India, Oct. 6 -- Jim Bakker, the American televangelist who built the hugely successful PTL Club Christian television ministry with his first wife Tammy Faye Bakker before losing his empire amid scandal and a fraud conviction, has died at 86.

Bakker died on October 5, 2026, his second wife, Lori Bakker, announced on social media. Lori described him as a pioneer of Christian television and said he had devoted decades to preaching the Gospel. His cause and circumstances of death were not immediately disclosed.

But who was Jim Bakker and how did he go from one of America's most prominent televangelists to serving time in federal prison before eventually returning to television?

Who Was Jim Bakker?

Jim Bakker was born in Muskegon, Michiga...