Affiliation: Living Faith World Outreach Ministry, aka Winners Chapel
Estimated net worth: $150 million
David Oyedepo is Nigeria’s wealthiest preacher. Ever since he founded the Living Faith World Outreach Ministry in 1981, it has grown to become one of Africa’s largest congregations. The Faith Tabernacle, where he hosts three services every Sunday, is Africa’s largest worship center, with a seating capacity of 50,000. Oyedepo owns four private jets and homes in London and the United States. He also owns Dominion Publishing House, a thriving publishing company that publishes all his books (which are often centered on prosperity). He founded and owns Covenant University, one of Nigeria’s leading tertiary institutions, and Faith Academy, an elite high school.
Last year, the charismatic preacher was at the center of a $35 million money laundering case in which he was accused of siphoning funds from his church to foreign banks. Pastor Chris pleaded no wrongdoing and the case was eventually dismissed. His church, Christ Embassy, boasts more than 40,000 members, several of whom are successful business executives and politicians. Oyakhilome’s diversified interests include newspapers, magazines, a local television station, a record label, satellite TV, hotels and extensive real estate. His Loveworld TV Network is the first Christian network to broadcast from Africa to the rest of the world on a 24 hour basis.
3. Temitope Joshua
Church: Synagogue Church Of All Nations (SCOAN)
Estimated net worth: $10 million – $15 million
Nigeria’s most controversial clergyman is also one of its richest and most philanthropic. T.B Joshua heads the Synagogue Church of all Nations (SCOAN), a congregation he founded in 1987, which accommodates over 15,000 worshippers on Sundays. The Pastor has remained controversial for several years for his inexplicable powers to heal all sorts of incurable diseases, including HIV/AIDS, cancer and paralysis. For miracle-craving worshippers, it’s the perfect seduction. The church currently has branches in Ghana, the United Kingdom, South Africa, and Greece. In the past three years, he has given over $20 million to causes in education, healthcare and rehabilitation programs for former Niger Delta militants. He owns Emmanuel TV, a Christian television network, and is close friends with Ghanaian President Atta Mills.
4. Matthew Ashimolowo
Kingsway International Christian Centre (KICC)
Estimated net worth: $6 million – $10 million
In 1992, Foursquare Gospel Church, a Nigerian church, sent Ashimolowo to open a satellite branch in London. But Pastor Matthew had other ideas and decided to set up his own church instead. Today, his Kingsway International Christian Center is reportedly the largest Pentecostal church in the United Kingdom. In 2009, the church posted profits of close to $10 million and assets worth $40 million. Ashimolowo earns an annual salary of $200,000, but his real wealth comes from varied business interests including his media company, Matthew Ashimolowo media, which churns out Christian literature and documentaries. Ashimolowo’s representatives did not respond to a request confirming his net worth and ownership of all these assets.
5. Chris Okotie
Church: Household of God Church
Net worth: $3 million -$10 million
Pastor Okotie made his first success as a popular pop musician in the 80s. He found the light, embraced the bible and set up the Household of God Church, one of Nigeria’s most flamboyant congregations. His 5,000 member church consists predominantly of Nollywood celebrities, musicians, and society people. He contested and lost Nigerian presidential elections for the third time this year under the Fresh Party, a political party he founded and funds. An automobile lover, he owns a Mercedes S600, Hummer and Porsche among several others.
We are having the bestest time in South America and are sending you lots of hugs and well-wishes! We wish you a fun, stress-free weekend! And we THANK YOU for your amazing support all these years! You rock! And you roll! And also thank you as well to our awesome advertisers. Please take a moment to click on [...]
Topanga meets world! Danielle Fisher has graduated college at the ripe age of 31 and we could not be any prouder! It’s never too late to be a learner slash winner! On her Tumblr, she shared: “I am officially a college graduate! I took my last two undergraduate finals today and I am so happy, [...]
Ewan McGregor shares the big screen with Naomi Watts in The Impossible, the tragic tale of one family’s real-life survival story during Thailand’s 2004 tsunami. We recently caught up recently with Ewan to chat about the film, due out Dec. 21, as well as his experience playing a dad to three young sons. During our interview, Ewan also shared a story about Angelina Jolie and what it means to have her support behind this “special” project, which hits select theaters today.
