Controversial televangelist Jim Bakker dies aged 86
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Jim Bakker, the controversial televangelist who built a major Christian broadcasting empire, has died aged 86. His wife, Lori Bakker, announced his death on Monday, noting he had devoted 66 years to preaching the gospel. His career, whilst initially hugely successful, was significantly overshadowed by scandals and a fraud conviction that defined his later legacy.
Bakker hosted The PTL Club (Praise the Lord Club) with his then-wife Tammy Faye Messner, which reportedly reached up to 13 million viewers daily and generated approximately $129 million annually during its peak in the 1970s and 1980s. He resigned from the ministry in 1987 after paying hush money to church secretary Jessica Hahn, who alleged sexual assault; Bakker later acknowledged the relationship as consensual adultery. In 1989, he was convicted on 24 counts including mail fraud and wire fraud for misusing $158 million in ministry funds, sentenced to 45 years in prison, but released after serving approximately five years.
- Jim Bakker, controversial televangelist, dies aged 86
- Built hugely successful TV empire before scandal and fraud conviction
- Served five years of 45-year sentence for misusing millions in ministry funds
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Jim Bakker was an American televangelist who built a large religious broadcasting network in partnership with his first wife, Tammy Faye, during the 1970s and 1980s. His television programme The PTL Club became widely watched and helped make him a prominent figure in evangelical Christianity. Through his ministry, he raised hundreds of millions of pounds in donations.
His career was marked by serious controversy beginning in 1987, when he stepped down after a settlement with Jessica Hahn, a church secretary who alleged sexual assault; Bakker disputed this account and later said the encounter was consensual. In 1989, he was convicted of defrauding his ministry by misusing approximately $400 million in donations. Though initially sentenced to 45 years in prison with a $500,000 fine, his sentence was reduced on appeal and he was eventually released after about five years.
After leaving prison, Bakker returned to religious broadcasting and ministry. His first wife divorced him during his imprisonment and died in 2007. His case became a notable example of financial scandal within the televangelism industry.
Full account
Jim Bakker, the American televangelist who established a multimillion-pound Christian media empire before his fall from grace, has died at the age of 86. His passing was announced on Monday by his second wife, Lori Bakker, who said he peacefully departed after directing his life toward religious broadcasting for more than six decades. The cause of death remains undisclosed, though Bakker had previously suffered a stroke in 2020.
Bakker launched his ministry career in the 1960s whilst employed by the Christian Broadcasting Network under Pat Robertson's direction, eventually becoming associated with pioneering religious television programming. In 1974, he and his first wife Tammy Faye established The PTL Club, a televised ministry platform that achieved extraordinary success, drawing approximately 13 million daily viewers and generating roughly $129 million in annual revenue. The couple's reach extended beyond the screen into physical enterprises, notably Heritage USA, a sprawling Christian-themed resort complex in South Carolina featuring thousands of staff members and thousands of acres of facilities.
The enterprise unravelled in 1987 when Bakker acknowledged a sexual encounter with Jessica Hahn, a former church secretary. Hahn maintained the encounter constituted sexual assault that had occurred in 1980 when she was 21, claiming she had been invited to a hotel meeting under misleading circumstances. Bakker contested the assault allegation but later conceded in his memoir that the sexual contact was consensual. Church officials compensated Hahn with $265,000 from ministry funds to secure her silence. The revelation forced Bakker to relinquish his leadership role, which passed to pastor Jerry Falwell.
Subsequent examination of PTL's finances exposed substantial misappropriation of donor contributions, resulting in Bakker's 1989 conviction on multiple counts of mail fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy. He initially received a 45-year prison sentence, subsequently reduced on appeal. Following his release after serving several years in federal detention, Bakker published an autobiography titled I Was Wrong and eventually remarried, establishing a fresh television ministry with his second wife beginning in the early 2000s. His first wife Tammy Faye, who stood by him throughout the original trial, divorced him whilst he was incarcerated and went on to achieve independent prominence before her death from cancer in 2007.
Where outlets differ
Source 1 emphasises Hahn's account of the allegations in detail and includes Jerry Falwell's inflammatory public statements; it also references Bakker's mental breakdown during trial proceedings.
Source 2 provides extensive biographical background about Bakker's early career progression and broadcasting innovations prior to the scandals, and specifically mentions his 2020 stroke.
Source 3 highlights the opulent lifestyle maintained by the Bakkers, including specific luxuries such as private aircraft and personalised amenities, and offers clearer chronological details of events following his imprisonment and subsequent release.
More coverage
- Fox News — Jim Bakker, 'PTL Club' televangelist and fmr husband of Tammy Faye, dead at 86
- BBC Entertainment — US televangelist Jim Bakker, disgraced from sex scandal and fraud, dies at 86
- Louder — Jim Bakker, televangelist who inspired songs by Ozzy Osbourne, Iron Maiden and Genesis, dead at 86
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Scandal-plagued Jim Bakker, who built a television empire with ex-wife Tammy Faye, dies at 86”.