In 2011, Forbes magazine estimated the fortunes of Nigeria's five richest pastors. Oyedepo topped the list, with an estimated net worth of $150 million.
Oyedepo's headquarters, "Canaanland", is a 10,500-acre (4250-hectare) campus in Ota, outside the commercial capital Lagos. It comprises a university, two halls of accommodation, restaurants and a church seating 50,000 people, with a total overflow capacity of five times that.
A spokesman said the church has 5,000 branches across Nigeria, and 1,000 more in 63 other countries across five continents. But Oyedepo's empire also includes two fee-paying universities that he built from scratch, a publishing house for Christian self-help books, and an elite high school.
When asked about Forbes' estimate of his fortune, Bishop Oyedepo told Reuters that he doesn't know how Forbes arrived at their figure but says he's blessed
"We use the income of the church to build schools, we use the income of the church to serve the needs of the poor," David Oyedepo, bishop of the popular Winners Chapel, told Reuters in an interview. "These are non-profit organizations."
"For me, to have fortune means someone who has what he needs at any point in time. I don't see myself as having $150 million stacked up somewhere. Whatever way they found their figures, I am only able to say I am blessed by the Lord."
"There is no single government input on this premises," Oyedepo told Reuters in the interview. "We supply our water, we make our roads, then you ... say: 'Let's tax them'. For what?"