Michael Jackson Was Over $500 Million in Debt at Time of Death, New Court Documents Reveal

https://people.com/michael-jackson-was-over-usd500-million-in-debt-at-time-of-death-new-court-documents-reveal-8670327

28 comments

  1. > When Michael Jackson died on June 25, 2009 of apparent cardiac arrest in Los Angeles at age 50, he was over $500 million in debt, according to court documents filed on Friday, June 21 and obtained by PEOPLE.

    > However, given Jackson’s exorbitant spending habits, he desperately needed money to pay off his accruing debt of $30 million a year, according to the Los Angeles Times. The publication reported that certified public accountant William R. Ackerman, testifying as a defense witness on behalf of AEG Live in the wrongful-death trial in August 2013, offered a detailed look at the singer’s finances, **telling jurors that Jackson spent money on donations to charity, gifts, travel, art and furniture.**

  2. I mean, the guy literally had a theme park at his mansion grounds.

    Just the base line of money he had to pay yearly to maintain all his properties had to be astronomic.

    What I do not understand is how somebody who earned so much money on the height of record music sales did not have investments that net him a huge passive income.

  4. Who cares. Let’s talk about people who still have the heartbeat to pay back their tremendous debts.

  5. I truly believe that a person who spends money so irresponsibly has a deep emptiness within themselves. I’ve recently come into a situation where I have more financial security. I could drive a fancier car, or whatever, but I don’t feel the need to spend more money. I’m lucky to be were I am financially, and I do NOT take that for granted. Having wealth only to impoverish yourself is peak self-sabotage.

  6. When you owe the bank 500 dollars that’s a YOU problem. When you owe the bank 500 million dollars that’s the BANKS problem.

  10. This has been known for years. And after his death his estate saw a windfall of something like $800 million because of the resurgence in his popularity. 60 minutes did a piece on this like 10 years ago

  11. That’s why momma wanted to sue the doctor for billions.

  12. I’d wager that Michael had zero positive guidance growing up.

    Dude was a mess thanks to those around him.

  13. Okay?..

    Even for entertainment news, this seems profoundly inconsequential.

  15. Keep in mind that his economics are much much different than every one else even other super stars. $500 million for someone like MJ? BFD. His appeal is world wide and he could generate pretty much an unlimited amount of value. All he has to do was…work. He could release a new album with a few hit songs, do some viral shit like a Thriller remake, sign endless endorsements deals, buy ownership in professional sports teams, do an international tour, sign a Vegas Residency at millions $ per show in addition to all his publishing for the biggest pop hits ever and oh yeah, he owned the Beatles catalog and so on and so on. MJ is literally top 3 most famous people on earth in history of humanity. If Beyonce, Kylie Jenner and Taylor Swift could all be modern day billionaires while MJ surpasses their combined successes on most every front then $500 million in debt is really not that scary for someone as astronomically big as Michael Jackson.

  16. wasn’t he going to do like 5 shows in London that would have netted something like $100M? Institutions loan money to people they believe can pay it back, and he could do it.

  19. I’d love to be $500 million in debt upon death. That would be a fun ride.

    If I’m $50k in debt, that’s my problem. If I’m $500MM in debt, that’s the bank’s problem. 🙂

  21. This was known. This is why he chose to do the London Tour that was going to last a whole year.

    Fun fact. I was actually the 3rd date to tour. He had so many great songs that I believe you wouldn’t get to hear them in one show. He had tracks for like Day 1, then Day 2 with different tracks and then back to Day 1 playlist. Crazy!

  22. Extremely wealthy people who either are a corporation as an entertainer or a as an entrepreneur often create LLCs and take loans against their assets to minimize their company income, then pay themselves with the loan funds. That is usually the largest ‘debt’ in these types of things. Not to say there wasn’t true debt though, just mentioning for critically thinking when dealing with the media.

  23. What is it they say? When you the bank 500 dollars it’s your problem, when someone owes $500 mil to a bank, it’s the banks problem

  24. Dude could not stop spending. He had extra properties just to house his purchases which were off the charts insane.

    He owned the Oscar for best picture for gone With the wind! This guy did not know how to say no.

  25. I always wondered if his handlers and financiers had a deal with the doctor so they could lower the overhead and actually make money on the MJ library.

  26. He spent more than three Chinese Democracies on his final album Invincible, by far and away the most expensive album ever made. Then he didn’t even bother promoting or touring it afterwards. The fact he died $500mil in debt does not surprise me.

  27. The more time passes on, it’s harder to believe people like Michael Jackson and Prince were actually real people and not characters.

  28. Didn’t he own like half of Sony and the Beatles catalogue?

Leave a Reply