bucks! Learn about the huge net worths of the richest mega pastors in America right here.

Charles E. Blake 

Charles E. Blake is a California bishop who reportedly earned $900,000 per year and lives in a 10,000 square feet Beverly Hills mansion. He earns his massive salary from the help of 25,000 weekly members who attend his church, and 50,000 online weekly participants. While he lives the good life, his average parishioner earns just $27,907 while living in poverty in South Central Los Angeles.

The HuffPo recently reported a new salary figure, taking Blake’s alleged earnings down to $227,750.

Source: Huffington Post

Thanks to the many sites that report on salaries and net worth statistics, including Ontario Religious Tolerance Org, GuideStar, Free Good News, Strait Times, Richest Lifestyle, The Sun, The Daily Mail, David Oyedepo Ministries International, Buzz Nigeria, Christ Embassy.org, Thisday Live, Benny Hinn.org, Creflo Dollar Ministries.org, World Changers.org, Inspirational Christians.org, Biography.com, Christianity Today.com, Tdjakes.org, The Potter’s House.org, The Economist, Synagogue Church of all Nations.org, Sahara Reporters, African Spotlight, Kingsway International Christian Centre.org.uk, TheRichest, Household of God Church.com, Daily Times Nigeria for all the wonderful data.  Some of the ministries listed are regarded as megachurches, or para churches.

Franklin Graham

Franklin Graham (Real name: William Franklin Graham III) is the son of the famous pastor Billy Graham, and the president of Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritan’s Purse. In 2008 he came under fire after claiming total compensation of $1.2 million (from both Samaritan’s Purse and Billy Graham Evangelistic Association), during a period of slowed economic growth. According to Graham and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association board, $300,000 of that huge amount was actually deferred retirement money from the previous three years.

In 2009, Graham announced that he would give up new contributions to his retirement plans and not take a further salary from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. His wealth, estimated in the millions of dollars, shows that a family dynasty can be created in the religious world. 

Source: Cleveland.com, part of Advance Digital

Bill Moyers

Oklahoma native Bill Moyers started his career with a journalism internship with the United States Senate, after completing a degree at the University of Texas Austin.

While Moyers was still a student, Senator Lyndon B. Johnson developed a liking for the young man and gave him a job handling his own personal mail. After Moyers graduated, he worked for the KTBC radio and television stations, owned by Senator Johnson’s wife.

Moyers later hosted several television programs, including many on PBS. Some estimates indicate that he earned more than $20 million in taxpayer money for his work on PBS, although he has never confirmed that amount. Moyers decided after several years to pursue his Master of Divinity, and in 1959 he was ordained a Baptist minister. He would later be appointed as the Associate Director of the Peace Corp and would serve as the 13th White House Press Secretary under Johnson from 1965 to 1967. He has given a handful of sermons since his early years in politics, but now the 81-year-old journalist is best recognized as a pioneer in freedom of the press and public broadcasting.

He’s made at least $20,000,000 from public broadcasting. That’s taxpayer money! He refuses to officially disclose his income and his net worth is not known.

Source: DiscoverTheNetworks, Affiliated with David Horowitz

Richard Rossi

Some sites report Richard Rossi’s net worth to be over $1,000,000, a number that has not been verified. But Rossi isn’t your typical Christian leader. In fact, he is one of the most colorful personalities on this list.

Richard Rossi is a healing evangelist, musician, novelist, filmmaker, actor, painter and poet.

His family was a musical one, and performed together professionally from the time Rossi was seven years old. In 1980, Rossi formed a folk rock band with John Walker, his high school best friend. “Walker and Rossi” were soon playing their music on national TV, in a documentary called “Teens Songs Reflect Positive Outlook,” as well as on the “700 Club.”

Rossi met his wife Sherrie at a Walker and Rossi performance at Liberty University. The newlyweds moved to Pittsburgh in 1986, where Rossi began promoting his healing services and playing guitar at  local music venues. He attracted huge crowds with his act.

Rossi and Sherrie had two children together. They went on to create Eternal Grace, a ministry for actors and artists. At one point, ABC News called Rossi the “Pastor to the Stars” when it was revealed that he was acting as spiritual advisor to some of the most famous celebrities out there. Rossi later appeared on the “Jerry Springer Show” to discuss his work as a faith healer, as well as exorcism and ESP.

In 1994, Sherrie was discovered, covered in blood, in a coma near the side of a Pennsylvania road. At first, responders thought she’d been in a wreck. Rossi and his wife provided bizarre, conflicting stories about the incident, and he was later convicted of second-degree aggravated assault. He served 96 days in Butler County Jail for the incident.

During the trial and subsequent jail time, membership in Rossi’s church plummeted from 300 to only 12. It was revealed at this point that he’d suffered from mental health and addiction problems. Rossi enrolled in a recovery program that he still follows.

The Rossi family relocated to Los Angeles in 1997, and founded Eternal Grace. Eternal Grace is a church movement specifically targeted to celebrities who have difficulty attending public services due to paparazzi.

