Reactions have continued to trail an announcement by a prominent American cleric to buy a private jet worth $65 million.
The popular American pastor, Creflo Augustus Dollar of the Atlanta, Georgia-based World Changers Church International, announced through the board of his church that he would be buying a Gulfstream G650.
The choice of the Gulfstream G650 is, according to the church, informed by the fact that “A long-range, high-speed, intercontinental jet aircraft is a tool that is necessary in order to fulfill the mission of the ministry.”
The G650 is produced by Gulfstream Aerospace and is the company’s largest and fastest business jet.
It can be equipped with a full kitchen and bar and may be equipped with a variety of entertainment features including satellite phones and wireless internet.
This further confirms the church’s reason for acquiring the top-range jet. “We plan to acquire a Gulfstream G650 because it is the best, and it is a reflection of the level of excellence at which this organization chooses to operate,” the church’s statement said.
Many observers who spoke on the issue wondered how a man of God could sanction spending such a whooping amount of money on a jet, when many members of his 200,000-strong congregation struggle to make ends meet.