Pat Robertson, '700 Club' Host and Influential Conservative Evangelist, Dead at 93
Pat Robertson, the conservative evangelist and media mogul known for his 700 Club television show, has died. Robertson passed away at his home in Virginia Beach on the morning of Thursday, June 8, according to a Christian Broadcasting Network release. A statement on Robertson's website added that he was "surrounded by his family" at the time of his death. Robertson was 93. No cause of death was given.
Considered one of the most prominent and influential Christian broadcasters and entrepreneurs in the U.S., Robertson was born Marion Gordon Robertson in Lexington, Virginia on March 22, 1930. He gained the nickname "Pat" by his older brother. Robertson graduated with honors from McCallie School and entered Washington and Lee University in 1946 before enlisting in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve in 1948. Although he initially dreamed of becoming a successful businessman, per CBN, he "abandoned his own dream and accepted what he saw as God's plan: to start a ministry in Christian broadcasting."
After moving his wife, Adelia "Dede" Elmer, and their children to Virginia in 1957, Robertson created what would become The Christian Broadcasting Network in 1960 with just $70 to his name. Robertson soon found investors, and CBN went on the air on Oct. 1, 1961. Established as a tax-exempt religious nonprofit, CBN brought in hundreds of millions, disclosing $321 million in "ministry support" in 2022 alone, per the Associated Press. Today, CBN is one of the world's largest evangelistic ministries.
Robertson was perhaps best known for his 700 Club television show. The show spawned from a telethon when Robertson asked 700 viewers for monthly $10 contributions. The program was created in 1966, airing each weekday with interviews, prayer and ministry. It is now one of the longest-running religious television programs in America. Robertson hosted the 700 Club until 2021 when he announced that Gordon Robertson would be the show's new full-time host. Guests on the show have included Presidents Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and Donald Trump.
Robertson's enterprises also included Regent University, a private Christian institution located in Virginia Beach that opened in 1978 under the name CBN University. Robertson also founded and served as the president of the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), which defends the First Amendment rights of religious people and also established the international humanitarian organization Operation Blessing. Robertson also dabbled in politics, seeking the Republican presidential nomination in 1988, running against establishment figures George H.W. Bush and Bob Dole.