Astronomical figures for Michael Jackson: the highest-earning artist after four years

The Independent writes in an article that Michael Jackson, even at the time of his death, was still more successful at making money than today’s young stars, including Justin Bieber.

The income of the Michael Jackson Foundation from ticket sales over the four years since the death of this superstar has been higher than Michael’s income during his lifetime. (This estimate is questionable, because we know that Michael Jackson devoted more than one-third of his wealth—which amounted to about three hundred million dollars—to charitable causes during his lifetime. / eMJey)

The Independent says that since his death in June 2009, the Michael Jackson Foundation has earned six hundred million dollars, which is higher than the earnings of any other living or deceased artist. Much of this income, not in small part, comes from ticket sales for Michael’s Immortal tour and the musical documentary This Is It, which is considered the best-selling music documentary in history. Michael Jackson is also the best-selling artist on the iTunes online store and has sold fifty million copies of his albums there since his death.

Michael Jackson was a major superstar of the 1980s. Zack O’Malley of Forbes says: “Michael Jackson always spent like it was the 1980s. He was earning $50, 60, 80, and even more than $100 million a year by the early 1990s. But after the first sexual allegation against him in 1993, he became radioactive (= others avoided him). He no longer toured in America. Companies removed him from their commercial messages, and the cost of maintaining Neverland became very high.”

Michael Jackson held three world tours: the “Bad” tour in the late 1980s, and the “Dangerous” and “History” tours at the beginning and end of the 1990s. It has been said that Michael returned from the Bad tour with empty pockets because his concert earnings in each city were paid to hospitals and charities in that same city. The income from the Dangerous tour was entirely spent on his charitable foundation and other charities. During the History tour, he had not abandoned this practice either. Paul Gongwer, one of the industry executives and a colleague of Michael who worked with him, says that he didn’t hold tours for money. But now the Immortal tour—traveling around the world without him on stage—has become extremely profitable and even the best-selling.

After his death, Michael Jackson had debts of around four hundred million dollars, which were cleared by the foundation last year, three years after his death. During his lifetime, to pay his debts, he took out loans from banks. Most of this debt stemmed from his efforts to buy the publishing rights to other singers’ songs and to expand the Sony/ATV company, which he started in the 1980s with a capital of $47.5 million and built into a one-billion-dollar giant. The company, which was owned 50-50 by Michael and the Sony company, is now the biggest publishing rights company in the world, and half of it is still held by the Michael Jackson Foundation, which will receive the share for his three children. Of course, 20% of Michael’s total wealth after his death goes to charities.

Catherine Jackson, Michael’s mother, uses his wealth while he was alive, but after his death, the only heirs will be his three children, who will not be allowed to interfere in the foundation’s affairs until they turn 31. They also will not receive financial support from the age of 21 to 31, according to Michael’s will, so that they can develop their independent lives.

In addition, items and memorabilia from their father are kept in five different storage facilities, and the children of Michael will have the right to sell them once they reach legal age. These items include things their father collected during his lifetime, including a collection of cars, antiques, and gaming devices. Also, his luxurious clothes and flashy gloves should not be forgotten—items the foundation has stored to set up a museum of Michael, perhaps in Neverland. This collection should also include Michael Jackson’s collection of designs and paintings, which alone have been valued at one billion dollars.

Source: eMJey.com / independent