Michael Jackson's net worth was what?
American singer, songwriter, actor, producer, and philanthropist Michael Jackson had a net worth of $500 million at the time of his death. Technically speaking, Michael was in debt for $500 million at the time of his death due to decades of overspending and overborrowing, even though his estate would go on to generate over $2 billion in the years after his death. Including 35 million albums sold in the year after his death, he has sold over 750 million albums overall.
Throughout the years 1985–1995, Michael Jackson easily made between $50 and $100 million annually from merchandise, endorsements, record sales, and tours. Sadly, Michael blew the money as soon as he made it. His opulent way of life required around $50 million a year to sustain. To Debbie Rowe, his lover and egg donor, he gave $12 million. Not to mention spending tens of millions on lawyers, he spent another $20 million resolving a child abuse lawsuit. Purchased for $19.5 million, Neverland Ranch is maintained for an astounding $10 million annually. He spent $35 million to renovate the compound into his own amusement park. The Bentleys, antiques, artwork, exotic animals, and the infamous gloves set with diamonds came next. Jackson also threw away $50 to $100 million on unfinished music and film projects.
The death net worth of Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson was supposedly valued at less than $500 million when he passed away. At one time, Michael borrowed $380 million from Bank of America to support his lifestyle, pledging his 50% ownership in Sony/ATV, the music publishing company. Just the interest on that loan came to tens of millions of dollars a year. He spent all $380 million plus $120 million in a few years. That is why Michael Jackson owed $500 million when he passed away in 2009.
Music Bibliography
When Michael died, his two music libraries were his most precious possessions. Along with songs by dozens of musicians, including Sly and the Family Stone, Jerry Lewis, and Ray Charles, his Mijac Music organization owned his own material. Notably, he also held the Beatles catalogue. Or put another way, he held half of the business that was in charge of the Beatles' back catalog, in addition to hundreds of thousands (now millions) of other songs.
Early in the 1980s, Michael used his firm Mijac to buy the Sly and the Family Stone collections, which marked his first venture into music rights ownership. Then, among other timeless classics, he purchased "Great Balls of Fire," "Shake Rattle Rattle and Roll," "When a Man Loves a Woman," and "Runaround Sue."
November 1984 saw Michael pay $47.5 million to buy ATV Music, the Beatles' collection. ATV and Sony's own music library were combined in 1991 when Sony paid Michael $95 million. The resulting business was called Sony/ATV. Sony paid Michael's estate $750 million for a portion of the business in 2016. Currently worth $2–4 billion, Sony/ATV has millions of songs.
Getting the Beatles
Robert Holmes had the Beatles music collection back in 1984. The business tycoon from Australia was offering it for sale through ATV Music Publishing, a business he founded and which held the rights to over 4,000 songs, including Northern Songs, The Beatles' music publishing subsidiary. The truth is that at the start of their careers, Paul McCartney and John Lennon inked a bad deal that granted Northern Songs the publishing rights to over 250 songs. Given the chance to purchase the Beatles collection in 1984, Paul McCartney and Yoko Ono declined because the $40 million price tag was too much.
Meanwhile, Michael Jackson, aged twenty-five, was in the midst of a two-year music publishing rights buying binge following the phenomenal success of Thriller. Between 1982 and 1984, he spent millions acquiring publishing rights from Sly and the Family Stone, as well as classics like Great Balls of Fire, When a Man Loves a Woman, and Runaround Sue, to name a few. Jackson's longtime lawyer, John Branca, approached Michael about purchasing the ATV/The Beatles catalog when he learned it was up for sale. Jackson won the auction with an offer of $47.5 million ($115 million in today's money) after Michael advised him to spare no effort.
Michael was then allowed to license any Beatles song, which he did in 1987 when he paid $500,000. Jackson was paid $250,000 in that transaction, and while McCartney and Lennon continued to hold the songwriter's royalties, they each received $125,000.
Comps and Outlays
Jackson's own music, performances, films, and sponsorships brought in around $500 million during his career, but by the time of his death in 2009, he was virtually $500 million in debt. After blowing all of his money on a very expensive and intricate lifestyle, Jackson was left bankrupt. His lifestyle alone cost him between $30 and $50 million a year, and he ran up enormous unpaid bills with his publicists, attorneys, and agents. A couple notables:
$17 million to buy the Neverland Ranch, plus $5 million per year for upkeep.
A case alleging child molestation was settled for $20 million.
$65 million on a range of video projects, including the 35-minute co-written feature "Ghosts" with Stephen King.
Split of $12 million with girlfriend Debbie Rowe.
Interest payments on his loans total $5 million a year.
Tens of millions were spent on Bentleys, antiques, artwork, clothing, chimps, gloves set with diamonds, and other baubles.
Jackson borrowed $380 million from the value of his song library to support his continuing opulent lifestyle. The pop singer was infamously financially gullible and overestimated his net fortune. To support his lifestyle and stage a professional and financial comeback, he got into a vortex of financial dealings with banks, hedge funds, and other dubious individuals near the end of his life. Michael had burned through the whole $380 million debt before he passed away, and he had no chance of repaying the principle or the interest. Michael was mostly compelled to perform the "This Is It" comeback tour because of this debt, which may have contributed to his death.
