How Much Does Joel Osteen Make a Year?

Very few people have mastered the art of pulling crowds with words. The American Joel Osteen is arguably one of them. His message of hope, brotherhood, unity, kindness, and love resonates with millions of people around the world. Whether you listen to his sermons, attend his conferences, or simply read one of his books, you can’t help but connect with the guy (at least most people do).

As the senior pastor of the Houston-based Lakewood Church, Joel must be doing something right. He has managed to grow his church to become the largest church in the United States. This doesn’t happen by luck. The charming and charismatic religious leader is passionate, ambitious, and relentless.

Back To the Beginning

Before 1999, Osteen was just a preacher’s kid who kept to behind the scenes roles in his father’s Houston church. John Osteen (Joel’s dad) founded Lakewood Church in 1959 and run it for forty years until his demise in 1999.

He realized his boy was a crowd puller and a natural leader. Unfortunately, any attempt to push Joel to take to the pulpit and preach fell on deaf ears. However, when daddy went to be with the Lord, Joel was forced to come out of the shadows.

Within a year of his dad’s passing, he had become the senior pastor of Lakewood Church. Over the course of twenty years, Joel set up the church’s television program and produced his dad’s sermons. The beloved American pastor has also managed to grow his congregation from 5,000 to 50,000 over the course of many years. 

Joel Osteen graduated from Humble High School in 1981. He attended Oral Roberts University, Tulsa, Oklahoma, to study radio and television communication. But, Osteen did not graduate. The American televangelist has been open about the fact that he has never received a degree from a theology school and preaches from his own interpretation of the Bible. 

Over the years, Osteen has risen to worldwide fame. He and his family have shared an Easter breakfast with President Barack Obama at the White House. He was recognized as among the 10 Most Fascinating People on Barbara Walters’s list.

How Much Money Does Osteen Make?

With that much success in church ministry, you bet Joel has a fat bank account. According to the U.S. Bureau Labor of Statistics, the beloved pastor earns around $48,990 every year. Celebrity Net Worth estimates his net worth to be $60 million. This is the kind of money many of us can only dream about.

Thanks to this financial success, Joel, his wife Victoria Osteen, and their two children now live in a posh $10.5 million house in Texas, which he purchased in 2010. The home in the posh Housten suburb, called “River Oaks” stands at 17,000 square feet, boasts six bedrooms, five fireplaces, six bathrooms, three elevators, a luxurious pool, and a one-bedroom guest house.

Prior to acquiring this Texas home, the family already owned another house worth $2.9 million. Pastor Joel Osteen firmly believes in prosperity and is often candid about his beliefs about living large. He insists that God’s will is for all to be winners in the area of finance – a conviction that is best described by the term “prosperity gospel”.

Prior to acquiring this home, the family already owned another house worth $2.9 million. Pastor Joel Osteen firmly believes in prosperity and is often candid about his beliefs of living large. He insists that God’s will is for all to be winners in the area of finance.