What is Joel Osteen’s net worth and salary?
Joel Osteen, an American pastor, televangelist, and author, has a net worth of $100 million. Joel Osteen is most known for being the pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas. He has become somewhat controversial due to his own fortune and broad support for the “prosperity gospel.” His messages have been critiqued for being overly focused on personal enrichment and growth. His megachurch in Houston is a 600,000-square-foot former sports stadium with seating for 17,000 people. Joel has not accepted a salary from his church since 2005. His earnings and fortune come from book advances, royalties, calendars, speaking fees, and other products.
According to financial data revealed by the Houston Chronicle, Lakewood’s income in 2017 was $89 million. After costs, the church allocated $1.2 million to charity charities. That is 1.3% of income donated to charity.
Personal Wealth and Salary
Joel Osteen’s book sales, radio show, public speaking fees, and church collection reportedly produce more than $90 million in annual earnings. When asked about his remarkable income, Joel believes that people should not feel guilty for having a lot of material wealth. Instead, he argues that one should simply thank and honor God for the prosperity they have received. He maintains that he does not get a salary from the church and that his sole source of income is book sales.
Joel Osteen House
Detractors on social media like to point out that Joel, his wife Victoria Osteen, and their children reside in a 17,000-square-foot estate in the Houston suburbs. The Osteens reportedly paid $10.5 million for the house in 2010. According to Zillow, the home is currently worth $14 – $16 million. They continue to possess a prior Houston home worth approximately $3 million.
Early Life
Joel Osteen was born Joel Scott Osteen on March 5, 1963, in Houston, Texas. He is the sixth child of John Osteen and Dolores Pilgrim. Osteen also has a half-brother from his father’s previous marriage, who resided with the family as Joel grew up. Osteen graduated from Humble High School in 1981 and attended Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he studied radio and television communications. He did not graduate.
Career
Joel received Lakewood Church and its television ministry from his father, a Southern Baptist pastor. He established Lakewood’s television program and oversaw his father’s TV sermons for 17 years. In January 1999, his father, John, died after a heart attack. Joel, despite having little formal religious training, took over his father’s job as a pastor and televangelist two weeks following his death. Lakewood purchased the Compaq Center in 2003, which had previously housed the NBA Houston Rockets basketball franchise. Renovations lasted 15 months and cost more than $105 million.
Their grand opening drew 56,000 people, including renowned dignitaries such as Texas Governor Rick Perry and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. In 2006, Osteen was named one of Barbara Walters’ ten most fascinating people. By 2008, the church’s weekly service TV feed was watched in over 100 countries. Joel and his family were invited to President Barack Obama’s Easter brunch at the White House in 2010.
Since then, the Lakewood Church broadcast has grown dramatically and can now be seen in over 100 countries. Joel has developed both the church and the television ministry around the world. Every week, around 50,000 people attend services at the church. Osteen’s weekly TV sermons are watched by an average of seven million people per week, or 20 million per month. Despite the fact that he has no formal education, he perfected his preaching talents under his father’s supervision. Osteen prepares his sermons by memorizing them and then listening to himself on tape. He has stated that he strives to teach Biblical ideas in a basic and straightforward manner, emphasizing the power of love and a positive mindset.
