15 Famous Cult LeadersFrom Around the World

Throughout history, there have been many infamous cult leaders. Several cults mixed ideologies, religious beliefs, and even UFO theories to create the foundation of their philosophy. Often, the cult leaders claimed to be a prophet, the messiah, or Jesus Christ. They frequently took advantage of their power to physically and sexually abuse their followers. These leaders brought together a group of people to obey their commands.

A cult usually refers to a group sharing the same unique religious or spiritual ideology. A charismatic and powerful leader is often the head of every famous cult. These cult leaders connect with their loyal followers and promise to protect them from the end of the world. The mainstream media and professionals consider notorious cult leaders frauds, liars, and in some cases, killers.

At first, these cults would prosper as they listened to every word of their adoring leader. Soon, the cult leader would become more controlling, demanding more money, women, and power. Many cult leaders committed the worst and largest murders in history. Here’s a look at 15 famous cult leaders that left their mark on the world.

1. Charles Manson (The Manson Family)

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One of history’s most notorious criminals, Charles Manson was the cult leader of the Manson Family. After a failed career as a musician, Manson began amassing disciples that followed him to a ranch in the San Fernando Valley. He claimed to be the new messiah that would lead the Family to underground caves to protect them from an impending nuclear war. He claimed that a race war would begin, and they’d flourish in the new world. However, Manson decided to start the race war himself.

Adopting Helter Skelter, Manson ordered followers Charles “Tex” Watxon, Patricia Krenwinkel, and Susan Atkins to violently murder pregnant actress Sharon Tate, heiress Abigail Forger, and their two friends at the Tate residence in August 1969. After the murders, Atkins wrote “pig” in Tate’s blood on the wall.

Two nights later, The Manson family continued their murderous rampage, killing Leno Labianca and his wife. Linda Kasabian had gone with the group but was too scared to enter the Tate residence. Later, Kasabian became the prosecution’s star witness. The investigation led back to the charismatic leader Charles Manson. Despite not directly participating, Manson went to prison for life, dying in 2017.

2. Anne Hamilton-Byrne (The Family)

The Family – Feature documentary, 2016/YouTube

Based on a mix of Hinduism and Christianity, yoga teacher Anne Hamilton-Byrne founded the New Age religion, The Family, in Australia in the mid-60s. Members of the group were nurses and doctors who worked at the nearby psychiatric facility, Newhaven Hospital. They conducted experiments on the patients using LSD and recruited them into the Family. The group believed and taught that Hamilton-Byrne was the reincarnation of Jesus Christ.

From 1968 to 1975, Hamilton-Byrne obtained fourteen children. A few were from natural births by members of The Family. However, she also used Family members who were lawyers, social workers, and doctors to acquire the kids illegally. The kids were subject to isolation and brutal beatings sometimes for no reason. Hamilton-Byrne and the doctors used LSD on the kids and would lock them in a dark room for several days. In the late 80s, Hamilton-Byrne kicked out her adopted daughter Sarah for rebelling. Sarah went to the authorities and helped bring the Family down. Hamilton-Bryne died in 2019 at the age of 97.

3. Jim Jones (The People’s Temple)

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Preacher Jim Jones is possibly the most infamous cult leader. In the late 50s, Jones formed the People’s Temple in Indiana and moved to San Francisco as membership grew. Eventually, The People’s Temple had roughly 3,000 dedicated followers. However, Jones soon gained negative attention after reports of abuse surfaced. He became increasingly more controlling and made members hand over all their property and income.

Furthermore, Jones began claiming to be a messiah and criticized traditional Christianity. By the 70s, the group moved to a compound in Jonestown, Guyana. In 1978, Congressman Leo Ryan flew down to investigate the group and help members leave the People’s Temple. Jones ordered his security team to murder Congressman Ryan and his delegation on the airstrip. Jones feared the FBI would soon raid the compound once they found out about Ryan’s murder. Therefore, Jones ordered the calculated mass suicide of the remaining members, including children in the Jonestown massacre. Later, Jones committed suicide after the majority of his followers drank flavor aid mixed with cyanide. The incident became a defining moment for cults.

4. Bonnie Lu Nettles and Marshall Applewhite (Heaven’s Gate)

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After meeting in 1972, Bonnie Lu Nettles left her family of four kids to be with Marshall Applewhite. They went on a spiritual journey and concluded that they were the alien versions of the Two Witnesses of Revelations. Also known as Ti and Do, Nettles and Applewhite, founded Heaven’s Gate in 1974. They believed they would turn into immortal aliens that would ascend to heaven aboard a UFO spaceship. However, Nettles’s death from liver cancer in 1985 shattered the group’s belief.

