Michael Jackson was half a billion dollars in debt when he died

When most people think about the late Michael Jackson, they probably think of a famous singer who owned a luxury ranch with thousands of acres of grounds that included an amusement park, a train and a private zoo. What they likely don’t know is, when Michael Jackson died, he was $500 million in debt — a debt on which he was paying $30 million a year in interest alone.

The latest news about Michael Jackson and his enormous debts is coming out in a wrongful death case currently going on in a Los Angeles court room. The lawsuit, filed by Michael Jackson’s mother Katherine and other family members, is against AEG Live, the promotion company responsible for the PR work for Jackson’s concerts. The same promotion company who hired the doctor since convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the singer’s death.

The case became even more interesting this week, however, when forensic accountant William Ackerman gave evidence about Jackson’s financial situation at the bequest of AEG Live.

In his statement, Ackerman said Jackson was spending between $15 and $20 million a year more than he actually earned, and that the $1.5 billion the Jackson family are suing for, the amount they say Jackson would have earned from concerts if he hadn’t died, is a hugely overblown amount. In fact, Ackerman and AEG say the amount would have been close to $132 million.

With the latest bombshell dropped in the LA court room, AEG is attempting to prove the lawsuit is nothing more than a ‘frivolous’ attempt by the Jackson family to get money, now that the supposed fortune Jackson left isn’t a fortune at all. With half a billion dollars of debt, you can definitely see why.

SOURCES:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2316992/Michael-Jacksons-Neverland-ranch-restored-children.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2391485/Michael-Jackson-paying-30MILLION-annually-just-payments-debt.html