American televangelist and broadcaster Jim Bakker has died at the age of 86. His death, which occurred on Monday night, was revealed on social media by his second wife, Lori Bakker.
Alongside his first wife, Tammy Faye, Bakker built a broadcasting juggernaut and an evangelical empire centered on the gospel of prosperity and The PTL Club TV show. At its peak, the PTL ministry raked in 129 million dollars a year and drew 13 million viewers across 200 TV stations. The empire also included a hotel and a Christian-based theme park in South Carolina.
Bakker's period of opulence ended in disgrace following a sex scandal, financial crimes, and his divorce from Tammy Faye. In 1989, he was convicted of defrauding followers in a scheme involving holidays at his theme park, leading to a prison sentence of four and a half years. His transition from the TV pulpit to a prison cell in the 1980s inspired comparisons to the fictional preacher-huckster Elmer Gantry.