Rossi has guest-starred in many television episodes, written three books, and produced several films. To this day, Rossi host his radio talk-show “Richard Rossi Live” as a podcast, and is currently producing a new film Canaan Land, which is highly critical of fake faith healers.

Paul Cain

Paul Cain became one of the youngest ministers of the Voice of Healing Revival in Europe during the late 1940s. He was only 18 years old when he stepped up onto the pulpit. In the late 1950s he did the unthinkable and disappeared from the public eye. Supposedly he had become upset with the corruption of his movement.

He resurfaced in 1987, while working as a consultant for the CIA. He was known to work closely alongside men like Bill Clinton and Saddam Hussein. His reputation took a turn for the worse because of his drunkenness and accusations of rampant homosexuality. He returned to the pulpit in 2007 and continues to preach in Santa Maria, California.

In April 2004, three fellow ministers staged an intervention of sorts for Cain, claiming that he’d had a homosexual relationship and was frequently inebriated in public. Cain denied the accusations initially. In 2005, though, he posted a letter of confession to his website and to Charisma magazine. In the letter he admitted to struggling with alcoholism and homosexuality.

Jimmy Swaggart

Swaggart is one of the most popular pastors of all time. Ordained in the 1950s, he would eventually launch his own AM radio network which only increased his thirst for a larger audience. Eventually he turned his attention to TV, hosting an hour-long weekend telecast that was aired on more than 200 networks. He eventually lost public favor in the late 1980s and early 1990s when he was faced with both prostitution and sex scandals. He would eventually admit to his transgressions in his infamous “I have sinned” speech. Swaggart regained some of his followers and go on to earn $1.5 million through his music, radio and television ministry.

According to the LA Times, Swaggart’s ministry made over $150 million a year in the 80s. All of the family members (22!) he keeps on payroll receive a combined payout of more than $350,000 of that each year. And the parsonage where he lived was built with a reported loan of $1.8M from the ministry.

Charles Stanley

Stanley started work as a minister in Virginia when he was just 14 years old. Following this, he received his Master of Divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, in Fort Worth, Texas, and a Master of Theology and Doctor of Theology from Luther Rice Seminary, in Florida, Stanley moved to Atlanta, Georgia. There he became the pastor of the First Baptist Church, and he started “The Chapel Hour” TV program in 1972. In 1978, his program was syndicated across the country by the Christian Broadcasting Network.

He eventually started In Touch Ministries, which led to a syndicated radio broadcast that took his message worldwide. His program “In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley” is translated across hundreds of radio and television networks in over 100 languages.

His ministries earned about $73,000,000 a year when surveyed nine years ago. The official executive salary was listed as $126,931.

Source: ReligiousTolerance Org

R.C. Sproul

Dr. Robert Charles Sproul, a Pittsburgh born and raised pastor, is the founder and chairman of Ligonier Ministries. The church was established in 1970 and was started as a college and seminary for students. The faith-based organization was soon built into a nationally recognized program which hosts theological conferences throughout the year with renowned speakers from around the world. Sproul founded the internationally broadcasted Sirius XM radio program “Renewing Your Mind.” Unlike his contemporaries, he avoided television and launched the Reformation Network (RefNet), an online Christian radio station for reformed Christians, in 2012.

RC Sproul has written a blog post about how much pastors should be paid. In it he says “Pay him well enough that he is able to give with great generosity.”

Source: GuideStar and Bayly Blog

N.T. Wright

Nicholas Thomas Wright retired from his position as Bishop in 2010, but not before amassing a $2.5 million fortune. He is a popular British New Testament scholar who traveled all over Great Britain after being ordained as a minister in 1975. Wright wrote the popular series Christian Origins and the Question of God and For Everyone.  He was consecrated in 2003 as the Bishop of Durham after spending five years as the Dean of Lichfield. He continues to work today as a professor at St. Mary’s College in the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.

Apparently book deals pay very, very well.

Jack Van Impe

Jack Leo Van Impe is a Michigan native who graduated from the Detroit Bible Institute in 1952. He’s earned the nickname “Walking Bible” for his ability to quote the scripture. Van Impe started his career as an evangelist on the Billy Graham Crusades. In 1954 he met and married Rexella Mae Shelton. Together, the newlyweds started Jack Van Impe Ministries. Rexella served as his co-host of the television series, “Jack Van Impe Presents.” 60 years later, and the TV series is still shown across the United States and Canada. Reports have suggested that the Jack Van Impe Ministries International Foundation has a yearly revenue of about $2.5 million.

In 2011, Van Impe ceased airing his program on Trinity Broadcasting Network, after they refused to air an episode of his show. In this episode, Van Impe had expressed criticism of Christians who wish to incorporate Islamic practices and beliefs into their organizations.

His annual salary is believed to be around $150,000.

