Private Jets Jesse Duplantis is yet
another prosperity preacher who’s grabbed headlines with his extravagant spending.
It isn't any surprise Duplantis caught the attention of The Trinity Foundation,
a watchdog group that aims to keep people like him in check.
Duplantis got on their radar not by buying just one private jet,
but by buying three different private jets! How exactly does Jesse Duplantis
defend asking his followers for money to spend millions on private jets?
Early Life Jesse Duplantis
was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1949. The city he grew up in is known
for its culture steeped in vibrance, elegance, and tradition. Growing up in an era of growth
and change—especially in the deep south—gave Duplantis a front-row seat to history in the
making. Civil rights activists like Martin Luther King brought attention to the need
for change in the crescent city. By the time Duplantis was about 10, New Orleans finally
desegregated their public school system, a pivotal moment for the civil rights movement.
Though he would one day convert, Duplantis came from a long line
of devout Catholics. Catholicism is prevalent to this day in Louisiana.
Even the world renowned Mardi Gras Celebration stems from catholic beliefs.
It wasn't far-fetched to predict Duplantis' future as a minister.
However, what some may not have seen coming was his adoption of pentecostal prosperity preaching,
also known as the "give me all your money" gospel. His southern charm and charisma
ironed out a nice spot for Duplantis in the world of Prosperity preaching,
right up there with the likes of Kenneth Copeland, Joel Osteen, and Creflo Dollar.
Duplantis gave his first TV sermon at 27 years old, introduced on the Trinity Broadcast Network
as "The Apostle of Joy." That moniker would become something of a catchphrase for him.
By 1978, Duplantis was a full-time evangelical preacher. His way of bringing comedy and
music to followers would one day build him an empire, a very luxurious one indeed.
Lifestyle The Apostle of Joy,
like his brethren of Prosperity Preachers, lives the good life. Preaching verses from
the Bible like 'The Lord shall provide' has been quite lucrative for Duplantis all these years.
His assets are fit for a king, compliments of the millions in donations received by his followers.
His ministry has amassed luxury items such as three private jets,
multiple high-end cars, and we haven't even got to his house yet.
The 2-story, 25-room home equipped with six bedrooms,
seven full bathrooms, a theater, kitchen, dining room, and whatever a 'fun room' is,
is considered a rectory and thus paid for by the tax-exempt church.
Duplantis' home is the largest property in Destrehan, part of St. Charles Parish, Louisiana.
When we use the word 'parish,' we don't mean in terms of a church. Louisiana is the only state
in the US that uses the word 'parish' instead of 'county' when referring to a cluster of towns.
It derives from Spanish and French roots in the Roman Catholic Church dating back to the 1800s.
Many southern states operated this way, but Louisiana is the only one to stick with it.
Destrehan, a small 8 square mile town and part of St.Charles Parish, is 23 miles
outside Duplantis' New Orleans birthplace. So, as imagined, Duplantis' 32,000 square foot home
is quite the spectacle in the humble town, especially when it comes to property taxes.
Duplantis' ministry owns the home, meaning it's completely tax-exempt. According to a parish
tax expert, this leaves the estimated $33,000 annual tax strain on the community's doorstep.
But even with a luxury home, Duplantis still can't seem to stay in one place.
Flight records show he is quite the frequent flyer, with nearly 2500 flights logged,
Including 16 trips to Hawaii and 11 Trips to Las Vegas by 2006. Of course,
these were all for ministry business—right?
Between the fuel and operating costs, the estimated expense of a round-trip flight starts at
around $14,000. When Duplantis could easily spend a couple of hundred bucks on a commercial flight,
which the church would cover, it's hard to see how he can justify the spending.
Inside Edition Investigation For a man like Duplantis,
who seems to enjoy being center stage, he didn't show the same interest during a book signing
when asked a few questions about his planes. His southern charm was nowhere to be found when Inside
Edition's Lisa Guerrero addressed headlines of his lavish spending and multi-million dollar planes.
Guerrero was cut short by Duplantis, who refused to answer any questions regarding his spending.
Then, Duplantis's security detail locked arms around Guerrero and forcibly
dragged her away. She can be seen telling the men not to touch her and
asking Duplantis why his people were putting their hands on her.
The world-renowned Christian preacher didn't show any mercy for Guerrero,
who was clearly uncomfortable through the entire ordeal.
Duplantis couldn't be bothered with how his team handled the reporter that day,
though he made sure to get details for his sermon the next day.
In his trademark comedic style, he bragged to his congregation about how his security team
"handled" her. He even joked about how his security team made her Outside Edition.
Trinity Foundation Not all heroes wear capes,
and this is certainly the case with the Trinity Foundation. They have made it their
mission to hold religious leaders, like Duplantis, accountable for their actions.
As the world watches televangelists like Duplantis and Copeland
buy private planes and airports under their ministries Tax Exempt status,
The Trinity Foundation is investigating their lavish spending as well as abuse allegations.
Many Prosperity Preachers seem untouchable, hiding behind religious exemptions and
misusing donations at their whim. Another sad issue is the abuse that is often
hidden and undocumented with many religious organizations.
That's where the Trinity Foundation comes in. Founded in 1972 by Ole Anthony,
based in Dallas, Texas, this watchdog group keeps tabs on televangelists.