Joining forces with Sony
In 1995, Sony made Michael an incredible offer. To combine ATV songs with their portfolio and establish a new 50/50-owned publishing powerhouse, Sony proposed to give him $95 million ($230 million today). Michael consented, quickly recouping his original outlay of funds and acquiring 50% of a much larger music publishing company. Jackson maintained complete creative control over all of his own tracks through a different business venture known as Mijac Music.
The new Jackson/Sony business would be called Sony/ATV Music Publishing and expand to 200,000 songs over the following ten years. With the libraries and songs of Lady Gaga, Bob Dylan, Beck, and Eminem, among others, Sony/ATV expanded to hold two million songs between 2005 and 2013. The business brought in $500 million in revenue and $1.25 billion in royalties and licensing in just 2012. The corporation is valued at $2–4 billion now.
What became of Michael Jackson's estate?
Michael Jackson's executors mounted a bold financial recovery in the years following his death. Regaining liquidity for the estate was one of their main objectives in order to avoid having to sell his valuable music collection.
In his will, Michael specifically left his three children forty percent of his assets to be divided equally. Twenty percent went to different charities for kids, and forty percent went to help his mother, Katherine. Once Katherine passes away, that forty percent balance goes to Michael's children, so eventually his three children will divide eighty percent of the fortune.
Net Worth of the Jackson Estate After Death
Ironically, Michael's financial situation probably improved greatly when he passed away. He has been the highest-earning deceased celebrity on earth every year since his death on June 25, 2009. As soon as Michael passed away, his executors got to work stabilizing the pop singer's finances. They made the biggest record deal in history when they promptly sold Sony Michael's future music rights for $250 million. In addition, his attorneys sifted through thousands of hours of intimate home video from the final year of his life to create the film "This Is It," which was shown in theaters worldwide. Over $500 million has been earned by the movie thus far. Many more promoters followed the film's and the record deal's popularity. Michael was licensed by Pepsi. In Las Vegas, Cirque du Solei centered two shows around his image and music. On both concerts, Jackson's estate splits 50/50 with the Cirque du Solei. Tens of thousands of personal belongings and mementos left by Michael Jackson are kept in three enormous Southern California warehouses. His three children will be able to choose what they want to keep and what can be auctioned off when they are all eighteen.
Even now, his estate receives eight-figure payouts from his fifty percent ownership of the Sony/ATV music library.
Michael Jackson's estate has earned approximately $700 million since his death in 2009. More so than every other active artist at the time. His executors have ensured the future of his billion-dollar music library by simply repaying his Sony debt. Cash flow milestones:
Twenty-two million dollars
2021: $75 million
Fiscal 2020: $48 million
Cash in 2019: $60 million.
$40 million in 2018
2017 brought in $75 million.
2008: $825 million
2015 brought in $115 million.
Neverland Ranch: As you are well aware, Michael Jackson called his vast estate, Neverland Ranch, home for the majority of his adult life. Neverland is a real estate property situated in Santa Barbara County, California, in Los Olivos. It was listed in 2015. Regretfully, even after being refurbished, renamed, and priced down, it has had trouble finding a buyer. Here is a little history of Neverland and a unique drone video tour provided by the real estate broker.
Everland Ranch was bought by Michael Jackson in 1987 for $19.5 million. In inflation-adjusted currency today, that equates to about $44 million. After buying the 2700-acre estate, Jackson set about creating a lavish fantasy world with a running train, exotic animals, and an amusement park. He had to pay millions of dollars for the expansions and improvements. A reference to Michael's own slowed growth as a result of early stardom and missed youth, the property was designed with a Peter Pan theme.
He hosted opulent parties at the house for acquaintances, relatives, and even complete strangers. Thanks to her dad's business ties to Michael, Kim Kardashian celebrated her 14th birthday at the ranch. In 1991, Elizabeth Taylor was married there.
A 12,600-square-foot French-Normandy-style mansion serves as the property's primary dwelling. Among the many amenities of the home are a dance studio, eight bathrooms, five bedrooms, and a 50-seat movie theater. There's a four-acre lake, barns, many guest and staff buildings, tennis courts, and a basketball court. On the property, there are 22 buildings in all.
Michael's career and his financial situation were irreparably destroyed after he was charged with child abuse in 1993 and then again in 2003. He lost the money he needed to cover the mortgage and the expected $1 million in annual maintenance expenses. He eventually fell behind on what had become a $25 million property obligation.
Michael had to deal with foreclosure in 2008. For $23 million, his bank sold Colony Capital, a private equity firm, the $25 million loan.
Colony invested millions in renovations after Jackson passed away in 2009, with the goal of selling the home as quickly as possible. The name Sycamore Valley Ranch replaced Neverland Ranch. The list price was $100 million.
Potential buyers were not very interested in the house, possibly due to negative emotions from the previous owner or the excessive price. In 2018, Colony lowered the price to $67 million.
Billionaire Ron Burkle finally agreed to pay $22 million for Neverland in December 2020.