Reply #38: Pat Robertson's a busy man... [View All]

[edbermac]

From Fortune Magazine...when the hell does he have time for her?

http://www.fortune.com/fortune/articles/0%2C15114%2C373597%2C00.html

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Pat Robertson's Quest for Eternal Life

He's making bets to ensure that his evangelical empire outlasts him. His portfolio so far: a gold mine in Liberia, a mothballed oil refinery, and $78 million in losses.

Jesus mania swept Liberia. For eight nights last December the nation's TV channels--both of them--simultaneously showed programs created by Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network. There was the Prodigal Son parable told from a Nigerian point of view; animated Bible episodes; stories about people who said they'd had out-of-body experiences and come face to face with the Almighty; and the true tale of a Mexican family who stayed together thanks to God. For two nights the stations simply broadcast testimonials from Liberians detailing Jesus' role in their lives. Those without televisions (the vast majority of the country) could catch the same fare at local "video clubs"--converted storefronts where people paid the equivalent of a few pennies to gather around a TV and VCR.

That was just the buildup. In February, at a national three-day prayer-and-fast rally partially funded by Robertson, Liberia's President--a U.S. prison escapee who, according to Human Rights Watch, has run "the whole gamut of human rights abuses"--declared he had seen the light. "We in Liberia recognize that there is a higher authority," said Charles Taylor, decked out in a short-sleeved white suit and standing on a red-carpeted stage at the center of the Samuel K. Doe stadium in Monrovia. "I am not your President. Jesus is!" He instructed the estimated 65,000 people in the crowd to prostrate themselves and join in a song that he would lead despite his position--face down on the carpet. As the rally ended, Taylor presented a ceremonial plate to an American preacher named John Gimenez who had helped organize the event. "Thank you," Taylor said. "Tell Pat Robertson, and please present this to him as a token of our appreciation."

About 190 miles away, in a densely forested region of Liberia called Bukon Jedeh, Robertson's employees were busy working on a much more valuable token of Taylor's appreciation. There a crew of 35 Liberians were digging deep holes into the red, claylike soil on a plot of land contracted out to Robertson. Their goal was to uncover the spot, beneath the gravel and laterite, that they believed held five million ounces of the stuff that the Book of Revelation says lines the streets of heaven: pure gold. Gold that if sold on the open market could reap about $1.5 billion.
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