In the five months following the King of Pop's death, MJ has managed to amass a fortune large enough to not only pull his estate out of the insurmountable debt it was in prior to his passing, but by some estimates to satisfy current lawsuits with plenty left over to take care of his three kids for the rest of their lives. Get the full scoop after the jump.
THE debts that plunged Michael Jackson’s life into turmoil have been cleared, barely five months after his death.
Music royalties and box-office takings for the film This Is It have brought in almost half-a-billion dollars to the King of Pop’s estate.
The phenomenal flow of cash, which does not include income from Jackson souvenirs and memorabilia, more than covers the estimated £250million he owed. Administrators John Branca and John McClain still face at least six lawsuits, originally filed against the singer but now transferred to his estate.
These include a £180million action by New Jersey based company AllGood Entertainment that claims Jackson reneged on a planned pay-per-view TV reunion concert with his brothers in Texas.
Hollywood director John Landis, who made the singer’s 1983 Thriller video, is also suing for an undisclosed sum over alleged non- payment of his share of the profits.
A spokesman for the administrators said yesterday: “Our attorneys are in negotiations with various parties on a number of unresolved issues. We expect these to be amicably resolved by early in the New Year.”
Even hefty out-of-court settlements and legal fees won’t make much of a dent in Jackson’s posthumous fortune and future earning potential, according to financial experts.
Jackson was already No3 on Forbes Magazine’s annual list of highest- grossing dead celebrities, behind fashion icon Yves St Laurent and composers Rodgers & Hammerstein, before This Is It was released last month. By yesterday, the film had raked in almost $240million worldwide, according to online monitor Box Office Mojo, with eventual income from DVD sales expected to double that. Sales of the spin-off double CD, which has made the top 10 in more than 120 countries, as well as re-releases of Jackson’s classic albums, are “conservatively” expected to top £180million by Christmas, according to Sony Music.
Forbes senior editor Matthew Miller believes the Jackson phenomenon will continue to dominate the magazine’s dead celebrity chart for years to come. His posthumous earnings already dwarf those of Elvis Presley, whose estate made only £34 in the current financial year. Mr Miller said: “In life, Michael sank into uncontrollable debt, raising enormous loans to pay for other ones he couldn’t afford. He was, basically, a multi-millionaire living a billionaire lifestyle.”
Now, in an ironic twist, financial experts predict Jackson’s estate could be as much as a billion dollars in profit by the end of next year, with plans to launch as many as six new CDs.
The cash bonanza removes any financial uncertainty there may have been over the future of the singer’s three children, Prince Michael, 12, Paris, 11, and seven-year-old Prince Michael II.
Mr Miller said: “If they chose, none of them would have to work a single day in their lives.” (Source: MichaelJackson.com)
