Understand
US televangelist Jim Bakker dies at the age of 86
Overview
US televangelist Jim Bakker, who created a multimillion-dollar media empire before serving a prison sentence for fraud and conspiracy, has died at the age of 86. His death was announced on Monday by his second wife, Lori Bakker. Bakker rose to fame in the 1970s with his then-wife Tammy Faye through the Christian television programme The PTL Club, but their empire collapsed in the late 1980s following a sex scandal and his subsequent conviction for mail and wire fraud.
Key points
- US televangelist Jim Bakker has died at the age of 86, as announced by his second wife, Lori Bakker.
- In 1974, Bakker and his first wife Tammy Faye founded The PTL Club, a Christian television programme that reached 13 million daily viewers at its peak.
- The couple built a large media empire and the Heritage USA theme park, living an opulent lifestyle funded by the ministry.
- Bakker resigned in 1987 after revelations regarding a 1980 sexual encounter with church secretary Jessica Hahn and subsequent payoffs using ministry funds.
- In 1989, Bakker was convicted of 24 counts of mail and wire fraud and conspiracy, serving over four years in prison.
- Following his release, he married Lori in 1998 and launched a new television ministry in 2003.