Applewhite later claimed that the human body was only a vessel and their spirits would board the UFO. Applewhite continued to lead Heaven’s Gate until the group, including Applewhite, committed mass suicide in 1997. They believed they’d board a spaceship attached to Comet Hale-Bopp that passed by at the time of the suicide.

5. David Koresh (Branch Davidians)

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Born Vernon Howell, David Koresh began leading the Branch Davidians in the early 80s. Initially founded by Benjamin Roden, Koresh battled George Roden for control of the religious sect and the notorious Mount Carmel Center in Waco, Texas. Eventually, Koresh took complete control of the Branch Davidians.

Koresh soon claimed he was the voice of God and the group’s final prophet. At this time, former members of Branch Davidson accused Koresh of child sex abuse. The FBI investigated the claim but was unable to provide any sufficient evidence.

Koresh feared the FBI would raid the complex so he began warning his followers of an impending apocalypse. The group started to stockpile a large number of weapons for the upcoming doomsday. That led to the infamous Waco Siege in 1993, which lasted 51-days. Authorities entered the compound using tear gas. However, a mysterious fire engulfed the building resulting in the deaths of Davidian members, 23 children, and Koresh. The actual cause of Koresh’s death remains a mystery.

6. Joseph di Mambro Luc Jouret (Order of the Solar Temple)

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In 1984, Joseph di Mambro and Luc Jouret founded the Order of the Solar Temple, or OST, in Switzerland. With a background in mythicism, di Mambro based the teachings on the Knights Templar. They believed that Christ would return as the sun-god king. However, di Mambro, Jouret, and the OST began to unravel.

In the early 90s, di Mambro ordered the brutal murder of a member’s three-month-old infant because he believed that child was the antichrist. Later, di Mambro, Jouret, and other high-ranking members all participated in a mass suicide in Switzerland, Canada, and France. The remaining members continued to commit mass suicide throughout the 90s.

7. Warren Jeffs (Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints)

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Warren Jeffs is the President of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Church banned the FLDS for their refusal to abandon polygamy. Jeffs went on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list after arranging the weddings of two adults to underage girls.

Jeffs later went to prison for raping two underage girls who he also married. Furthermore, the Southern Poverty Law Center deemed the FLDS a hate group due to Jeff’s Views on race, the LGBTQ community, and women.

8. Shoko Asahara (Aum Shinrikyo)

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In the late 80s, the doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo rose in popularity throughout Japan. However, the cult was behind two of Tokyo’s deadliest attacks. Based on The Bible and Vajrayana scriptures, Shoko Asahara founded Aum Shinrikyo in Tokyo in 1987. He claimed he was Christ and often discussed his doomsday prophecy. Furthermore, Asahara believed World War III would lead to a nuclear war and the eventual end of the world.

In 1995, several group members committed the deadly sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway. They had carried out a similar attack the year before in Matsumoto. Despite Asahara claiming he wasn’t involved in the attacks, he spent several years in prison before his execution in 2018.

9. David Berg (Family International)

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Founded by David Berg in the 1960s, Family International has gone by many names, including Teens for Christ, Children of God, and The Family of Love. Known for incorporating sexuality into the religion, they were popular among the counterculture youth in the 60s. They grew in membership over the years and attracted a large number of celebs, such as Joaquin Phoenix, Jeremy Spencer, and Rose McGowan.

Berg had the female members seduce men outside the cult to spread their message and ask for donations. Berg often isolated himself from his followers and the rest of the world. Also known as Moses David, he’d only communicate with his followers through letters, aka Mo letters. Former members and family members accused Berg of child sex abuse, pedophilia, and physical abuse. After going into hiding in 1971, Berg died in 1994.

10. Credonia Mwerinde and Joseph Kibweteere (Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments)

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In 1989, Credonia Mwerinde and Joseph Kibweteere founded the Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments in Southwestern Uganda. The group strictly followed the ten commandments to the point of not speaking. Mwerinde and her father claimed to have visions of the Virgin Mary, St. Joseph, and Jesus Christ.

Furthermore, they claimed that the end of the world was on December 31, 1999. All members handed over their property and income to Mwerinde and Kibweteere. Of course, the world didn’t end, and several members were furious at the leadership. They then announced the next date for the apocalypse as March 17, 2000. To deal with the unrest, Mwerinde and Kibweteere ordered a mass murder of the majority of members. During a party, a fire erupted, killing over 500 members. They boarded up the windows and doors to prevent anyone from escaping. Additionally, the leadership poisoned several other members at various locations. Authorities believe that Mwerinde and Kibweteere are still alive and in hiding.