Trinity Foundations was started to research the demographics of religious television
programs. When the 80s and 90s brought major scandals involving abuse and fraud allegations
against religious leaders, the Trinity foundation became something of a watchdog group.
By gathering information through various means,
they have played a crucial part in taking down televangelists who abuse their power.
They have a vast library of broadcasts, televangelists,
and Christian TV networks like TBN and DayStar.
They keep notes on broadcasts and go to great lengths to find the truth. This has included;
dumpster diving, keeping tabs on spending, and undercover work in the ministries themselves.
The founder, Ol Anthony, has a presence similar to that of Clint Eastwood. Gritty,
raw, and disgusted by televangelists taking money from the poor and gullible. The Trinity Foundation
has done so much leg work, state and federal agencies often call on them for assistance.
The list of televangelists that the Trinity Foundation has taken down is impressive,
Including the famous pastor Robert Tilton. Tilton became the subject of an IRS probe
due largely to The Trinity Foundation uncovering his fraud.
Trinity Investigation It's not surprising that
Duplantis has been on Trinity's radar for well over a decade now. His lavish spending
and luxurious lifestyle, combined with the media attention he brought on himself,
has caused federal agencies to zero in on him and his ministries.
Due to his flashy tactics, accusations now include conversion and inurement. So what does
that all mean? Conversion is when you use the money raised from donors to benefit for-profit
businesses. Inurement is basically living an excessive lifestyle while receiving tax
exemptions. Vacations in Hawaii while claiming tax-exempt status are a pretty good example.
If the IRS finds abuse of these or any tax laws, it could mean severe penalties for Duplantis
and his ministry. For Duplantis and any other Prosperity Preacher, the worst of those penalties
would be the revoking of their tax-exempt status. Unfortunately, it's an uphill battle—and the hill
is pretty much a vertical line. Trinity has worked with Congress before without gaining any traction.
Trinity paired with Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley to dig into these TV Preachers'
spending habits and lifestyles. After working for years on an investigation into some major
players in the televangelist community, their efforts were in vain. Only two of
the ministers cooperated with the senator by divulging their spending reports. None of the
others, including Kenneth Copeland, budged. The investigation imploded,
and nobody has raised a finger to these tax-exempt millionaires ever since.
Extended Reach Instead of laying low and giving some thought
to the allegations against him, Duplantis doubled down. Forever the shameless showboat, Duplantis
publicly asked his followers for $54 Million to buy a new private jet. Was Duplantis trying to
taunt the watchdogs at Trinity, or was it sheer greed driving his obnoxious financial request?
The plane in question is a Falcon 7X, and Duplantis needs this one
because of its capabilities. What does this plane have that his three other planes don't have?
Yes, three other planes are available to Duplantis from his ministries collection.
His issue is that those planes can't always fly non-stop; the Falcon 7X can.
He proclaimed with conviction,
Jesus wanted him to have that Falcon 7X. Yep, Jesus totally specified that plane to Duplantis.
The Dassault Falcon 7X is coined as the first business jet with a digital flight
control system. With a length of over 76 ft, there are several floorplan options to
tailor the plane to your liking. Affluent doesn't begin to cover it with this jet,
with only 270 of them in use across 41 countries to this day. It's not your average private plane.
During an interview about the extreme request, Duplantis said that he knew, in his heart of
hearts, if Jesus was here, he wouldn't be riding a donkey; he would be flying a plane.
Duplantis is not the first to make such a request from his devout following,
Creflo Dollar and Copeland both asked their followers to foot the bill for their private jets.
Copeland even has his own airport next to his multi-million dollar home. Copeland also famously
refused to fly commercial since he "didn't want to be in a metal tube with demons."
This request may have gone a little too far; even for Duplantis' followers, comments and opinions
seemed torn amongst them. But Duplantis reacted joyfully at all the media attention at first,
talking about how he had never got so much press before. He even claimed to be
happy for the press, negative or positive.
Gaslighting
Duplantis barked back, claiming he never "asked" for money. Like most Prosperity Preachers,
Duplantis claims he was merely willing a $54 Million plane into his possession.
He wants his followers to believe a private jet into existence with him.
Duplantis has openly expressed his need for a new jet and urges his followers to make that happen on
several media outlets. This includes his magazine, where he tells his 750 million followers that he
needs this plane and believes God will give it to him. If Duplantis can materialize a private jet on
nothing but the prayers of his followers, somebody needs to get him his own magic show in Las Vegas.
After receiving a great deal of backlash for such an extreme and greedy request,
Duplantis began to back peddle, throwing blame at the press for embellishing his words. To
save some face, he claimed he'd donate his old plane once he got the new one.
He needed this new plane to save money spreading the gospel. He claims he'd
be able to fly much cheaper since he owns a fuel farm and wouldn't have to waste time and
money filling up somewhere else. Since the scandal broke, Duplantis
has stayed out of the news. That includes any further developments on investigations
done by The Trinity Foundation. Apparently, his prayers are currently cluttering God's
answering machine because it's unclear if he ever got his hands on that Falcon 7X.
We can say for sure that a guy like Duplantis would have let us know about it by now.
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