A brand new report released by the folks at The New York Post has revealed that the late King of Pop, Michael Jackson, was in massive debt at the time of his demise, according to court documents. So how much money are we talking? Try a staggering $500 million. I mean, dang. For one person to have wracked up that kind of debt just defies logic. How in the world did this happen to pop star of his caliber?
Jackson passed away 15 years ago at the age of 50 due to cardiac arrest that was caused by “acute propofol intoxication.”
The Post said that the “Beat It” singer owed 65 different creditors money at the time he died, according to a series of court documents that were obtained by People.
“At the time of Michael Jackson’s death, Michael Jackson’s most significant assets were subject to more than $500 million of debt and creditors’ claims, with some of the debt accruing interest at extremely high interest rates, and some debt in default,” the filing revealed.
Before his death, Jackson had been in the middle of preparing for his “This Is It” residency, which added some strain on his finances. He died on June 25, 2009 — close to the tour’s inception — which left his estate financially liable for $40 million to the tour promoter, AEG.
The petition requests that money from the “Smooth Criminal” hitmaker’s estate be used for reimbursement stemming from 2018. The reimbursement includes “legal, negotiating and various other operating expenses,” per the filing. Jackson had “more than half a dozen lawsuits pending worldwide” at the time of his death, the petition reads.
“The Executors were able to renegotiate and restructure financing arrangements that existed at the time of Michael’s death, at substantially reduced interest rates, enabling the Estate to avoid the loss of any assets to the lenders and ultimately to satisfy the encumbrances that existed at the time of Michael’s death,” court documents went on to say.
Information contained in the documents said that from the period of time of July to December 2018, several different firms were looking to collect $3.5 million in legal fees for the services that were rendered at that time.
“Although the Executors have eliminated the Estate’s debt, have resolved virtually all of the creditors’ claims and litigation, and have successfully solidified the MJJ business as a significant entity in the music industry, there remain challenging business, tax and legal issues that the Executors and their counsel continue to deal with,” the filing said. “The Executors have faced extraordinarily challenging circumstances.”
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When Jackson first passed away, his death slammed into the people of the world like a semi-truck going 120 mph down the freeway. There was a televised memorial service to honor his memory at the Staples Center, which was viewed by an astounding 2.5 billion people.
Jackson’s physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, was eventually found guilty of involuntary manslaughter for recklessly over medicating the pop singer with dangerous levels of anesthetic propofol along with a cocktail of other sedatives.
Later in his career, Michael Jackson was a divisive figure due to allegations in the mid-1990s of child molestation.