Source: WND, the largest Christian website in the world

Clifton Davis

Davis is actually better known for his time as a songwriter, singer and actor. He wrote such famous hits as Never Can Say Goodbye and Lookin’ Through the Windows for the Jackson 5. Well before his first taste of fame, Davis pursued theological studies and earned his Master of Divinity from Andrews University. He was ordained in 1987. Over the past 25 years he has served as the co-founder and pastor of the Welcome Christian Center in Huntington Beach, California. He has made various guest appearances on the Trinity Broadcasting Network and has hosted the Gospel Superfest for the last eight years.

Ernie Fletcher

Ernie Fletcher has played politician, preacher, and physician. The Kentucky native started his professional career with the United States Air Force, in the hopes of becoming an astronaut. After cuts to NASA’s budget and eyesight concerns, Fletcher earned a degree in medicine and opened a private practice.

He started working as a lay Baptist minister in his community and became active in Kentucky politics. In 1999, Fletcher joined the United States House of Representatives, where he served until 2003.  Fletcher was elected as state Governor in 2003, over state Attorney General Ben Chandler. He held that position until 2007. While in office, he was accused of unethical hiring practices that overshadowed his reelection bid.

During his time in office, Fletcher also almost lost his medical license. He signed a death warrant for a man who had been convicted of a double murder and sentenced to death. The Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure investigated him for this, as the state’s laws state that doctors are ineligible to participate in executions in any way. The Board determined that Fletcher had acted as Governor and not as a physician when he issued the death warrant. Bowling died of cancer in prison before the execution could take place. Fletcher went on to establish Alton Healthcare Consulting in Cincinnati, Ohio in 2008.

Despite many years spent in the ministry, he amassed most of his rumored $3 million net worth with his work in politics. Congress members can earn as much as $223,500 a year from salary alone.  YouBrite reports his net worth as high as $16.7 million, which is an unconfirmed amount.

Leroy Jenkins

Now that’s a fun name.

Evangelist Leroy Jenkins, born in South Carolina, came from a family of religion: his mother was a prominent evangelist in Florida during the 1960s and 1970s. Jenkins declared himself a born-again Christian after he was convicted of arson in 1979.

After spending 12 years in prison he was released and by 2011 he married 77-year-old Eloise Thomas, who had won the Ohio Lottery Jackpot worth $6 million. Thomas passed away shortly after marrying Jenkins. An Ohio court annulled the marriage and denied Jenkins any of Thomas’s fortune.

While he was known for much of his life as a con-artist and convicted criminal, that didn’t stop him from starting Leroy Jenkins Ministries. He used a “miracle water” to help heal his followers. In 2003, his ministry was hit with a big scandal when it was discovered that the “miracle water” contained harmful chemicals (coliform bacteria).

After being fined a mere $200 for selling the water without a license to do so, Jenkins took his ministry and moved to Arizona. His ministry is still located in Scottsdale. He has a musical inclination and has released many Gospel albums over the course of his ministry career, including “Touching Jesus,” “God Gave Me A Song,” “If I Could Dream,” “Songs and Sermon In Bakersfield,” and “Songs To Be Healed By.” His $4 million fortune continues to grow as he continues to work as an internationally recognized televangelist.  A biographical film about Jenkins, The Calling, was released in 2002. Interestingly, there is a “World of Warcraft” character with the name “Leeroy Jenkins.”

Tony Campolo

Tony Campolo is known as the former spiritual adviser to President Bill Clinton. The Philadelphia native is an ordained Baptist minister and evangelist who is closely tied to the Democratic Party. He’s also the founder of the Evangelical Association for the Promotion of Education (EAPE) which helps at-risk youth throughout North America.

He has angered the GOP by appearing as a talking head on programs like “The Colbert Report,” “Nightline” and “Larry King Live.” In 2011 he took his opinions about politics, religion and social issues to his own platform with the launch of the program “Red Letter Christians.” He has also published more than a dozen books and appeared as the featured speaker at hundreds of events.

He’s one of the few evangelicals to open his doors to LGBTQ members.

“As a social scientist, I have concluded that sexual orientation is almost never a choice and I have seen how damaging it can be to try to “cure” someone from being gay. As a Christian, my responsibility is not to condemn or reject gay people, but rather to love and embrace them, and to endeavor to draw them into the fellowship of the Church. When we sing the old invitation hymn, ‘Just As I Am,’ I want us to mean it, and I want my gay and lesbian brothers and sisters to know it is true for them too.” – Tony Campolo

Some have estimated Campolo’s net worth to be around $4 million, but this number has not been confirmed.

Reinhard Bonnke

Reinhard Willi Gottfried Bonnke is best known for his various missions across Africa for the past 50 years. Born in Königsberg, Germany, he felt the calling to learn about religion by the age of 10. He completed his preaching degree at Bible College in Wales before pastoring in Germany for seven years. He took on his first African mission in 1967, with his wife and 1-year-old son along with him.

Like many of the pastors on our list, he started with only a few dozen followers. But his reputation and popularity spread across Africa and soon he was packing stadiums and open-air venues with more than 100,000 people at a time. During a 2000 campaign in Nigeria, he had amassed 1.6 million followers.

