7. Leroy Jenkins
Jenkins story is the typical tale of raised in a religious household, studied Christianity, then became an evangelist. This was in the 1960s. Jenkins fame as an evangelist lasted until the 1970s when authorities convicted him of arson in 1979. Jenkins spent 12 years in prison, then emerged a born again Christian. That was in 2011. Upon gaining his freedom again, Jenkins married a woman who had won the Ohio lottery, Eloise Thomas. When she died shortly thereafter, an Ohio court annulled the marriage, denying Jenkins a payout.
6. Jenkins’ Snake Oil
When Jenkins hit the evangelical circuit in the 1960s, it was on the heels of his mother’s career as an evangelist. A cunning businessperson, Jenkins sold something called “miracle water” to his followers as a healing elixir. As it turned out, big surprise, it was not only not healing, miracle water contained bacterial contaminants. He paid his fine, $200, then moved his Leroy Jenkins Ministries to Scottsdale, Arizona. There, he recorded gospel music and preached until his death in June of this year. Rumors of his fortune at that time were in the neighborhood of $4-million.