Joel Austin Net Worth
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What is Joel Osteen’s net worth and salary?
Joel Osteen is an American missionary, television preacher and writer with a net worth of US$100 million. Joel Osteen is best known for serving as the pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas. He has become a somewhat controversial figure due to his personal wealth and the general advocacy of the “Prosperity Gospel”. His message was criticized for focusing too much on personal enrichment and progress. His large church in Houston is a 600,000 square foot former stadium with a capacity of 17,000 people.
Since 2005, Joel has not received a salary from his church. His income and wealth come from book advance payments, book royalties, calendars, lecture fees and other commodities.
early life
He was born on March 5, 1963 in Houston, Texas, his original name is Joel Scott Osteen. He is one of six children of John Osteen and Dolores Pilgrim. Osteen also has a half-brother who also lived with his family when Joel was growing up. Joel graduated from Humble High School in 1981 and continued to study radio and television communications at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Austin did not graduate.
Profession
Joel inherited Lakewood Church and its television ministry from his father, a Southern Baptist pastor. He founded Lakewood’s TV show and produced his father’s TV sermon for 17 years. In January 1999, his father John died of a heart attack. Two weeks after his father’s death, Joel succeeded John as a pastor and TV preacher, even though he had little formal religious training. In 2003, Lakewood acquired the Compaq Center, which was once home to the NBA Houston Rockets basketball team. The renovation project took 15 months and cost more than 105 million US dollars. Their grand opening was attended by 56,000 people, including famous guests such as Texas Governor Rick Perry and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. In 2006, Osteen was on Barbara Walters’ list of 10 most fascinating people. By 2008, the weekly service TV stream of the church was watched in more than 100 countries. In 2010, Joel and his family were invited to participate in the Easter breakfast hosted by President Obama at the White House.
Since then, the broadcast of Lakewood Church has grown exponentially and can be seen in 100 different countries. Joel has expanded church and television ministries worldwide. The church receives more than 50,000 parishioners every week. On average, 7 million people watch Osteen’s weekly TV sermons every week, and 20 million watch them every month. Although he did not have a formal degree, he honed his preaching skills under the guidance of his father. As for preparing for his sermon, Austin memorized his speech and then listened to himself on tape. Osteen stated that he tried to teach biblical principles in a simple and direct way, focusing on the power of love and a positive attitude.
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author
In 2004, Joel wrote his first book “Your Best Life Now”. As a positive thinking book sales, it topped the New York Times bestseller list for the first time and stayed there for 200 weeks. The book and his sermons were so popular that Joel was able to bring his “full potential” message to sold-out stadiums around the world. In 2005, his second book “Becoming a Better You” sold 4 million copies. According to reports, the pastor earned more than $13 million in advances and royalties for the pastor. In 2005, Osteen began touring in 15 cities in the United States to support his book, and preached to large crowds in every location. John McCain once described Austin as his favorite inspirational honor. Joel Osteen has written 15 books in his career.
personal life
Osteen and Victoria IIoff, co-pastor of Lakewood Church, married on April 4, 1987. The couple have two children. Osteen’s elder brother, sister and sister are also involved in ministry full-time.
Osteen usually avoids promoting controversial political issues such as same-sex marriage and abortion. However, he said that the church sometimes pays too much attention to one issue to the point of ignoring other issues. He has stated that he does not approve of homophobia. Austin also expressed his support for Israel. In 2011, Osteen and Lakewood Church were sued by The American Dollar for copyright infringement. A judge ruled in favor of Osteen.
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Hurricane Harvey response
In August 2017, Osteen received strong criticism for not using Lakewood Church as an emergency shelter immediately after Hurricane Harvey. The building was formerly a basketball court and occupies an area of 606,000 square feet. At first, the church post stated that the building was unusable due to severe flooding. However, Osteen refuted the news, saying that the church had never been closed. On the evening of August 28, Lakewood announced that they would open at noon the next day as a safe haven for victims and first responders. A year later, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner announced the establishment of this day to commemorate the assistance of Osteen and Lakewood Church in the reconstruction of the city. The mayor said that Lakewood Church has provided assistance to more than 1,150 Houston families, donated 1.1 million US dollars for reconstruction materials, and placed 2,500 volunteers from their congregation.
Personal wealth and salary
According to reports, Joel Osteen’s book sales, radio programs, public lecture fees, and church collections generate more than $70 million in total annually. When asked about this special income, Joel claimed that individuals should not feel guilty for possessing large amounts of material wealth. On the contrary, he believes that one only needs to thank and praise God for the wealth he has obtained. He claimed that he did not receive a salary from the church.
Joel Austin House
Critics of social media like to point out that Joel, his wife Victoria Austin and their children live in a 17,000-square-foot mansion on the outskirts of Houston. According to reports, the Osteens paid $10.5 million for the house in 2010. According to Zillow, the house is worth US$1.4-16 million.
They continue to own a former Houston home estimated to be worth $3 million.
