Lucky Stiff
Back towards the end of Michael Jackson's life he was regularly abusing drugs like Propofol, to escape reality. The fact that his career was a mess might have had something to do with it. At his peak Jackson owned the Beatles catalogue which got pimped out o sell running shoes & German cars. So you'd think that Jackson was richer than Richie Rich. Paying off out of court settlements on child molestation cases dug into the nest egg. Michael sold out the Beatles catalog 25% at a time. When he got down to the final quarter, he mortgaged that.That left Michael with some trouble mailing ends meet. For one thing Jackson was taking out loans at high interest rates. There were 65 of these outstanding at the time of his death. For another thing he had a whimsical lifestyle to support. Keeping Neverland stocked in Siberian White tigers and Macaw parrots wasn't cheap (the unicorn is still on order). So with falling record sales, mortgaged assets, and pay outs to angry parents (multiple outstanding law suits at the time of his death), the Gloved One had to some up with an extra source of income.
People in the UK still liked Jackson. So he booked a 50 show deal in London. Jackson would do his patent singing and dancing routine 50 times be fore a live audience and in return he'd get a huge payday. Something like $25 mill was staked to set things up. The only problem was that Jackson was no spring chicken any more. He'd never recovered from that Pepsi accident. Plus he'd spent the last ten years getting shot up with needles through the lower legs, and hanging out in wheelchairs. So could he still pull his moves, and would the struggle to get back into shape kill him?
This is it - in more ways than one
So some people had there doubts from the word go. Still the deal had been signed, the money fronted, and besides Jackson was desperate for an cash infusion! So things went full speed ahead. Since the concerts sold out it seemed like the reasonable thing to do. That is until Jackson died three weeks before the tour began. Then it seemed only reasonable to cancel. That not only left the Jackson estate with it existing $400 million in debt - but another $40 million in liability.
An overachiever to the end, and after!
The great thing about a life in entertainment is that things can always turn around. Even if you're dead. Once Jackson had kicked off of the mortal coil, the usual fear and suspicion that had surrounded him increasingly during the final fifteen years of his life was cleaned up. Jackson's image was reformed, for one thing. He got a promotion from Prince of Pop to King of Pop. There was a nifty memorial at LA's Staples Centre. His kids - whom he'd tried to keep out of the spotlight for years - were trotted out to say what a great dad he was. So the child molestation stuff could be dropped - even though while he was a live defending him on that would've been like questioning whether OJ really did it (they were both found "not guilty"). So it looked like MJ would be the next dead guy to go out an conquer the world through fame.This is it, & only the beginning
Now it would be hard to say that Jackson has conquered the world, but he has come along way since dying. For one thing his estate has gotten rid of that 400 million debt. In fact they have even paid off the concert cancellation liabilities. Add to that the fact that the Jackson home in Encino California has had a major upgrade, and that makes the remaining $315 million the estate has cleared as profit since MJ died in June 25 2009 impressive.
His executors get credit for shrewd fiscal management. However in some statements to TMZ, which revealed just how well Jackson has done since he was done for - the executors also claim to have given his brand image a major overhaul. Of course that's a lot easier without Jackson around to keep flaunting his bizarre behavior in every one's face. That's the thing about celebrity - once you successfully separate the image from the person, then anything is possible. Even if the person doesn't survive the process. Thing of it as like Jesus in reverse! At least none of the executors made any kind of "he was his own worst enemy" remarks. He won't have that problem from now on, will he?
Wondertrash 'bogus zen' thought of the day - Plastic surgery: why wait until you're dead to begin getting embalmed? Besides, it's just part of the celebrity mummification process!