The Pentecostal evangelist found his success with his autobiography, Living a Life of Fire, which helped increase his net worth to an estimated $4 million.

Religious Tolerance reports his annual salary as roughly $162,000!

John MacArthur

MacArthur was ordained in the 1960s as a Christian evangelical preacher. He stepped onto the pulpit of the Calvary Bible Church in Southern California in 1964. By 1969 he had joined Grace Community Church in Los Angeles. As his popularity grew he launched a daily radio broadcast, Grace to You, in 1977. The show was first broadcast only in Baltimore, Maryland, but grew to become an internationally syndicated show.

He established his own college, The Master’s Seminary in Los Angeles, in 1986. He continues to serve as the college’s president and pastor at Grace Community Church. He has over 150 book titles to his name, including the MacArthur Study Bible and Twelve Ordinary Men, both which have become best sellers.

His executive pay has been reported at $160,000, with a net worth of $12,485,467.

Kay Arthur

Kay Arthur’s career did not begin with the ministry, and appeared to be taking a very different direction early in her life. She attended Tennessee Temple University’s  nursing school. Arthur divorced her first husband, who had a serious mental illness, and several years later he committed suicide. She admits to spiraling out of control with a series of bad relationships, and later said of this period: “Sin will take you farther than you ever intended to go, it will cost you more than you ever expected to pay, and it will keep you longer than you ever intended to stay.

Unfortunately, over the next few years, I sought comfort with several other men including a two-year relationship with a married man.” Arthur then turned to faith. She married for a second time in 1965 and joined her husband in Mexico as a missionary. They later returned to Chattanooga, Tennessee, and founded Precept Ministries International (originally named Reach-Out Ranch). To date, Arthur has published more than 100 books and Bible studies, and she speaks at conferences internationally. She also hosts a daily Bible Study Teaching program called “Precepts for Life,” which is available on radio, television, and the internet.

Once again, book deals seem to be a surefire path for evangelicals wanting to strike it rich.

Kay Arthur reportedly receives over $100k a year from Precept Ministries. David Arthur is said to be paid $165,000 as CEO.

Source: Charity Navigator

Al Sharpton

Civil rights activist Al Sharpton is one of the most polarizing and controversial pastors of the 20th and 21st centuries. Sharpton claims that he was ordained as a Pentecostal minister at just nine years old. He spent his early years as James Brown’s tour manager and fighting for civil rights alongside Jesse Jackson.

Sharpton moved his focus back to the Baptist church in the late 1980s and became a Baptist minister in 1994. Through hundreds of television and radio appearances he has earned just north of $5 million. In 2014 reports circulated that Sharpton had “regularly sidestepped” his debts and owed millions in back taxes.

Joseph Prince

This Singapore native is a Senior Pastor at one of Asia’s biggest churches, the New Creation Church. The son of a Sikh priest, he has been associated with the church his entire life and has traveled extensively from Australia and Canada to Italy, Indonesia and the Netherlands. Prince helped establish the nondenominational New Creation Church in 1984. Membership quickly swelled from 25 people to a mind-boggling 31,000. He has a television program and has also authored books, CDs and DVDs. The church takes in an annual income of $44.7 million and Prince’s religious program Destined to Reign, is broadcast in over 150 countries, according to wikipedia.

Prince reportedly earns $550,000 per year in salary. In Singapore, every charity and non-profit organization are required to report the salaries of their chief executives. The church did not confirm Prince’s identity when it revealed that one of its employees is paid $550,000, but it did issue a statement acknowledging that their mission is to “recognize and reward key contributors to the church and Senior Pastor Prince is the main pillar of our church’s growth and revenue.” He is reportedly the 10th richest pastor in the world. Prince is married and has two children.

Source: Richest Lifestyle cites Trinity Broadcasting Network

Chris Okotie

Nigerian televangelist Christopher Okotie serves as pastor of the Household of God Church (HGC) International Ministries. He followed a very unusual career trajectory on the path to his current role. While Okotie attended law school his father died, and he dropped out to start a career in pop music. He later returned to school and did eventually graduate with a law degree, but decided to pursue a job in the ministry rather than practice law.

He established the HGC in 1987 and since that time has published 17 books, authored various articles, and established himself as a local faith leader. He also ran three Presidential campaigns in Nigeria, but lost each of those races. Okotie is said to have a net worth of $3 million, and considered to be a rather flashy pastor, spending some of his religious earnings on luxury high-performance cars, including Rolls-Royce and Porsche.

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias didn’t become a Christian until 17 years old, after attempting suicide. While he was recovering in the hospital, he was given a Bible and his mother read John 14 to him. The act changed his life.

Zacharias broke the mold by becoming one of the few popular evangelists from India. After turning his life around Zacharias moved to Canada with his family in the late 1960s where he completed his studies to become a minister. He traveled to Vietnam in 1971 and preached to American soldiers with a follow-up trip to Cambodia in 1974 as part of the Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada. Zacharias was inspired by his trips abroad and started Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Toronto in 1984. He soon published several award-winning works including Jesus Among Other Gods, Can Man Live Without God? and The End of Reason. He is now heard all over the world on his popular radio programs, Let My People Think and Just Thinking.

