Leader↕ | Country↕ | Cult↕ | Active↕ | Known For↕ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charles Manson | United States | The Manson Family | 1967-1969 | Ordered the Tate-LaBianca murders, race-war Helter Skelter prophecy, became a pop culture horror icon |
| Jim Jones | United States | Peoples Temple | 1955-1978 | Jonestown mass murder-suicide of 918 followers in Guyana, the origin of drinking the Kool-Aid |
| David Koresh | United States | Branch Davidians | 1983-1993 | Waco siege that ended with a fire killing 76 followers, claimed to be the final prophet |
| Shoko Asahara | Japan | Aum Shinrikyo | 1984-1995 | Orchestrated the Tokyo subway sarin attack, apocalyptic Buddhist-Hindu syncretic doomsday group |
| Marshall Applewhite | United States | Heaven's Gate | 1974-1997 | Mass suicide of 39 members dressed in matching tracksuits awaiting a UFO behind Hale-Bopp |
| L. Ron Hubbard | United States | Church of Scientology | 1950-1986 | Founded Scientology, wrote Dianetics, pulp sci-fi author turned religious leader |
| Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (Osho) | India | Rajneesh movement | 1970s-1990 | Rajneeshpuram commune in Oregon, fleet of Rolls-Royces, bioterror attack by his followers |
| Keith Raniere | United States | NXIVM | 1998-2018 | Self-help empire hiding a secret slave society, convicted for sex trafficking and racketeering |
| Warren Jeffs | United States | Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints | 2002-2011 | FLDS leader convicted of sexual assault of underage brides, polygamist compound in Texas |
| Jim Roberts | United States | The Brethren / The Garbage Eaters | 1971-2015 | Nomadic end-times group that foraged in dumpsters, cut members off from families |
| Joseph Di Mambro | France / Switzerland | Order of the Solar Temple | 1984-1994 | Mass murder-suicides in Switzerland, France and Canada involving dozens of members |
| Credonia Mwerinde | Uganda | Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God | 1989-2000 | Ugandan doomsday cult that killed hundreds in a church fire and mass graves |
| Roch Theriault | Canada | Ant Hill Kids | 1977-1989 | Canadian doomsday commune, extreme abuse, eventually murdered by a fellow inmate in prison |
| Bonnie Lu Nettles | United States | Heaven's Gate (co-founder) | 1974-1985 | Co-founded Heaven's Gate with Applewhite as Ti and Do, shaped the UFO-redemption theology |
| Sun Myung Moon | South Korea | Unification Church | 1954-2012 | Founded the Moonies, mass wedding ceremonies, built an international media and business empire |
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