Why Is Joel Osteen Returning Over $4 Million Dollars To The Government?

It feels like it was just yesterday when news broke about pastor Joel Osteen and his Houston megachurch closing its doors on the Hurricane Harvey flood victims back in 2017. Now, Osteen and his Houston megachurch are in proverbial hot water again, but this time, it's for financial reasons. 

Whether one believes that COVID-19 hitting the world was an act from God or not, during the peak of the pandemic when everything was looking bleak, many small businesses were calling for help to save them from closing down. Many workers were laid off, and many business owners could hardly afford to keep their businesses from crumbling. As Osteen told Church Executive in an April 2020 interview, "This is such a time of uncertainty, but I do believe this is when we turn to our faith. This is when you can feel that peace and that hope to get through it."

However, some social media spectators were skeptical of his message, given Osteen's massive wealth. As former HRC press secretary Charlotte Clymer criticized via Twitter, "Eager for the wider world to realize Joel Osteen is a pioneer in shameless grifting. The only person Joel Osteen really cares about is Joel Osteen." The massive fortune Osteen has collected from his career is hardly a secret, so why does he now owe over $4 million dollars to the U.S. government? Keep reading for all the details. 

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, the Paycheck Protection Program is "a loan designed to provide a direct incentive for small businesses to keep their workers on payroll." The loan can be used for many things, including to help fund payroll costs, benefits, mortgage interest, rent, or utilities, and was something many small business owners turned to during the worst of the pandemic.  

According to the Houston Chronicle, a minimum of 60 religious institutions received PPP loans in Texas, and Joel Osteen was one such person. His decision to receive the $4.4 million loan was met with immediate criticism, given his $50 million net worth (per the New York Post) and the fact that his mega-churches and businesses aren't necessarily "small." A representative for Osteen's church attempted to clarify the issue. "Like many organizations temporarily shuttered by the pandemic, this loan provided Lakewood Church short-term financial assistance in 2020 ensuring that its approximately 350 employees and their families would continue to receive a paycheck and full health care benefits," a spokesperson said. 

However, this explanation was still not enough for Osteen's critics. On October 10, the Chronicle reported that Osteen buckled under the mounting pressure and decided to repay back the $4 million dollars he took from the PPP loan without it being forgiven by the federal government. Osteen has claimed that neither he nor his wife received any money personally from the loan and provided bank statements dating back to January proving his repayment.