Turns out it can…if you know how to spend it right.
We often hear it, but how true is the phrase 'Money can't buy happiness'? Is there a correlation between the two, and if so, what can we learn from it? It turns out, if you think money and happiness are exclusive, you simply aren't spending it right.
The Simpsons is getting a new writer — Aaron Sorkin! Only the Social Network scribe won’t be working behind the scenes… he’ll be acting in a cameo role! So will the writer be doing one of his famous “walk-and-talks” on the show? Nope! He won’t even have legs! No, the West Wing creator will reportedly just play a [...]
So You Think You Can Dance, you are… SAFE! For one more year at least! Fox has decided to renew its reality dance competition show for a tenth season despite flagging ratings. But will they try something crazy to bring in viewers? New judges? Different format? Hunger Games-style eliminations? The show’s ninth season hit a low, averaging only 6.8 million [...]
The newest member of the "Mob Wives" crew has really been there all along. Love Majewski has been just off-camera during the first three seasons of VH1's addictive mob opera, set on Staten Island. She has known and hung out with most of the "wives" for more than 20…
Perfection! Rose McGowan is donning her witches robes once more… but not as sassy, urban Wiccan Paige! The seXXXy actress has been cast to play the younger version of Regina (the evil witchy Queen)’s mother Cora (an even MORE evil witch!) in an “origin” episode, to premiere during the second half of Once Upon a Time’s [...]
SAN FRANCISCO — When Ruzwana Bashir traveled to Istanbul a few years back, she created an Excel file of everything she planned to do on the trip with her friends there, down to their phone numbers and addresses. Her friends loved her planning so much it became the template for all their travels.
The response was so great, she says, that she thought, "Hang on, why don't I start a website where I can take tips from my friends and use them when I'm traveling?"
She and co-founder Oskar Bruening created Peek.com, which launched earlier this year, as a sort of travel guidebook-meets-hotel concierge. The difference: All the activities written about on the website are clickable and bookable from home.
Bashir, 29, worked at start-ups Art.sy and Gilt after graduating from Oxford and Harvard Business School before launching the new website. In between, she got in lots of exotic travel, in places such as Istanbul, Brazil and Mongolia.
"I found that booking a hotel was easy, but when it came to activities, I would spend hours researching," she says. "I was looking at hundreds of websites. Travel planning is a pain."
Bashir says the average person spends seven hours planning a trip and goes to 22 different websites.
On Peek.com, celebrities and public figures such as CNN's Piers Morgan and designer Tory Burch write about how to spend the "perfect day" in places such as San Francisco and the Hawaiian Islands, while users chime in with destinations around the world. Peek offers bookable activities in San Francisco, San Diego and Hawaii, and expects to expand to Los Angeles in January, Miami and New York in the spring. By the end of 2013, she hopes to be in international locations as well.
"I love the visuals," says Christine Ciarmello, deputy editor of Sunset magazine. "It feels like a magazine to me."
Tech news site CNet raved, calling Peek "the traveler's do-it-all digital concierge." Bookings have gone up 200% since the site started just two months ago, says Bashir.
Peek is backed by celebrity investors, including Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt and Christopher Michel, founder of Military.com. They ponied up $1.4 million to fund the site.
Michel is a frequent traveler who welcomed Bashir's idea. He's just returned from Burma (also known as Myanmar), where he photographed balloon rides in the desert. He sees Peek evolving into a website where people like him could share their own "amazing" stories. "It's really hard to uncover really cool things to do for travel online," he says.
Bashir says the site will make money by the commissions it gets on the activities, but that consumers won't pay a premium for booking through Peek.
What's with the name?
"We wanted to offer an insight into all the hidden gems that you might not ordinarily find," she says. "So it's a peek into the best holiday you could possibly have."
Season 2 of 'X Factor' wrapped with one lucky act snagging the $5 million recording contract.
The red carpet was rolled out Thursday for X Factor's Season 2 grand finale.
Hosts Khloe Kardashian Odom and Mario Lopez greeted judges L.A. Reid, Demi Lovato, Simon Cowell and Britney Spears, who cruised up in black cars as though it were a movie premiere.