Peter Popoff

Popoff was born in Berlin in 1946 and fled with his family to California at a young age. He completeed his studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and settled down in 1970. He quickly moved into television ministry where his energetic and aggressive messages were broadcast all throughout the United States. He became famous as a faith healer who would yell, “break free of the devil” to some of his sickest followers. His claims have included cures for anxiety, depression, heart conditions, and even paralysis. In mid-1980s his methods were questioned and he admitted the miracles were a hoax. He left the spotlight for 10 years but then returned to allegedly continue his shenanigans.

In 2007, Popoff purchased a $4.5 million home in Bradbury, California. He drives a Mercedez-Benz and a Porsche.

Jesse Jackson

Jesse Jackson is perhaps one of the most well-known and polarizing pastors and civil rights activists in recent times. While he was first known as a politician, his activism shifted him further into the public spotlight as a religious leader. Jackson accepted a football scholarship to the University of Illinois and eventually transferred to North Carolina A&T, where he became active in local civil rights campaigns. He eventually enrolled in the Chicago Theological Seminary before dropping out three classes short of earning his master’s degree. Jackson became an ordained Baptist minister in 1968 but continued his focus on politics with presidential runs in 1984 and 1988. He was eventually given his own show on CNN called Both Sides of Jesse Jackson. Jackson received a Master of Divinity degree from the Chicago Theological Seminary in 2000.

Matthew Ashimolowo

With an estimated net worth of $6- $10 million, Matthew Ashimolowo barely even cracks the top richest 15 pastors in the world. He leads the largest church in the United Kingdom. He’s the Senior Pastor of Kingsway International Christian Centre.

Ashimolowo converted from Islam to Christianity at the age of 20, following the death of his father. The KICC is rumored to have assets valued at $40 million, with an annual profit of $10 million. His church reportedly has over 12,000 members. Part of his earnings come from the popular international radio and television program, “Winning Ways.” In 2005 the pastor was forced to repay £200,000 after it was determined that he mismanaged church funds for his personal gain.

Ed Young, Jr.

Ed Young was playing basketball on scholarship at Florida State University when he decided to change his career path and focused on the ministry — following in his dad’s footsteps. Young eventually transferred to Houston Baptist University in Texas and completed his Masters of Divinity at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. For a short period he worked at his father’s church, Second Baptist Church Houston, as an associate pastor.

He was later hired as the Sr. Pastor of Fellowship Church. Young’s ministry soon gained 5,000 weekly attendees and in 1998 he moved into a permanent facility in Grapevine, Texas. His international ministry has joined the Ed Young Television Network with his programs broadcast on the E! Channel and Roku as well as online. Young is also a New York Times best-selling author thanks to his book, The Sexperiment. Some unconfirmed reports indicate that Young has a net worth of $11,000,000+.

Ernest Angley

North Carolina native Ernest Angley was born to a Baptist family in the 1920s. He became a Christian in 1939, at the age of 18. He chose to work as a traveling Pentecostal faith healer and evangelist. At the time he had nothing to his name other than a tent, camper, and a Bible. He eventually collected enough money to purchase the Grace Cathedral (Temple of Healing Stripes) in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. He also bought the Channel 55 television station. He soon launched the Earnest Angley Hour to a nationwide weekly radio, television and internet broadcast. The 94-year-old eventually purchased a Boeing 747 registered in Aruba to transport missionaries and aid around the world.

Cindy Trimm

This Bermuda-born pastor started with a career in politics, becoming a Senator at just 30 years old. She soon realized that she could accomplish more in the ministry and moved from the podium to the pulpit. She began leading sermons and writing books about spiritual growth and healing. Her popularity grew by traveling around the world while using her political prowess to help rebuild communities in need. Trimm is currently serving as the pastor for Florida’s Embassy Worship Center.

T.B. Joshua

Another Nigerian evangelist with some incredible wealth, Joshua is the self-proclaimed prophet Temitope Balogun Joshua. It is claimed that he failed to complete his studies because of his love of the bible and his desire to preach. He attempted to join the Nigerian military but failed to make the military academy because of the train breaking down. Joshua founded the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) and rose to popularity by claiming to be a miracle worker with thousands claiming to be healed of everything from cancer to HIV. He also claimed to manufacture holy water and expel demons. As one of the most popular figures in Nigeria he has over 2 million Facebook fans, 120 million YouTube views, and many local accolades.

Kirk Cameron

Kirk Cameron was a famous 1980’s TV actor thanks to the success of the hit ABC sitcom “Growing Pains,” in which he played the character of Mike Seaver. Since leaving the show he has become a radical Christian pastor who has produced many Christian TV shows and films such as Listen To Me, Fireproofand the Left Behind series.

