Organised religion is big business and a lot of people have become wealthy from it. A list of the five wealthiest pastors in the world has been compiled and a Nigerian pastor made the list.
1. The wealthiest pastor is Eric Macedo. He is the founder of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God in Brazil. He is worth $ 1.1 billion and is the richest pastor in the world. He is also the founder of Grupo Record, the largest media group in Brazil.
2. The second wealthiest pastor is Kenneth Copeland. Kenneth Copeland is the founder and owner of Kenneth Copeland Ministries. He is worth $760 million.
3. Coming up at the third place is Pat Robertson. Pat Robertson is a well-known televangelist in the United States. He owes his fortune to his numerous participations in companies and organizations, as well as to a private university (Regent University) that he created in 1977, which has nearly 9,000 students. He is worth $500 million dollars.
4. Closely following Pat Robertson is George Foreman. The former heavyweight boxing champion became a pastor at the age of 28 after retiring from boxing and investing part of his fortune in the construction of a church and a troubled youth center in Houston. His fortune is estimated at 250 million dollars.
5. Nigeria's David Oyedepo is the fifth richest pastor in the world. He is the leader of Living Faith Church Worldwide, also known as Winners' Chapel. With a fortune of $150 million, he is believed to be the richest pastor in Nigeria and Africa. He has four private jets and houses in London and the United States. He also has his own publishing company that publishes his books. Lastly, he is the founder of Covenant University and Faith Academy secondary school.
Meanwhile, David Oyedepo has said it is an insult to say he is worth only $150 million because, according to him, he is "worth Philippians 4:19" which says, "My God shall supply all my needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus".
He added: "150 million too small. That can't be. That can't be. He said you shall lay up gold as dusts. Is that 150 million?"
