Pastor Joel Osteen Criticized For His Alleged Vast Fortune On Twitter

Social media users were enraged after preacher Joel Osteen’s net worth surfaced on Twitter, Sunday.

Photos of a Ferrari that reportedly costs $325,000 were linked to Osteen.

The story gained steam after a now deleted article was posted on Chron.com with the anger spilling over onto Twitter.

But according to representatives of Mr Osteen, he does not own a yacht, Ferrari or private jet. But many furious tweets were still available to view online.

"Remember that one timeJoel Osteenhelped the poor instead of himself? Yeah, me neither," one angry social media user wrote.

"What would Jesus think ofJoel Osteen's $325,000 Ferrari?" a second wondered. 

"My take onJoel Osteenhaving a $325,000 Ferrari and getting a $4.4 million dollar PPP loan: Tax the f*** out of the churches," a third chimed in.

The American pastor is worth approximately $100 million.

Osteen’s sermons are seen by more than 7 million people on TV and online. His 2004 book Your Best Life Now was on the New York Times bestseller list for over 200 weeks.

The 58-year-old pastor has made a fortune thanks to his book sales and public speaking gigs. His famous Lakewood Church was inherited to him from his father, a Southern Baptist pastor. Joel took over as the church’s pastor in 1999, after his father’s passing.

In 2020, Lakewood megachurch took $4.4 million in bailouts as part of the federal government's COVID-19 relief program for small businesses.

Related: Kanye West Brings His Sunday Service To Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church

The evangelical church, which is based in Houston, Texas and is one of the largest in the United States. Small businesses could apply for PPP loans with their banks under the federal government's CARES Act stimulus package.

The $4.4 million loan given to Osteen's Lakewood Church was the third highest handed out in Houston in July and August, the Houston Business Journal reports.

The megachurch, which draws in about 52,000 congregants per week, was given the loan via Bank of America in mid-July 2020.

Related: Joel Osteen’s Most Star-Studded Church Service Ever!

Houses of worship, that don't pay taxes, were among those eligible to apply for the stimulus funding. More than 1,000 religious institutions in Houston were approved for PPP loans.

A Lakewood spokesman said the church's $4.4 million loan was used to pay the wages of 368 full time and part time employees.

In a statement Lakewood Church said: "Lakewood finally applied for the PPP loan and has been able to provide full salaries and benefits including health insurance coverage to all of its employees and their families."

The hashtag #TaxTheChurches started trending on Twitter soon after details of Lakewood's PPP loan emerged.

Osteen and his church were heavily criticized in the past for failing to open its doors to those in need. Hurricane Harvey ravaged Houston back in 2017. Many felt Osteen's church should have been the first to open to take in the needy.

After backlash, the church opened its doors to be used as a shelter. Mr Osteen maintained that the church was always open to take in refugees.

Next: Joel Osteen Is Criticized After He Receives $4.4 Million From COVID-19 Fund