In the 1990s he partnered with New Zealand evangelist Ray Comfort. Cameron co-founded The Way of the Master ministry, and also co-hosts a television show of the same name. His show won the National Religious Broadcasters’ Best Program Award for two years in a row. Cameron and Comfort have come under fire for their creationist beliefs. Cameron drew controversy in 2009, for distributing edited versions of Charles Darwins’ On the Origin of Species at colleges and universities.

Darwinism

Kirk Cameron’s version discredited Darwins’ theory of evolution, and was roundly condemned by scientists. Cameron and his wife also run Camp Firefly. The free summer camp provides a week vacation for terminally ill children and their families. Cameron has an equally-famous sibling, sister Candace Cameron Bure, who starred in “Full House” and now appears in its spin-off “Fuller House.” Bure became a Christian in her 20s, and encourages visitors to her website to find Christ for themselves.

Pastor Ray McCauley

South African pastor Raynor “Ray” McCauley is the founder of the Rhema Bible Church. He started his church after completing his studies, which started in 1979. To this very day he runs his church with help from his family. Much like the other pastors on our list he travels the world, and publishes various pieces that have helped pad his massive fortune.

John Danforth

Like many of the pastors on our list, Danforth started his career in politics. He was the Attorney General of Missouri from 1969 to 1976 after being elected to the United States Senate. He spent 19 years in the Senate before making his way to the White House as the 24th United States Ambassador to the United Nations from 2004 to 2005.

At the age of 79 he retired from politics and spent the majority of his time outside the political arena, mostly as an ordained Episcopal priest. He spent part of his $30 million net worth to become part owner of the St. Louis Blues, of the National Hockey League. His most recent book, The Relevance of Religion: How Faithful People Can Change Politics, sparked political and religious debates around the United States.

Pastor Tshifhiwa Irene

Irene is a South African pastor for the Divine Truth World Restoration Services for World Peace by Jesus Christ. She is also a popular televangelist, with her church situated in Venda. Most of her work has been focused on her own region, which has allowed her to develop a relationship with tens of thousands of followers.

Prophet Uebert Angel

Focusing on the less-privileged and widows has been very profitable for Uebert Angel. He is a self-proclaimed prophet who runs the mega church Spirit Embassy. As a “healer” he says that there are many unverifiable claims from unknown sources who claim he healed them after car accidents, following cancer diagnoses and more.

Robert Tilton

Robert Tilton was one of the architects of the televangelism and infomercials movement in the 1990s. The Texas native found much of his early success on a religious program called “Success-N-Life.” His program was set up more like an infomercial meant to convince viewers to buy into his vision. The popular series was eventually broadcast in over 200 American television markets and put Tilton in front of millions of viewers on a daily basis. His show was eventually bringing in more than $80 million in annual revenue.

In 1991 “Primetime Live” investigated his fundraising methods and quickly accused the national television star of exploiting vulnerable people. His staff would throw away prayer requests and keep donations. He would later return to television on The Word Network and BET. Most of his popularity has vanished over the past 25 years. 

Janice Crouch

Janice Crouch was born in Alabama as the daughter of a Georgia pastor. Her father served in the Assemblies of God denomination. She met and married Paul Crouch in 1957 and after starting a family, Janice joined her husband in the ministry. The eventually teamed up with Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker to establish the Trinity Broadcasting Network in 1973. TBN would eventually become the largest Christian television network in the country.

TBN is bigger than networks like CBS, NBC and Fox, when we include its five independent networks: JUCE TV, TBN Enlace, Smile of a Child and The Church Channel. Crouch received an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Oral Roberts University in 1990 and also was awarded the Parents Television Council Entertainment Seal of Approval. She was highly criticized for how she spent her network’s windfall. Crouch’s granddaughter accused her of squandering money on such luxuries as homes, private jets, expensive wigs, and even a mobile home exclusively for her dogs.

Crouch recently died, in May 2016, at the age of 78. Her death came several days after she was hospitalized for a stroke.  At the time of her passing, the network was embroiled in several lawsuits. One involved a rape and others were over financial issues.

Chris Oyakhilome

“Pastor Chris” is a Nigerian minister and the founder of Believers’ Loveworld Incorporated, AKA the Christ Embassy. Headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria, Pastor Chris claims to be a faith healer. His ridiculous claims include the ability to rid people of HIV through nothing but prayer. Much of his fame and wealth have come from Healing School, the widely translated Rhapsody of Realities, and Inner City Missions for Children. He also runs three Christian television channels that promote healing and general miracles for an international audience. He has more than 1.2 million followers on Twitter and his e-books are offered in 667 languages.

Enoch Adeboye

If you want to become a multi-millionaire pastor there really is no better place than Nigeria. This native to the country started his career as a mathematics profession after graduating with his PhD from the University of Lagos. He joined the Redeemed Christian Church of God in 1973 and soon began translating sermons into English for the current pastor. One decades later he was appointed the General Overseer of the relatively unknown church. The church now has more than 14,000 branches in Nigeria and an additional set of churches in 100 countries. Adeboye’s goal is to place a church within five minutes of every person on Earth.