Britney, who looked like a deer in headlights and had fiance Jason Trawick lurking behind her, told Mario, "It's exciting, so exciting." (It should be no surprise that Trawick was there. Despite some celeb buzz that the two might be having relationship troubles, Spears told People today that "Jason has the ability to always make me feel protected and loved.")
Khloe tried to joke around with Simon, saying, "So sexy, the chest hair," as she touched his V-neck area. Simon grinned, but didn't look thrilled.
Pitbull hopped out of a car. One Direction arrived. Both caused the faux red carpet crowd to squeal.
Finalists Tate Stevens, Carly Rose Sonenclar and girl group Fifth Harmony arrived last, hitting the red carpet singing The Beatles song All You Need is Love.
And then the two-hour finale unfolded, with silly banter, clips of the judges (Simon as the Grinch, Britney's many faces), heart-tugging messages from families and friends, clothing changes for the hosts and star performances, along with the all-important results.
MORE: Tate Stevens is headed to Nashville
MORE: LeAnn Rimes addresses 'X Factor' chatter
Here's how it went:
Tate took the stage to sing Please Come Home For Christmas as dancers wiggled around him, sporting pink and white furry short dresses, caps and handwarmers.
Afterward, L.A., Tate's mentor, said, "I think we all agree you've done an amazingly consistent job. Good luck to you. I really hope that you can take this thing home." Said Tate: "I can't put into words what winning this would do."
Fifth Harmony, in festive red and white outfits, performed Christmas (Baby Please Come Home). "My fingers are very, very crossed for you tonight," said their mentor, Simon.
Carly Rose, with breakdancing toy soldiers behind her, sang a jaunty version of All I Want For Christmas is You. Britney said she was "proud" of Carly. Simon said that Carly, 13, has "a huge career ahead of her."
Just before 9 p.m. ET, Khloe changed from her short lacy green dress to a skin-tight (rubber?) black dress and the third-place winner was announced. ... Fifth Harmony! Bye-bye, teen girl group.
Khloe then checked in with some of the most "memorable contestants" backstage. Vino Alan said having the finale come down to Carly and Tate is "like my sister vs. my brother." Diamond White said she just "loves" Carly "so much."
And then one of the Emblem3 surfer dudes said, "I think we should get all the contestants and rent a cabin ...and snowboard!"
"Ohhhkkkay," said Khloe.
Pitbull then rocked the house with Don't Stop the Party.
One Direction, standing on stairs behind giant red lips, sang Kiss You.
And as the clock ticked toward the final moments, Carly and Tate shared the stage for a duet of Miley Cyrus' The Climb. At the end, they high-fived each other and shared a hug.
Just before the big announcement, Khloe changed into a sparkly pink and gold dress. Mario announced more than 35 million votes were cast.
Tate and L.A. took the stage, as did Carly and Britney.
Down to the final two. "This is it," said Mario. "Good luck to the both of you."
And the winner of the $5 million recording contract is ... Tate Stevens!
Carly, who looked sad, graciously gave Tate a hug.
"First and foremost, I gotta thank the man upstairs for taking care of me," said Stevens, 37, looking up. "My family, all the country music fans -- God bless you. Thank you so very much for all the votes. This is the best day of my life."
Now that it's become evident that Tim Tebow's tenure with the New York Jets won't likely last beyond the 2012 season, we started thinking about where he could possibly end up in 2013.
We came up with several longshot possibilities on Wednesday, but depending on how important it is for him to continue playing quarterback and getting an opportunity to start, it's possible that most NFL teams just won't want to take the chance on bringing the scrutiny of theTebow experience into their locker room.
As positive of a guy as Tebow is, each team is likely to have at least one reason why they'd turn down the chance to sign or trade for him. Here they all are.
NORTHERN EXPOSURE: Could Tebow end up in the CFL?
New York Giants: They've seen the circus up close and personal -- president John Mara even ridiculed the Jets for it -- and there's no way they'd bring it to East Rutherford.
Washington Redskins: Aside from RGIII's action-figure collection, there can only be one superhero in that locker room.
Dallas Cowboys: If Jerry Jones gives Tebow a job, it'll be as Dez Bryant's escort.
Philadelphia Eagles: They've already tried a left-handed quarterback who can't stay in the pocket.
