Africa’s Richest Pastors: Combining Faith, Business Success And Hedonism

Africa’s Richest Pastors: Combining Faith, Business Success And Hedonism

Many choose the ways of religion, but the few who are ordained to become pastors are likely to be the most influential, reputable, and, of course, rich. Nowadays being a pastor is proven to also be quite the profitable occupation, mostly due to the extremely high number of believers and followers they lead, the worldwide exposure and other profitable endeavors.
This list reviews selected Reverends, Pastors, Prophets and Christian leaders. On one hand, we tried to provide insight on their community work, their spiritual guidance, and their generous contribution to society. On the other hand, we tried to expose the hedonism, Hollywood-like lifestyle, and in some cases, financial corruption that came along with these individual’s success in reaching the heart and soul of communities across Africa.

Pastor Shepherd Bushiri

Credit: Shepherd Bushiri Ministries Facebook

Known as the “Major One”, Shepherd Bushiri is a pastor, preacher and the founder of the Enlightened Christian Gathering and has a major following, making him not only a prominent religious figure but also in politics.

Shepherd Bushiri claims to cause miracles that cure HIV and other diseases, although those claims generated some criticism towards him, which led to his ban from the country of Botswana and shutdown of one of his churches. His net worth is around $150 million. He owns a fleet of cars, a private jet worth about $37 million, and houses across many countries in Africa.

Pastor Tshifhiwa Irene

 Credit: pastortshifhiwairene Instagram

The leader of the Divine Truth World Restoration Services, Tshifhiwa Irene has made quite an impression on American audience especially and generated a big following worldwide, especially via social networks.

She also has a popular television network on the African broadcast service DStv. She is considered to be one of the richest pastors in the world, with a net worth of roughly $40 million

ENOCH ADEBOYE

Enoch Adeboye was given a respectable position in the church “RCCG” in Nigeria in 1981. At the time, he was also a Mathematics professor at the University of Ilorin until 1984 when he decided to give up his position as a professor at the university to become a full-time pastor.

Ever since Enoch Adeboye became an overseer of RCCG, he worked hard to expand the church and gain recognition worldwide. Today, Enoch Adeboye’s church has branched into more than 196 nations, and he is considered by many to be one of the most influential pastors.

RAY MCCAULEY

RAY MCCAULEY is a known figure in the South African religious communities. In his early years, he chased a bodybuilding career and took part in several championships. After attending Bible college, McCauley founded Rhema Bible Church. Nowadays, the church has 45,000 strong followers, which makes it the largest church congregation in South Africa.

Ray McCauley also has controversy following him, as his church was previously accused of the prosperity gospel and other allegations regarding his lifestyle. McCauley often defends himself by saying that he earns a salary of any executive in a medium-sized company.

Bishop David Oyedepo

Credit: DavidOyedepoMin Twitter

With a net worth of no less than $150 million, David Oyedepo is the single richest pastor in Nigeria. David Oyedepo claims to have received a message from God when he was younger, tasking him to cleanse the world from evil through faith, which led him to found his church.
Today, he is the bishop of Faith Tabernacle, a 50,000-seat mega church that he founded in 1983.

The church headquartered at Lagos, Nigeria, and leads one of the largest following in all of Africa. David Oyedepo is also a renowned author and preacher and published over 70 works. He and his church own several houses as well as four private jets.

Rev. Chris Okotie

Credit: Wikipedia

An established author, musician, televangelist, and founder of Household of God Church, Chris Okotie is one of Nigeria’s most famous pastors. After several years of attending the University of Nigeria, he decided to quit his studies in pursuit of a music career only to return later and graduated with a law degree and proceeded to attend the Grace Fellowship Bible School, from where he established his own church.

Chris Okotie made some presidential runs as well, but never found successes in the elections. He is a very wealthy man, with a passion for luxury cars. His car fleet includes cars like Range Rover and a Rolls Royce Phantom. His net worth estimation is somewhere between $3-10 million.

MATTHEW ASHIMOLOWO

Credit: Matthew Ashimolowo Facebook

MATTHEW ASHIMOLOWO is a pastor in one of the United Kingdom’s largest churches and hosts about 12,000 people every Sunday. Matthew Ashimolowo hosts a daily program named “Winning Ways” on several radio stations and television channels in Europe and Africa. Ashimolowo converted to Christianity from Islam when he was 20 years of age, after the death of his father.

Forbes estimates his net worth to be $6-10 million, and his church owns assets worth more than $40 million. Ashimolowo was subject to an investigation by the Charity Commission of England and Wales. The Commission released an inquiry report stating that Ashimolowo had mismanaged and took advantage of his charity by approving personal payment to himself and to his wife in the sums of $500,000 and purchased himself a $100,000 car with charity funds. He was ordered by the commission to repay around $300,000.

Chris Oyakhilome

Chris Oyakhilome is the president of the Christian ministry “Christ Embassy”, and is serving as a minister in Nigeria for more than 30 years. Chris Oyakhilome runs television programs focused around faith healing that generated millions of viewers, he is also a best-selling author of numerous books that are distributed in over 140 languages.

His current net worth is about $50 million. Chris Oyakhilome is also known for his philanthropic works, aiding the weak both spiritually and materially, with his mission’s motto being “every child is your child”.

Bishop Ayo Oritsejafor

Credit: ayo_oritsejafor Instagram

Ayo Oritsejafor was a president of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and received numerous awards in regard to his peace and humanitarian initiatives. Ayo Oritsejafor also has received heavy criticism, as CAN is not well recognized in Nigeria, and had many publications writing headlines about him.

Today, he is the second richest pastor in Nigeria. Ayo Oritsejafor is renowned across Africa for his luxury and wealth, as he owns a private jet, university (Eagles Height University), and a bank(!).