Michael Jackson’s estate went from $450M debt at the time of his death to a $3.5 billion empire | Hollywood News
One would imagine Michael Jackson would be swimming in money when he died of drug overdose in 2009. But the reality tells a different story. The King of Pop was, in fact, in great financial peril, thanks to a debt of at least $450 million at the time. But things were looking up before his sudden demise, as he was all set to go on one of his biggest global tours — This Is It. But unfortunately, Jackson passed away barely a month before the opening concert in London. Michael Jackson began earning lucratively in the late 1980s, when his earnings bumped from $37 million a year to $125 million. This was aided by the groundbreaking success of his 1987 album Bad, its ancillary tour, his 1988 autobiography Moonwalk, and the acquisition of the ATV Music catalogue (including songs by The Beatles). The earnings continued well upto the late 1990s across the 400 million records sold by the popstar throughout his career. However, this tremendous cash inflow was subset by an equally draining cash outflow. …








