Jackson lived like king but died awash in debt

[jeffrey]

Michael Jackson the singer was also Michael Jackson the billion-dollar business.

Yet after selling more than 61 million albums in the U.S. and having a decade-long attraction open at Disney theme parks, the "King of Pop" died Thursday at age 50 reportedly awash in about $400 million in debt, on the cusp of a final comeback after well over a decade of scandal...

Jackson lived like king but died awash in debt - Kansas City Star

[happygirl]

So sad. I always wonder how a rich person can live with spending such extreme amounts of money on things. I mean really, spending 10,000$ on a purse? Why not spend 1,000$ and give the other 9,000$ to a program that will help homeless children or something?

You can still have tons of luxuries, but some of the wasteful spending just seems like a slap in the face to those going without basic necessities through little or no fault of their own.

How does one even spend 400,000,000$ I don't think I could.

[RedThunderBird]

Well he had 39 charities , that helped many people in need . That was probably one of the main reasons he got himself in trouble , not knowing when to say no to the requests of so many people who knew he had a lot of money , and that could happen to any one . Saving money is only the beginning , keeping the money you earned , and saved is the priority [ making that money grow trough smart investment , would be the ideal ] He also lived like if there was not tomorrow , overspending in the most trivial things , at the end we could learn a great deal from his mistakes , and avoid them .

[GREENBACK]

Things like Never land and his whole ranch/complex are excessive even for him. Complex person with many issues and a sad ending. I pass no judgement on him as he was a victim of the spotlight from an early age an probably didn't have the first clue about his personal finances.

[croland]

I agree with Greenback, he probably didn't have a chance when it came to managing his personal finances. I think at a certain point he probably didn't think he would ever run out of money. It would be interesting to look into the minds of this type of individuals because like RedThunderBird said, Michael Jackson had 39 charities and these types are major donors to great organizations.

These types meaning individuals who have a ton of income but low net worth.

[Broken Arrow]

Here's something interesting. Although his debt was high, his assets are higher. (There are similar sources, but Luxist had the most condensed version.)

According to the link, Neverland ranch could be worth anywhere from $70 to $90 million. His co-ownership of the Beatles' songs, as well as his own, are supposedly worth anywhere from $500 million to $1 billion. And if he had been able to go on tour, that could net him another $50 million to $400 million.

Add it all up, and... even $500 million of debt doesn't seem so bad! In fact, from a business stand-point, all the scandals that tarnished him as a brand probably hurt his bottom line more than anything.

Well anyway, may he rest in peace....

[thrifty1978]

I'm in agreement with Happy Girl on this one. It was simply excessive of the vulgar kind.

[zakity]

I wonder if Neverland will be turned into a tourist attraction like Graceland is.

[GREENBACK]

Originally Posted by zakity

I wonder if Neverland will be turned into a tourist attraction like Graceland is.

Probably depends on who actually was in control of it and what is in his will. There could be a gigantic mess with this and many aspects of his estate.

[RedThunderBird]

Originally Posted by GREENBACK

Probably depends on who actually was in control of it and what is in his will. There could be a gigantic mess with this and many aspects of his estate.

You know that at the end it would be the lawyers , who would benefit the most , and the media who are having a great bonanza with his death ===== Amazing they use to criticizing him while he was alive , and now they talk about him like if was a saint [ bunch of hypocrites ] , but I insist that there is a lesson for all of us , when it comes to finances ======== The first one is to keep what we worked so hard for , for the moment some people knows that you have a bit of money , they would come to you asking for a piece , sometimes if they could they would ask for it all ========= The second point , is that if you change your life style so radical , and start spending left and right in things you do not NEED , you will find yourself WANTING , I capitalized those words because not knowing the difference would ruin you , as for the man in the mirror I all say is rest in peace . p.s something else I learned about this without being cynical , as much as you can ----- try not be bothered by the opinions of others , except of those you truly love , for at the end one day they would love you or hate you , only to change their minds , the following day .

[Rande273]

I'm not sure if he will be remembered as Hero or Zero.

[whitestripe]

Originally Posted by thrifty1978

I'm in agreement with Happy Girl on this one. It was simply excessive of the vulgar kind.

ummmm, hello? --

Originally Posted by RedThunderBird

Well he had 39 charities , that helped many people in need . That was probably one of the main reasons he got himself in trouble , not knowing when to say no to the requests of so many people who knew he had a lot of money , and that could happen to any one .

[RedThunderBird]

You know the sad thing is that he died === he will never know how much we loved his music in a time when music no longer exist , perhaps we never knew how to live him alone to let him live as much as normal person can live . that is the saddest thing , he was squeezed into his own world , afraid and alone even today his empty shell would go trough another circus ===== the media that only a few months earlier would have a field day making fun of him , now while still making money of him , praises him without knowing who he really was . I knew a young kid that loved singing , for that I will always be grateful , because he sang like few can , and I enjoyed his songs ===== he will make more money now , than when he was alive but at what price ; magazines , movies , records , even advertisements would bring the money but not the man behind the voice , maybe we should have listened when he sang " live me alone " is a very sad thing indeed , but whatever he bought at whatever price was never our business much less now that he is gone . ===== we create our heroes , then destroy them just to miss them ==== weird , very weird indeed .