Michael Jackson had accumulated more than half a billion dollars of debt when he died in 2009, new court documents reveal.
A 21 June court filing by the executors of his estate provided some of the most complete details yet about the strained finances with which the 13-time Grammy winner was grappling at the time of his death.
The filing in the Los Angeles county superior court recounted how Jackson’s “most significant assets” were subjected to more than $500m (£395.7m) in “debt and creditors’ claims, with some of the debt accruing interest at extremely high interest rates, and some debt in default”.
The so-called King of Pop died on 25 June 2009 at age 50 shortly before he planned to embark on his This Is It concert tour, which was to include cities such as London, Paris, New York and Mumbai. He had ingested a lethal dose of the potent surgical anesthetic propofol from his personal physician, Conrad Murray, who was later convicted of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to four years in prison.
Jackson’s death at his home in Los Angeles left his estate liable financially for about $40m owed to the This Is It promoter, AEG, the recent court filing asserted. The filing added that Jackson had been faced with lawsuits abroad and in several US states, including California, at the time of his death.
Creditors had lodged more than 65 claims against Jackson, which prompted even more litigation. But the executors wrote in the filing that they had settled or otherwise resolved most of the creditors’ claims and other court actions.
The executors also asked for their attorneys to be reimbursed with money from Jackson’s estate for legal services in 2018, among other expenses.
Prior to the Jackson estate executors’ recent court filing, a public accountant testifying on behalf of AEG in 2013 amid litigation over the singer’s death outlined Jackson’s finances. As the Los Angeles Times documented, the accountant explained that Jackson spent exorbitantly on jewelry – though he also bought art, furniture and gifts as well as traveled and donated money to charity.
“He was tapped out,” the accountant, William Ackerman, testified.
Those meant to be beneficiaries of Jackson’s estate are his mother, Katherine, and children: Prince, 27; Paris, 25; and Blanket, or Bigi, 22. But the executors said that Jackson’s beneficiaries had not been receiving financial distributions from his estate because of an unresolved dispute with the US Internal Revenue Service over a 2021 federal tax return, as the entertainment news outlet People reported.
The IRS has argued that the estate “undervalued its assets” and owed about $700m more in taxes and penalties.
During his career, Jackson sold more than 400m records. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted him in 1997 as a member of the Jackson 5 and in 2001 as a solo artist.