PHOTOS: The most controversial Tebow photos
Last SlideNext Slide
Green Bay Packers: Aaron Rodgers would welcome the distraction of Tebow about as well as another visit from a "60 Minutes" production crew.
Chicago Bears: "Hi, Mr. Cutler, I'm Tim Tebow." "Doooonnnnnnnn'tttt Carrrrrrrrrrrre"
Minnesota Vikings: They already have one quarterback from a Florida college whose main job consists of handing the ball off to Adrian Peterson.
WEEK 16 Picks: Will the 49ers claim the NFC West?
Detroit Lions: The Lions have the best receiver in football in Calvin Johnson. You don't fill up a Ferrari with 87 gas, even for short trips to the store.
Atlanta Falcons: They're in the Bible belt, but any backup quarterback here in 2013 had better be able to get the ball to their weapons – Tony Gonzalez (if he doesn't retire), Roddy White and Julio Jones. And Tebow can't.
New Orleans Saints: It would be amazing to anoint "Saint Tebow," but even Sean Payton couldn't devise an offense that would work for him.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: "Excuse me, Coach Schiano, but do you think diving at a guy's knees on the last play of the game is the Christian thing to do?"
Carolina Panthers: Fragile Cam Newton can't deal with losing, how do you think he'd do as the second-most popular QB in camp?
San Francisco 49ers: Colin Kaepernick = Tim Tebow with an accurate arm.
Seattle Seahawks: Pete Carroll went out of his way to call Tebow "a distraction" for the Jets this season.
St. Louis Rams: If offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer (who held the same role with the Jets prior to this season) is a fan of schadenfreude, he probably enjoyed the Tebow experiment in New York. That doesn't mean he wants to be designing plays for the guy.
Arizona Cardinals: The Cardinals badly need a starting quarterback and will likely target a veteran like Alex Smith or a potential franchise player through the draft. Neither needs the carnival of the world's most famous backup.
MAN UP: Ex-Jet questions Sanchez's priorities
New England Patriots: Tom Brady doesn't like leaving the field with his team up 30 in the fourth quarter. He's going to want to jog off so Tebow can run a draw play every few series?
New York Jets: Been there. done that.
Miami Dolphins: The Dolphins primarily run a West Coast offense. Tim Tebow is not exactly the best fit for a West Coast offense.
Buffalo Bills: Buffalo already has Brad Smith in the fold for the types of unconventional Wildcat playcalling that Tebow could be useful for.
Baltimore Ravens: Because Tim Tebow is also not an elite quarterback.
Cincinnati Bengals: While preparing for the Jets in preseason, the Bengals used rookie receiver Mohammed Sanu to mimic Tebow. Sanu told reporters afterward he could throw better than the former Heisman winner. "I've seen him throw," Sanu said. The receiver might be right. His 73 yards passing on the year are nearly twice as many as Tebow has.
Pittsburgh Steelers: And get rid of 75-year-old Charlie Batch to make room? Nonsense.
Cleveland Browns: The Browns have been trying to find a good passer since Bernie Kosar left. They'll keep looking.
Houston Texans: The only stadium Tebow will be headlining in Houston is likely to be Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church, which now operates from the former COMPAQ Center, the home of the Rockets until 2003.
Indianapolis Colts: Indy isn't going to mess with its amazing Luck for years to come.
Tennessee Titans: With former All-Pro guard Mike Munchak at the helm, the Titans would be the perfect stop for Tebow if he wanted the coach to teach him how to be a full-time blocker.
Jacksonville Jaguars: The Jaguars were on the hometown hero's short list last season but apparently owner Shad Khan was the only one in the front office sold on bringing Tebow in. As Jerry Jones and Dan Snyder have often proved, it's always a good idea to let the owner make football decisions.
Denver Broncos: Dude, she had fun with you but dumped you for like, a way, older college guy with his own Jeep Wrangler. Her parents thought you were such a nice boy though.
San Diego Chargers: A.J. Smith is likely gone as the Chargers GM after the season. If you're his replacement, why would you want to make this kind of a splash in your first month or two on the job?
Oakland Raiders: It would be hard to focus on playing quarterback when you've got an entire "nation" of miscreants to try and counsel before every home game.
Kansas City Chiefs: Brady Quinn: "Come on???? This guy again???"
