Michael Jackson Foundation Earns $310 Million

According to documents submitted to the Los Angeles court on Thursday, the Michael Jackson Foundation has generated $310 million in income since his death in 2009. This financial report, provided to the court as a document for estate administration, records the process from Michael’s death until December 31, 2010. This income comes from album releases, film production, and things like the sale of merchandise. For example, the film and album This Is It were money-making projects. Another income-generating project for the Foundation was the new album “Michael.” Alongside that, there are also agreements to offer items using the King of Pop’s brand and trademarks. Michael Jackson’s music is released by Epic Records, a division of Sony. Michael holds the publishing rights to his songs under the MiJac license, which is another source of income for him. In its December 2010 issue, Forbes named Michael the highest-earning artist among both living and deceased performers, saying his 2010 income was even higher than the combined earnings of money-makers like Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Madonna, and Jay-Z. Michael is also a 50-50 partner with Sony/ATV in the publishing rights company. The Sony/ATV catalog includes more than 750,000 songs from various artists such as Elvis Presley and the Beatles, and according to experts its net value is over $1 billion. Michael’s annual income from these artists’ songs is between $50 million and $100 million. Another $25 million to $50 million comes from the annual income of Michael’s own works. According to some, Michael’s debts were born from his strong desire to keep his share of this catalog against Sony. By using various loans and extending them, he put his Neverland property—seemingly something he planned to keep forever—at risk, and ultimately he became a partner under a contract in which he would take ownership of it with a business that had agreed to pay the bank loan. But he kept the Sony/ATV catalog. This catalog is the most valuable and largest publishing rights catalog in the world, and with each passing day it grows in value and size by attracting new artists’ works. The Foundation has also, so far, spent $159 million to pay off debts. Legal documents state the total amount of debt is more than $400 million, arising from creditors’ claims, pending legal disputes, challenging commercial transactions, taxes, and legal matters. Although the work of the lawyers is not yet finished, they have already taken a major step toward reducing the debts. So far, the Foundation has paid $27.2 million in taxes and $5.3 million in costs for Michael’s family and the upkeep of his estates. They have also paid $4 million for a bank mortgage. Other expenses include Michael’s $900,000 funeral ceremony in Forest Lawn, including the outfits prepared for the event. Source: eMJey.com / Forbes / Reuters