What we know
What we know: Jim Bakker, who built ‘PTL Club’ televangelism empire, has died at 86
Compiled Oct 6
What we know
- Jim Bakker died Monday at age 86, according to his second wife Lori Bakker.
- He and his first wife Tammy Faye built an evangelical empire around 'The PTL Club' TV show.
- Bakker was convicted of mail fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy and sentenced to 45 years, later reduced to eight.
- He settled a 2021 lawsuit over false claims that the Silver Solution supplement could cure COVID-19.
- Bakker suffered a stroke in 2020.
- Tammy Faye Bakker died of colon cancer in 2007.
What we don’t know yet
- His cause of death was not immediately clear.
Open questions
- What was the specific cause of Jim Bakker's death?
- What will happen to 'The Jim Bakker Show' now that he has died?
- How did his health decline after the 2020 stroke?
Drawn from the Associated Press report. “What we don’t know” lists only what the reporting itself flags as unresolved.