11. Ervil LeBaron (Church of the First Born of the Lamb of God)

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In late 1890, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints abandoned polygamy. Many followers disagreed with the decision and moved to Mexico to continue their way of life. Alma Dayer LeBaron Sr. started a community known as Colonia LeBaron. After his death, his eldest son Joel LeBaron took over but had a power struggle with his younger brother Ervil. Ervil LeBaron led the Church of the First Born of the Lamb of God in the 1970s.

Ervil ordered several killings, including the murder of his older brother. He also ordered the killing of his younger brother Verlan, but those attempts failed. Ervil had thirteen wives, many of whom he married while they were underage. Plus, several of his wives participated in the various murders. Ervil even ordered the murder of his pregnant 17-year-old daughter, Rebecca, who wished to leave the group.

Ervil would eventually go to prison for murder but maintained power. He ordered the murders of his closest allies while in jail. Ervil committed suicide while in prison in 1981. Two days later, Verlan died in a car accident in Mexico, which seemed like an odd coincidence.

12. Adolfo Constanzo (Los Narcosatánicos)

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Adolfo Constanzo was the cult leader of the notorious drug-trafficking occult Los Narcosatánicos. Constanzo became interested in voodoo and magic as a child. Later, as an adult, he impressed several criminals and corrupt officials with his magic skills. Soon he began to amass a loyal following. Constanzo ordered his followers to abduct individuals for human sacrifices. He claimed the sacrifices protected him from the police and arrest.

During Spring break in 1989, Constanzo instructed his gang and cult members to find the next sacrifice. They kidnaped pre-med student Mark Kilroy who was on vacation with his friends. The search for Kilroy led officials directly to Constanzo and his gang. After a shootout with officers, Constanzo ordered one of his gang members to kill him. Police arrested Constanzo’s second in command and several others for Kilroy’s murder.

13. Keith Raniere (NXIVM)

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In 1998, Keith Raniere founded the multilevel marketing campaign NXIVM. It was immensely popular with the rich and famous, attracting Smallville star Allison Mack and Battlestar Galactica actress Nicki Clyne. However, many experts regard the group as a notorious cult that had operated successfully for the last several years. Raniere used marketing strategies to target new members. Within NXIVM was a secret sub-group called DOS. The sub-group used female members to attract other women to the group. They were essentially a slave to Raniere, with each slave having their own slaves.

Furthermore, Raniere literally branded the women with his initials. Friends and relatives of members accused Raniere and the group of sexual abuse, physical abuse, grooming, fraud, blackmail, forced labor, and more. In 2018, a judge sentenced Raniere to 120 years in prison. Raniere continues to run the group from jail, with many members still supporting him, including Clyne.

14. Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (Rajneesh Movement)

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Starting in India in the late 60s, the Rajneesh Movement quickly spread across the globe. Named after the group’s leader Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, he stirred up controversy for his views on religions, culture, and sexuality in India. Later, the group established the community Rajeneespuram in the state of Oregon. The group faced several local and political obstacles in expanding the new religious movement. However, the dream ended in the early 80s.

The movement orchestrated the salmonella bio-terror attack that poisoned over 700 people. The group also attempted to assassinate then-U.S. attorney Charles Turner, who was investigating the group. Rajneesh denied any involvement in either incident and blamed his second-in-command Am Anand Sheela. Regardless, the United States deported Rajneesh back to India for his role in the movement. Following his death in 1990, the Rajneesh Movement became known as Osho and continued Rajneesh’s teaching. Present-day India views Osho in a positive light.

15. Father Yod (Source Family)

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Born James Edward Baker, Father Yod was a follower of Yogi Bhajan and Kundalini yoga. He incorporated these beliefs into his own philosophy, changed his name to Father Yod, and founded the Source Family. Also known as Ya Ho Wha, he had fourteen wives and three children. The family lived a communal lifestyle in the Hollywood Hills that promoted natural health and organic vegetarian food.

In fact, he also owned the first organic vegetarian restaurant on the Sunset Strip, which attracted celebrities like Marlon Brando and John Lennon. For years, the group supported their way of living off the restaurant’s massive success. Later, the group sold the restaurant and moved to Hawaii, where Yod formed the band Ya Ho Wha 13. In 1975, Father Yod tragically died in a hang gliding accident.

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