Defunct Newspapers Journals TV channels Websites Other Congressional caucuses Economics Gun rights Identity politics Nativist Religion Watchdog groups Youth/student groups Social media Miscellaneous Other Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson (March 22, 1930 – June 8, 2023) was an American media mogul, televangelist, political commentator, presidential candidate, and charismatic minister.

Robertson's career spanned over five decades, and was the founder of several organizations, including CBN, Regent University, Operation Blessing International Relief and Development Corporation, the International Family Entertainment Inc. (ABC Family Channel/Freeform), the American Center for Law & Justice (ACLJ), the Founders Inn and Conference Center, and the Christian Coalition.

[7] Marion Gordon Robertson was born on March 22, 1930,[1] in Lexington, Virginia, into a prominent political family, the younger of two sons.

Robertson said, "Although I worked hard at my studies, my real major centered around lovely young ladies who attended the nearby girls schools.

[11] Robertson described his military service as follows: "We did long, grueling marches to toughen the men, plus refresher training in firearms and bayonet combat."

"The Division was in combat in the hot and dusty, then bitterly cold portion of North Korea just above the 38th Parallel later identified as the 'Punchbowl' and 'Heartbreak Ridge'."

Robertson filed a libel suit against McCloskey but he dropped the case in 1988 in order to devote "his full time and energies toward the successful attainment of the Republican nomination for the president of the United States.

He became a born again Christian while having dinner at a restaurant in Philadelphia with author and World War II veteran, Cornelius Vanderbreggen.

The network became known for producing the long-running TV series The 700 Club, starting in 1966, which Robertson served as a long time co-host.

The venture became extremely lucrative, so Robertson spun off The Family Channel as a commercial entity that was sold to News Corporation for $1.9 billion in 1997.

Since its founding, the university has established eight academic schools and offers associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in over 150 areas of study.

[24] According to a 1999 article in The Virginian-Pilot, two Operation Blessing pilots who were interviewed alleged that the organization's planes were used to haul diamond-mining equipment to Robertson's mines in Zaire.

[27] Robertson was the founder and chairman of The Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) Inc., and founder of International Family Entertainment Inc., Regent University, Operation Blessing International Relief and Development Corporation, American Center for Law and Justice, The Flying Hospital, Inc., and several other organizations and broadcast entities.

He struck a deal with Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based General Nutrition Center to produce and market a weight-loss shake he created and promoted on The 700 Club.

[30] In 1999, Robertson entered into a joint venture with the Bank of Scotland to provide financial services in the United States.

However, the venture fell through as it was met with criticism from civil rights groups in the UK, owing to Robertson's controversial views on homosexuality.

[7] Billy McCormack, a Southern Baptist pastor in Shreveport, Louisiana, served as one of the four directors of the coalition as well as its vice president.

In March 1986, he told Israeli Foreign Affairs that South Africa was a major contributor to the Reagan administration's efforts to help the anti-Sandinista forces.

[46] In 1994, the Coalition was fined for "improperly [aiding] then Representative Newt Gingrich (R-GA) and Oliver North, who was then the Republican Senate nominee in Virginia.

He appeared in a commercial with Al Sharpton, joking about this, and urging people to join the We Can Solve It campaign against global warming.

"[52] Robertson repeatedly called for the legalization of cannabis, saying that it should be treated in a manner analogous to the regulation of alcoholic beverages and tobacco.

[53] Robertson stated that "I just think it's shocking how many of these young people wind up in prison and they get turned into hard-core criminals because they had a possession of a very small amount of controlled substance.

[57][58] Robertson ran on a standard conservative platform, and as a candidate he embraced the same policies as Ronald Reagan: lower taxes, a balanced budget, and a strong defense.

[62][63] In 1954, Robertson married Adelia "Dede" Elmer,[64] a fashion model and beauty queen in the Miss Ohio State contest, who was studying for her masters in nursing at Yale University.

Following this incident, Robertson and his family thanked the paramedics and medical staff for their "extraordinary care and rapid response."

[74] He cautioned believers that some Protestant denominations may harbor the spirit of the Antichrist;[75] denounced Hinduism as "demonic"[76] and Islam as "Satanic".

Robertson was criticized worldwide for his call for Hugo Chávez's assassination,[35] and for his remarks concerning Ariel Sharon's ill health as an act of God.

[86] Less than two weeks after Hurricane Katrina killed 1,836 people, Robertson implied on the September 12, 2005, broadcast of The 700 Club that the storm was God's punishment in response to America's abortion policy.

[93][94] Robertson claimed that Haiti's founders had sworn a "pact to the Devil" in order to liberate themselves from the French slave owners and indirectly attributed the earthquake to the consequences of the Haitian people being "cursed" for doing so.

A review by Ephraim Radner, an Episcopalian professor of theology, stated: In his published writings, especially his 1991 book The New World Order, Pat Robertson has propagated theories about a worldwide Jewish conspiracy.