Michael Jackson's staggering debt revealed
Michael Jackson was reportedly drowning in massive debt at the time of his death in 2009.
According to newly released court documents, the late King of Pop owed more than $500 million ($747.05 million AUD) to more than 65 creditors just before he passed.
Jackson had “more than half a dozen lawsuits pending worldwide” and more than “65 creditors’ claims were filed in the estate spawning additional lawsuits, of which several resulted in litigation,” the documents state.
According to the documents, that were filed in a Los Angeles court on June 21st, the executors of Jackson's will were able to “renegotiate and restructure financing arrangements,” including a lucrative deal with Sony over rights he had to music publishing for several artists, at “substantially reduced interest rates” to avoid further losses and rectify the debts.
The $750 million ($1.120 billion AUD) agreement allowed Sony to acquire Sony/ATV, which held the rights to almost 3 million famous songs from artists including John Lennon and Paul McCartney, David Bowie and Taylor Swift.
Despite settling the major agreement with the record label, the Jackson estate still reportedly owes a significant amount of money as “there remain challenging business, tax and legal issues that the executers and their counsel continue to deal with.”
The filing reportedly also notes a pending final decision on a victory in a 2021 court battle with the IRS.
Jackson’s three children, Prince, 27, Paris, 26, and Bigi Jackson, 22 — who are the beneficiaries of his estate — have been blocked from receiving money from their trust until the IRS dispute has been settled.
A spokesperson for the estate clarified, “The estate has a very cooperative relationship with Michael’s children and whenever they need anything, the estate works with them to ensure that they are very well taken care of, just as Michael would have wanted.”
The Los Angeles Times previously reported that Michael accrued so much debt largely in part because of his excessive spending habits, which were aired during his 2003 interview with Martin Bashir that laid bare his extravagant spending.
Image credits: Mousse/ABACA/Shutterstock Editorial