Televangelists Living Like Kings?
They are the faces of today's televangelists.
Kenneth Copeland boasts a world-wide following.
Bennie Hinn has multiple TV shows.
Paula White is a talk show regular.
Eddie Long received a faith-based grant from the Bush Administration.
Joyce Meyer has written more than 70 inspirational books.
Creflo Dollar's message has been called the "gospel of bling."
Because they run churches they do not have to file tax forms with the IRS. So it's unclear how many millions - or billions - are collected every year.
And it's uncertain how all the money is spent, CBS News chief investigative correspondent Armen Keteyian reports.
"Rolls Royces, Bentleys ... a marble commode in an expensive home: that's a lot of money down the toilet," said Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa.
Grassley, the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, capped a two-year investigation on Monday by requesting financial records from six top televangelists to see whether they are helping others - or themselves.
Today, five of six denied any wrongdoing to CBS News. One did not respond to calls for comment.
"My goal for reform is not necessarily to pass laws but to make sure the laws are being followed," Grassley said.
"They live like multi-billionaires off the income from the poorest and most desperate people in our society," he said.
Some of these televangelists preach the so-called "gospel of prosperity."
Now a powerful Republican senator has demanded they all provide financial records by early December - to determine if they are living that gospel as well.
Copyright 2009 CBS. All rights reserved. Because they run churches they do not have to file tax forms with the IRS. So it's unclear how many millions - or billions - are collected every year.
And it's uncertain how all the money is spent, CBS News chief investigative correspondent Armen Keteyian reports.
"Rolls Royces, Bentleys ... a marble commode in an expensive home: that's a lot of money down the toilet," said Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa.
Grassley, the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, capped a two-year investigation on Monday by requesting financial records from six top televangelists to see whether they are helping others - or themselves.
Today, five of six denied any wrongdoing to CBS News. One did not respond to calls for comment.
"My goal for reform is not necessarily to pass laws but to make sure the laws are being followed," Grassley said.
Ole Anthony, director of the Trinity Foundation, has been on a 20-year-crusade to expose TV ministers who abuse the failth of others.
Read more on the probe from the CBS News Investigative Unit
Check out Primary Source, our investigative blog.
"They live like multi-billionaires off the income from the poorest and most desperate people in our society," he said.
Some of these televangelists preach the so-called "gospel of prosperity."
Now a powerful Republican senator has demanded they all provide financial records by early December - to determine if they are living that gospel as well.
Watch more of Keteyian's interview with Sen. Grassley.













http://open-letter-for-pastor-hagee.org/
I am very happy in my life! And for all of the people who support such ministries I am not jealous of these people. They are competing against each other to see who can get the most stuff. What happened to standing up for something other than who can get the next private plane.
A lie cannot live.
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere
Martin Luther King Jr.
Why do they need 50thousand square foot homes and multiple vacation homes just as large?
Surely they can get by on just 1 mil a year, instead of the obvious multi-hundred millions they squander on themselves BEFORE a dime goes to help the needy...
Posted by DylanXXV at 06:19 PM : Nov 07, 2007
Exactly, these fat cats get on the tube and gay bash night and day, but they seem to forget the Bible''s admonition that it''s easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to enter into heaven. It''s sickening that people actually think these guys are "believers." Any dishonest atheist knows that the easiest way to get rich in this country is to find JESUS!
Posted by countingonu2 at 09:40 PM : Nov 07, 2007
Ummm, are you on drugs? These preachers make themselves rich by preying (no pun intended) on the poorest, most elderly, most vulnerable people in society? Do you really think it''s okay that they are out buying prostitutes while the victims of their fraud are eating cat food? You need to do some more crack. It might bring back around to reality.