Jim Bakker, the US televangelist known for building a multimillion-dollar Christian television empire before facing a major scandal and conviction in the late 1980s, has died at age 86. His death was announced on social media by his second wife Lori Bakker. Bakker's career plummeted after he was convicted of defrauding followers through a scheme involving holidays at his Heritage USA Christian theme park and resort; he spent nearly five years in prison for this fraud that netted $158 million from viewers. Prior to his downfall, the PTL Club, which stood for "Praise the Lord" or "People That Love," was one of the most popular televangelist shows, with 200 TV stations and annual revenues of $129 million.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-06,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Jim Bakker, the controversial televangelist who built a Christian television empire with his ex-wife Tammy Faye, died on Monday at age 86. His second wife, Lori Bakker, announced his death on social media, stating that he had devoted 66 years to preaching and ended his life filled with faith.
Bakker rose to fame in the 1970s through The PTL Club, a popular TV show which drew up to 13 million nightly viewers. However, scandal marred his ministry: in 1987, he resigned after paying $279,000 in hush money to a church secretary who accused him of sexual assault; and two years later, he was convicted on 24 counts of fraud for misusing $400 million in ministry funds, leading to a prison sentence of 45 years, though he served only about five.
Despite these setbacks, Bakker continued his career after prison and remained influential within conservative Christian circles until his death.
Written for “Jim Bakker Dies At 86” on 2026-10-06,
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The US televangelist Jim Bakker, who built a multimillion-dollar empire and lived in opulence before being disgraced by a sex scandal, a conviction for defrauding followers and divorce from his television co-host Tammy Faye, has died aged 86.
asserted
who → build → host
The death of Bakker, whose journey from the TV pulpit to a prison cell in the 1980s inspired comparisons to the corrupt character of the fictional preacher-huckster Elmer Gantry, was revealed on social media by his second wife, Lori Bakker.
asserted
journey → inspire → wife
“It is with a broken heart that I share that my beloved husband, Jim Bakker, went home to be with the Lord this evening,” she wrote on the Facebook and Instagram pages of her husband’s latest television ministry.
asserted
she → share → ministry
She paid tribute to Bakker as a “pioneer of Christian television”.
asserted
She → pay → television
The cause and circumstances of his death were not revealed.
asserted
cause → reveal → death
Bakker revived his career as a television preacher after prison with a new wife and new television show in 2003, later becoming a staunch supporter of Donald Trump.
Bakker had been among the most popular of the Christian preachers who thrived on US television in the 1980s, achieving fame on the show The PTL Club.
asserted
who → revive → show
PTL stood for “Praise the Lord” and “People That Love”.
asserted
That → stand → Lord
Detractors, pointing to his unabashed daily exhortations to viewers for donations to his ministry, said PTL should have stood for “pass the loot”.
asserted
PTL → point → loot
Bakker spent four and a half years in prison after being convicted in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 1989 of defrauding followers in a scheme involving holidays at his Heritage USA Christian theme park and resort.
asserted
Bakker → spend → park
Prosecutors painted him as a selfish and petty conman driven by greed and lust for power.
asserted
Prosecutors → paint → power
“Those of us who do have a religion are sick of being saps for money-grubbing preachers and priests,” Judge Robert Potter told Bakker before sentencing him.
asserted
Potter → have → him
Bakker had quit the PTL ministry in 1987 after revelations of a 1980 sexual encounter with Jessica Hahn, a former church secretary who later posed nude in Playboy magazine, and a subsequent $265,000 payoff with ministry funds to gain her silence.
asserted
who → quit → silence
Bakker was later defrocked.
asserted
Bakker → defrock → ?
Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, his first wife, had started with a small TV ministry and eventually created a multimillion-dollar operation with 2,000 employees and the 2,300-acre (930-hectare) Heritage USA complex in Fort Mill, South Carolina.
asserted
Bakker → start → Mill
At its peak, the PTL ministry drew 13 million viewers on 200 TV stations and raked in $129m a year.
asserted
ministry → draw → m
With his working-class upbringing, the affable Bakker related well to common folk.
asserted
Bakker → relate → folk
He did not deliver fire-and-brimstone sermons like other televangelists, instead offering a friendly Christian message – although it was larded with requests for money donations.
asserted
it → deliver → donations
Tammy Faye was more much more flamboyant, with her enthusiastic singing and penchant for tears that left her heavy makeup smeared on her face.
asserted
that → leave → face
Bakker was convicted after a six-week trial in federal court on all 24 fraud and conspiracy charges brought against him.
asserted
Bakker → convict → him
Prosecutors said he defrauded followers of $158m by selling promises of lifetime annual vacations that he could not provide.
uncertain
he → say → that
They said he siphoned $3.7m to bankroll a lavish lifestyle that included several homes, luxury cars, mink coats, diamonds, servants – and an air-conditioned dog house.
asserted
that → say → homes
The judge ordered Bakker to serve 45 years in prison but the sentence was later reduced.
asserted
sentence → order → prison
“I have sinned,” Bakker told the court.
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Bakker → sin → court
“I have made mistakes.
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I → make → mistakes
But never in my life did I intend to defraud anyone.”
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I → intend → anyone
Bakker’s chief aide Richard Dortch served 18 months of an eight-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to reduced charges in exchange for testifying against Bakker.
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aide → serve → Bakker
Tammy Faye was never charged.
asserted
Faye → charge → ?
She stood by Bakker at the trial, even singing to reporters after his conviction, but divorced him in 1992 while he was in prison.
asserted
he → stand → prison
She died of cancer in 2007.
asserted
She → die → 2007
Bakker started his life over after leaving prison in 1994, renouncing the “prosperity gospel” he once preached and writing a book titled I Was Wrong.
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I → start → book
“I’ve had a second chance at life.
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I → have → life
And I have a beautiful wife who loves me,” Bakker told CNN in 2000, referring to his second wife, Lori, whom he married in 1998.
asserted
he → have → 1998
They started a TV ministry together in 2003.
asserted
They → start → 2003
In 2008, they began taping The Jim Bakker Show at a 600-acre development called Morningside near the tourism city of Branson, Missouri.
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they → begin → Branson
It bore similarities to Heritage USA.
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It → bear → USA
Bakker once again pleaded with his followers for donations.
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Bakker → plead → donations
In 2020, he drew the ire of state and federal officials for selling a false treatment for Covid-19 during the pandemic.
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he → draw → pandemic
Bakker said in 2017 that Christians would launch a civil war if Trump were to be impeached.
asserted
Trump → say → war
Trump later became the first US president to be impeached twice.
asserted
Trump → become → ?
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