Michael Jackson Was $500 Million In Debt When He Died, Executors Say In Filings

Fifteen years after the legendary Michael Jackson’s death, new details have emerged about the intricate financial affairs and challenges the executors of his estate faced. 

According to a filing submitted to the Los Angeles County Superior Court on June 21, the executors revealed that Jackson had “more than $500 million of debt” at the time of his death at the age of 50. 

The court documents further explained that Jackson incurred considerable expense in the preparations for his tour, This Is It and left his estate with a debt of roughly $40 million to the tour’s promoter.

The court documents also highlighted the frequent changes in Jackson’s business management, as the executors had to track down scattered documents across the country after his death. This upheaval, the filing noted, had forced the executors to work tirelessly to eliminate the estate’s debt and “Successfully enhance Michael Jackson’s image and legacy for the benefit of the beneficiaries of Michael’s Trust,” which includes his children – Prince Jackson, Paris Jackson, and Bigi “Blanket” Jackson.

The executors’ attorneys have now requested the court to “allow, authorize and approve of compensation” for the “extraordinary services rendered” by various legal firms on behalf of Jackson’s estate, which totals more than $3.5 million in payment.

The court document further elaborated on the complex financial landscape that the executors faced.

“At the time of Michael Jackson’s death, his assets were highly leveraged, and the debt in some cases was in default,” it said. 

However, the executors, with the assistance of their legal team, were able to “bring all debt current, and negotiated and restructured the debt at interest rates far more favorable to the Estate so that the Estate was able to and has paid in full all of the debt that so heavily burdened Michael Jackson during his life.”