Jesse Duplantis House: Inside the 35,000 Sq Ft Louisiana Mansion
Jesse Duplantis lives in a plantation-style mansion in Destrehan, Louisiana, that measures close to 35,000 square feet under roof, with 25 rooms, a home theater and a private chapel. When it went up in 2008 and 2009, St. Charles Parish officials said no bigger single-family home had been built there since at least 1982.
How does a Louisiana preacher end up living in a house that rivals Hollywood estates? And why does a home that size pay no property tax? The answers explain why this mansion keeps coming up in debates about wealth in ministry.
Below you’ll find its size and layout, how it was built, how the parsonage exemption works, and the controversies around it.
House at a Glance
| Facts | Details |
|---|---|
| Location | Destrehan, St. Charles Parish, Louisiana (about 25 miles west of New Orleans) |
| Total Size | 34,986 sq ft under roof |
| Living Space | 22,039 sq ft (plus 12,947 sq ft of patios, garages and other accessory areas) |
| Rooms | 25, including 6 bedrooms, a theater, a music parlor and a “fun room” |
| Built | Permit filed December 2007; construction began October 2008 |
| Builder | G & R Custom Homes of Metairie |
| Grounds | Reported at more than 15 acres |
| Tax Status | Parsonage, exempt from property tax |
Privacy note: This article does not publish an exact street address. The property is identified at the community level only.
Jesse Duplantis House Overview
The mansion sits on River Road in Destrehan, a historic community on the east bank of the Mississippi River in St. Charles Parish. Duplantis was born in Destrehan in 1949, so the house stands in his hometown, not in a celebrity enclave. The area is known for its plantation-era architecture, including the nearby Destrehan Plantation, and the house borrows that look with a grand, two-story plantation-style design.
When the local newspaper, the St. Charles Herald-Guide, covered the construction in September 2009, the parish planning and zoning department said its records going back to 1982 showed no larger single-family home. The paper described it as the largest residential property on the parish’s East Bank. That record applies to St. Charles Parish, not the whole state. No statewide ranking confirms it as the biggest house in Louisiana, though few private homes anywhere in the state come close to its size.
The oft-quoted figure of 35,000 square feet counts everything under roof. The actual living space is 22,039 square feet, with another 12,947 square feet in outdoor patios, garages and other accessory areas. Even the living space alone is roughly nine times the size of a typical new American home.
Inside the Mansion: Interior and Layout
Permit records reported at the time lay out the two floors in detail:
- First floor: two bedrooms, four and a half bathrooms, a kitchen, a dining room, a breakfast room and a music parlor.
- Second floor: four bedrooms, three full bathrooms, two half bathrooms, a “fun room” and a home theater.
- Garages: two double-car garages.
Reports on the property also describe a private chapel for prayer. The music parlor and chapel fit Duplantis’ background: before turning to ministry in the 1970s, he spent years as a rock musician.
There is no public or video tour of the house, and interior photos have not been released, so detailed claims about finishes, furniture or the theater’s seating capacity are guesswork. What is on record is the layout above and the sheer scale of the building.
How the Mansion Was Built
The permit for the house was filed in December 2007, and construction started in October 2008 under G & R Custom Homes of Metairie. The two-story house was still being finished when the Herald-Guide wrote about it in 2009, and it has served as the Duplantis family residence since. He shares it with his wife, Cathy, whom he married in 1970.
The home is held as a church parsonage (sometimes called a rectory) rather than a standard private residence. That designation is what connects it to Jesse Duplantis Ministries and Covenant Church, the congregation he is affiliated with, and it is the reason the house is tax exempt.
Why the House Pays No Property Tax
Louisiana, like many states, lets churches exempt a minister’s housing from property tax. Duplantis’ Destrehan home qualifies as a parsonage, so it carries no property tax bill despite its size.
In 2024, the watchdog group Trinity Foundation, working with The Roys Report, examined what several televangelists would pay if their homes were taxed normally. They reported that Duplantis has described the property as worth about $20 million. At that value, they estimated his annual property tax bill would be roughly $122,000.
No public sale price exists for the house because it was built rather than bought, and the construction cost has never been made public. As a result, value figures vary a lot. Some sites quote a few million dollars based on assessment records, while the $20 million figure comes from Duplantis’ own description of the home. Readers should treat any single dollar figure with caution.
Public Response and Controversy
The mansion rarely makes news on its own. It resurfaces whenever Duplantis’ lifestyle draws scrutiny, and it has drawn plenty.
The biggest flashpoint came in May 2018, when he asked supporters on his program to help fund a new Dassault Falcon 7X jet, valued at about $54 million. It would be his ministry’s fourth private jet. He said he wasn’t asking followers to “pay for” the plane but to “pray for” it, and argued that Jesus today “wouldn’t be riding a donkey.” The appeal drew national coverage from The Washington Post, Fox News and others, and put photos of the Destrehan mansion back in circulation.
Trinity Foundation has investigated his ministry for more than a decade. After Hurricane Ida hit St. Charles Parish in 2021, critics questioned how little help came from one of the parish’s wealthiest residents. The ministry then donated about $100,000 worth of generators to local relief efforts.
Supporters see it differently. They argue that a long-running ministry with a global audience needs space to host guests and events, and that donors give freely. Critics counter that a tax-exempt home of this size contradicts the modest living that many Christian traditions expect of clergy.
Comparison to Other Televangelist Homes
Duplantis is one of several prominent preachers whose homes carry the parsonage exemption. Trinity Foundation’s 2024 review included:
- Kenneth Copeland: a lakefront parsonage near Fort Worth, Texas, valued at about $10.8 million.
- David E. Taylor: an $8.3 million mansion near Tampa, Florida.
- I.V. Hilliard: a 24,939-square-foot mansion in a Texas compound valued at about $7.96 million.
Outside that list, Joel Osteen’s Houston home in River Oaks is often reported at around $10.5 million and 17,000 square feet. You can read more in our look at Joel Osteen’s house and Joyce Meyer’s home. Among these, the Duplantis mansion stands out less for its dollar value than for its size and the fact that it was built from scratch in the preacher’s own hometown.
FAQs
How big is Jesse Duplantis’ house?
About 35,000 square feet under roof, with 22,039 square feet of living space and 25 rooms.
What is Jesse Duplantis’ house worth?
There is no sale price because the home was built, not bought. Duplantis has described it as worth about $20 million, according to Trinity Foundation. Some other sites give much lower figures based on assessment records.
Does Jesse Duplantis pay property tax on his house?
No. The home is designated a church parsonage, which exempts it from property tax in Louisiana.
How much did Jesse Duplantis’ house cost?
The cost to build it has never been disclosed. Public records show who built it and when, but not the price.
Is it the biggest house in Louisiana?
It was the largest single-family home in St. Charles Parish when it was built, according to parish records going back to 1982. There is no confirmed statewide ranking.
When was the Jesse Duplantis house built?
The permit was filed in December 2007, and construction began in October 2008. The house was being finished in 2009.
