Is Benny Hinn a gangster? Some of his critics may think so.
In 2017, the televangelist’s nephew Costi Hinn wrote an autobiographical article for Christianity Today with scathing criticism of his uncle’s ministry:
“Growing up in the Hinn family empire was like belonging to some hybrid of the royal family and the mafia. Our lifestyle was lavish, our loyalty was enforced, and our version of the gospel was big business.”
Six years earlier, former Benny Hinn Ministries employee Cheryl Brown leveled similar complaints in her autobiographical book Mafia Ministry: A Crying Shame.
Brown described a time when Hinn approached while she was working as a maid cleaning the church parsonage. Hinn “pointed his finger at me and said, ‘I am watching you’ and walked off. His tone was that of a gangster. I thought, wow, he sounded just like the Godfather!”
By working in the Hinn home, Brown observed the relationship of the televangelist and his wife Suzanne. “When I would see him, before he left out of the door to travel out of the country or go out of town, you would see him standing there as if he was waiting on a hug or a blessing from his wife. I never have seen her give him that.”
The initial excitement of working for Benny faded away as Brown became disillusioned by the working conditions. In her book Brown reports, “All of a sudden, about 50 of us from Benny Hinn Ministries were laid off without any explanation.” Is that how a church should treat its employees?
Brown would be re-hired personally by Hinn rather than the church to clean the parsonage. After Hinn failed to pay Brown for a month, she drove to the parsonage, asked to be paid and was fired.
The ministry security team gave Brown a warning on the day she was fired. “‘I better not ever go against Benny Hinn Ministries or that my family and I will be cursed.’ They told me that people who had left from BHM go on and do great things for the Lord, but that there are also ones that have died once they have gone against BHM.”
A black Suburban belonging to the ministry began following Brown whenever she drove. A friend encouraged Brown to call the police to report the stalking, but Brown refused.
Eventually, Brown moved away from California to escape.
Analysis
Public companies in America are required to report CEO pay ratio information to the Securities and Exchange Commission. This requirement was mandated to bring attention to excessive compensation. However, there is no requirement for non-profit organizations or churches to disclose this information.
Trinity Foundation estimates that Benny Hinn Ministries paid its CEO at least 63 times what Brown was paid before her hours were reduced following the 2005 layoffs.
In February of 2005, Trinity Foundation investigators obtained salary information on the Hinn family by dumpster diving through trash at Hinn’s attorney’s office.
Benny Hinn’s salary from World Healing Center Church was $1,325,000. Suzanne Hinn received a salary of $165,000. Daughter Jessica Hinn Koulianos and husband Michael Koulianos were also on the organization’s payroll for a total of $155,000 bringing the family’s compensation to over $2 million, when including $30,000 per month consulting fees to Benny from Clarion Call Marketing (also found in the trash).
If Benny worked 40 hours per week for 52 weeks on behalf Benny Hinn Ministries, he would work 2080 hours in a year. By dividing Benny’s church compensation ($1,325,000) by 2080, Trinity Foundation estimates that Hinn’s church compensation was approximately $637 per hour, not to mention consulting fees.
On three different occasions in the book Brown reveals she was paid $10 per hour by Benny Hinn Ministries. It would take Brown and other Benny Hinn Ministries employees working seven days at $10 per hour to earn what Benny received for one hour of work. Benny could have retained employees by taking a salary cut.