David Oyedepo

The richest pastor in Nigeria is author, preacher and founder of Winner’s Chapel – David Oyedepo. Much like other Nigerian pastors on our list, his career didn’t start in the church. He studied architecture early in his career before concentrating on missionary work. His rise to religious fame started after he claimed in 1981 to have had an 18-hour vision where god called on him to preach. He soon started the Living Faith Church World Wide and was ordained a pastor two years later by Enoch Adeboye of the Redeemed Christian Church of God.

His biggest claim to fame was the creation of the Faith Tabernacle, which holds the Guinness World Record for being the world’s largest church auditorium with 50,000 seats. There are now Winners’ Chapel locations in more than 300 cities around the globe, including in every state of Nigeria. He has also published more than 60 unique titles. With an estimated net worth of $150 million, he owns four private jets that ferry him and his team around the world.

George Foreman

While George Foreman is a pastor, almost all of his wealth was the result of a storied boxing career and royalties from the incredibly popular George Foreman Grill. Foreman officially returned from boxing in 1997 at 48 years old. He is an ordained minister who found his faith after a near-death experience in 1977. Foreman announced his faith as a born-again Christian and took a break from the ring to become an ordained minister. Despite his massive fame, he spent several years preaching on street corners and at the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ in Houston. He has made several appearances on “The 700 Club,” and is worth approximately $250 million.

Edir Macedo

A $1.1 billion pastor? With billions of Christians located all over the world, this is sad but not all that shocking. Macedo is located in Brazil where he is known as an evangelical leader and media mogul. He was raised Catholic but converted to Pentecostalism in 1970. Macedo founded the Pentecostal Universal Church of the Kingdom of God in Rio de Janeiro in the late 1970s and his numbers grew rapidly.

After essentially cornering the religious market in the country, he grew his church to the point where it now takes in $2 billion in donations every single year. He built much of his wealth as the owner and chairman of Brazil’s second largest television network, Rede Record. He has used church funds to purchase radio stations, TV networks, real estate, health insurance companies, and even an airline. He flaunts his wealth, proclaiming regularly, “If I preach prosperity and my clothes are ragged, who will follow me?”

Kenneth Copeland

Kenneth Copeland is one of the leaders of the Charismatic Movement and is known for promoting a  controversial preaching style called “prosperity gospel.”

Copeland, prior to his conversion to Christianity in November 1962, was a trained pilot and a recording artist. In 1967, he enrolled in Oral Roberts University. He must have made quite an impression, as he was named chauffeur and pilot for Oral Roberts himself.

Kenneth Copeland Posing During His Show

Copeland ranks up there as a highest-paid mega pastor with a rumored net worth of $760 million. Included in that net worth: a church, an airstrip, a church jet and a church-owned lakefront mansion.

His Kenneth Copeland Ministries has released dozens of books and recordings, including the titles The Blessing of the Lord: Makes Rich and He Adds No Sorrow with It and From Faith To Faith: A Daily Guide To Victory.

Pat Robertson

Pat Robertson, a successful businessman and former Southern Baptist minister,  created the Christian Broadcasting Network in Virginia. Estimates of his wealth vary greatly, from $200 million to over $1 billion. The network he created is now broadcast in 180 different countries. Robertson even led an (unsuccessful) run for presidency.

Pat Robertson On His Christian Broadcasting Network

Pat Robertson runs a number of organizations, such as the Christian Coalition and a Christian rights organization that helps raise money for conservative political candidates.

In 2012, Robertson announced that God had told him who the next President of the United States would be, and indicated that it would not be Barack Obama.

Benny Hinn

With a rumored net worth of $42 million is the Israeli televangelist known as Benny Hinn. Born Toufik Benedictus Hinn, he is best know for his healing summits, called “Miracle Crusades,” which are usually held in large stadiums throughout major cities.

In 2005, Benny Hinn Ministries provided $100,000 in relief and supplies for victims of Hurricane Katrina. His ministry claims to feed over 100,000 children a year.

Benny Hinn Giving A Sermon

Benny Hinn has his own television program called “This Is Your Day” which is broadcast worldwide on multiple stations: INSP Networks, Trinity Broadcasting Network, The God Channel, Daystar Television Network, Revelation TV, Grace TV, and Vision TV.

Hinn’s “Miracle Crusade” faith healing summits are broadcast on “This Is Your Day.”

Billy Graham

Billy Graham, a Southern Baptist from North Carolina, is one of the most famous pastors on this list. Graham’s claim to fame came when his sermons started to get broadcasted on radio and television stations. He served as spiritual advisor to a number of presidents, and he has appeared on Gallup’s list of most admired men and women a whopping 55 times.

Graham’s estimated audience, over the course of his sixty-year career, is around 2.2 billion people.

Billy Graham In His Signature Photo

Billy Graham joined the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955. Afterward, Graham befriended Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and invited him to join him during a 16-week Christian event held in New York City.

Despite future political disagreements, King later said that Graham had taken a “very strong stance against segregation.”

