Jim Bakker, TV Evangelist Caught in Scandal, Dies at 86

Tue Oct 06 2026 15:35:38 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

Former PTL Club icon Jim Bakker, whose lavish ministry collapsed amid sex‑and‑fraud scandals, has died at 86.

Jim Bakker, the charismatic founder of the 13‑million‑viewer PTL Club, has passed away at 86, according to his wife Lori. Bakker’s meteoric rise in the 1970s gave way to a 1987 career‑shattering scandal involving a former church secretary and a subsequent conviction on 24 counts of fraud, leading to more than four years in prison. After his release he remarried and revived a modest TV ministry with Lori, yet his legacy remains fraught with controversy. His death marks the end of a turbulent chapter in American televangelism.

Jim Bakker, TV Evangelist Caught in Scandal, Dies at 86

US televangelist Jim Bakker, who built a multimillion‑dollar media empire that crumbled after a sex‑and‑fraud scandal, has died at 86.

The 86‑year‑old’s death was announced by his second wife Lori Bakker, who described him as a seminal figure in Christian television. Bakker and his first wife, the late Tammy Faye, founded the PTL Club in 1974, attracting 13 million viewers daily at its peak.

In the late 1980s the empire unravels: a secret affair with former church secretary Jessica Hahn, a $265,000 payout, and a 1989 conviction of 24 counts of mail and wire fraud and conspiracy. He served more than four years in prison and was defrocked, yet he returned to television with a new ministry in 2003 alongside Lori.

The couple’s later life featured a modest but earnest TV program, "The Jim Bakker Show," and a renewed sense of purpose. While Lori praised him as a close friend and ministry partner, she withheld the cause of death.

Bakker’s legacy is a complicated blend of evangelistic influence, opulent lifestyle, and severe legal consequences. His passing prompts reflection on the rise and fall of televised ministry in the United States.