Michael’s Clothes Sold for Several Thousand Dollars

At the auction held on May 30 and 31 at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas, organized by the Guernsey auction house, a number of Michael’s memorabilia and flashy jackets sold for several thousand dollars. Guernsey auction house representative Arlen Ettinger, who was holding the catalog of the memorabilia being auctioned, said: "This auction is one of those events that happens only once in a lifetime for each person. I can’t imagine another collection being auctioned that could match this one. Such a thing will not happen again." In this auction, 1,100 lots of Jackson family memorabilia were put up for bidding. These items were acquired in 2002 after Michael’s parents went bankrupt, when a New Jersey businessman, Henry Wakaro, took them over in place of the family’s debt. Universal Express bought these memorabilia from Wakaro for $5 million and spent $2 million to transport them from New Jersey to Las Vegas. Lloyds London insured the shipment for a value of $100 million. A black silk jacket that Michael wore on stage in the 1980s sold for $17,000. But the most expensive sale of the auction was another one of Michael’s jackets, which sold for $19,000. A red jacket, similar to the uniform worn by Buckingham Palace guards, sold for $9,000. A maroon T-shirt that Michael wore during the BAD album tour sold for more than $1,000. A sculpture that MTV had presented to Michael for the song We Are The World sold for $16,000. The gold discs for the OFF The Wall album and the Jackson 5 single I Want You Back sold for $11,000 each. A platinum record related to the song Billie Jean sold for $100, while a photo bearing the autograph of the pop legend sold for $750. An old telegram paper addressed to Michael from Marlon Brando, written on July 6, 1984, was also among the items auctioned. In this letter, Marlon Brando encourages Michael before he goes on stage. A copy of the land purchase contract from 1987 in California in the Los Olivos area—named Norland by Michael—sold for $100. Source: eMJey / AFP/ Yahoo News / AP