Rick Warren

Mega pastor Rick Warren only lives on ten percent of his income and donates the rest to charity. He founded, and is the senior pastor of, Saddleback Church. The Lake Forest, California megachurch is the eighth-largest in the country.

Warren gave the invocation at Barack Obama’s presidential inauguration in January 2009.

Rick Warren Giving A Sermon

Rick Warren is the author of many books, including The Purpose Driven Church and The Purpose Driven Life. Warren believes his “P.E.A.C.E. Plan” can bring global harmony to Earth.

Warren holds conservative, evangelical views on a number of hot-button social issues such as abortion and abstinence-only education.

Bishop T.D. Jakes

Bishop Thomas Dexter “T. D.” Jakes, Sr. lives in a $1.7 million dollar mansion and has been featured on the cover of Time magazine. As founder of The Potters’ House, this Dallas minister has racked up a huge net worth. His ministry now has over 30,000 members and 50 outreach ministries. According to some sources, Jakes has a net worth of $150 million.

Bishop T.D Jakes Is Also A Producer

Many do not know that Bishop Jakes is also a writer and a movie producer, in addition to his work with the church. He has produced eight films, including Heaven is For Real, about 4-year-old Colton Burpo’s near death experience.

Jakes is happily married, with five kids and three grandchildren.

Juanita Bynum

Famous gospel singer, Pentecostal televangelist, and actress Juanita Bynum appears regularly on the Trinity Broadcasting Network. She is an American Pentecostal televangelist and the CEO of Juanita Bynum Enterprises.

Bynum is considered an “empowerment coach” and she speaks at huge events located throughout the United States. She founded the Women’s Weapons of Power Conference in 2000.

Juanita Bynum In A Promotional Shoot For Her Book

Bynum has authored more than a dozen popular books and is a New York Times bestseller.

Her most successful empowerment conference to date was called “Woman, Thou Art Loosed!” Held in Atlanta in 1999, the event was well-attended, with over 52,000 people present.

Joyce Meyer

Mega pastor and author Joyce Meyer has been ranked among the most influential Evangelicals in America by Time magazine.

Born Pauline Joyce Hutchison, Meyer became a born-again Christian after suffering childhood abuse. She started teaching Bible studies classes at Life Christian Center, and was named that church’s associate pastor a few years later. She eventually started her own ministry and began airing a radio show.

Joyce Meyer During A Spring Photo Shoot

In 1993, Meyer and her husband started a television ministry, that stills airs today, called “Enjoying Everyday Life.”

Some criticize Meyer’s lavish lifestyle – she has a private jet and owns several homes – but she has said “…there’s no need for us to apologize for being blessed.”

Pastor John Hagee

John Hagee is the senior pastor and founder of San Antonio’s Cornerstone Church.
Pastor Hagee, who received theological training at Southwestern Assemblies of God University, was the recipient of an honorary doctorate from Oral Roberts University in 1989.

Hagee founded The Church at Castle Hills in 1975, and re-dedicated it Cornerstone Church in 1987, with a new 5,000-capacity sanctuary.

Rev. John Hagee Posing After An Interview

Reverend Hagee is the CEO of John Hagee Ministries, a Christian multi-media empire. John Hagee Ministries broadcasts to 150 million households worldwide.
Hagee also serves as the CEO of the non-profit organization Christian Evangelism Television.

He has published many book titles, including Day of Deception, The Seven Secrets: Unlocking Genuine Greatness, and The Power of the Prophetic Blessing.

Paula White

After becoming a Christian in the mid-80s, Paula Michelle White went on to launch her own church. Today, she is Senior Pastor of New Destiny Christian Center near Orlando. She also hosts a television show called “Paula White Today.”

White has received numerous awards for her humanitarian work.

Paula White Posing For A Promotional Photo Shoot

A church that White co-founded with her then-husband Randy White, called Without Walls International, struggled when it first opened in 1991. The church eventually grew to 20,000 members. White is no longer involved with that church.

Today, White is married to Journey composer and pianist Jonathan Cain.

Bishop Eddie Long

Bishop Eddie Long is the senior pastor of megachurch New Missionary Baptist Church in DeKalb County, Georgia. Church membership has grown from 300 to 25,000 under his leadership.

Bishop Long has been the subject of some scrutiny, as he was investigated by the United States Senate regarding New Birth’s tax-exempt status.

Bishop Eddie Long Giving A Sermon

Bishop Long has written many best-selling books such as It’s Your Time: Reclaim Your Territory for the Kingdom, The Elect Lady, I Don’t Want Delilah, I Need You, What a Man Wants, What a Woman Needs, Called to Conquer, Gladiator: The Strength of a Man and his most recent: 60 Seconds to Greatness: Seize the Moment and Plan for Success.

Bishop Noel Jones

Bishop Noel Jones earned a PhD from the International Circle of Faith, and went on to become the pastor of Bethel Temple of Longview in Texas. He now serves as senior pastor of the City of Refuge Church, located in California. His current church has about 17,000 active members.