Will Jackson Creditors Ever Beat It?

It was common knowledge that when the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, announced his comeback tour, ‘This Is It’, back in March he was in need of the estimated £30 million fortune the O2 arena concerts would earn him.

It was no secret that Jackson lived in luxury and had never needed to understand the value of money, but with constant rumours regarding his financial affairs and his choice to live abroad with the Royalty of Bahrain, it seemed this was a lifestyle he was becoming increasingly unable to afford. I n March 2008, the singer reportedly defaulted on a $23 million loan and nearly had to give up his 2,500-acre Santa Barbara estate ‘Neverland’ to secure the loan.

When Jackson died last month, questions, rumour and speculation immediately ensued regarding the cause, reasons and the future of his estate and children. What is not being given as much attention at this time, but is set to maintain the Jackson profile in the future, is the number of predicted lawsuits that are being prepared by creditors and investors all wanting remuneration from the Jackson estate.

The media reported that AEG Live, the promoters of the cancelled tour that was due to start this month, have been facing a liability of £300 million, but with the release of unseen footage of Jackson rehearsing and fans wanting to hold on to their tickets as memorabilia, it seems the damage is already being minimised.

What will be interesting is who was expecting to collect from Michael Jackson’s newly earned fortune and whether they will be willing to step forward to claim what they are owed. It is claimed that financial firms including Colony Capital LLC, Fortress Investment Group and Barclays Bank PLC have poured tens of millions into the singer over the years.

Financial documents obtained by the Associated Press show Jackson claimed $567.6 million in assets as of March 31, 2007, (including Neverland and his share of the Sony/ATV Music Publishing catalogue, which holds the rights to songs by the Beatles, Bob Dylan and other artists) but there is also a reported debt of $331 million.

Whilst we may feel it to be inappropriate for companies to launch suits on the estate of a man whose funeral was only a matter of days ago, the US is a highly litigious society and it cannot be denied there will be a ‘first come, first served’ mentality amongst Jackson’s creditors.