Michael Jackson died with over $500million in debt, court filings detail

Michael Jackson reportedly died with over $500million (£395million) worth of debt, court filings have revealed.

In a document filed on June 21 by executors of his estate, The King of Pop – who died in June 2009 from a heart attack – was apparently dealing with a staggering $500million in “debt and creditors’ claims, with some of the debt accruing interest at extremely high interest rates, and some debt in default”.

Filed in the Los Angeles County Superior Court, the document showed that Jackson had more than 65 claims made against him by creditors, which sparked further litigation. Executors wrote in the filing that they did settle these claims or had otherwise resolved them.

Along with creditors, Jackson’s untimely death also left his estate liable financially – he reportedly owed $40million to promoter AEG for his ‘This Is It’ residency. Jackson was supposed to take to London’s O2 Arena between July 2009 and March 2010.

The ‘Thriller’ singer also apparently faced lawsuits both foreign and domestic at the time of his death. Additionally, the executors also requested reimbursement for their attorneys with money from his estate for legal services in 2018.

It was previously reported in 2013 that the singer was £250million in debt at the time of his death, which was revealed by a forensic accountant in wrongful death trial Jackson’s mother Katherine has filed against concert promoters AEG Live.

Forensic accountant William Ackerman testified that the singer was “tapped out”, detailing how he spent the majority of his money on travel, art, charity, gifts and lavish furniture.

Ackerman also added that Jackson was reportedly paying £15million per year on old debts, saying that “consistently, his [Jackson] largest expenditure was interest expense. He spent a ton of money on interest.”

In other news, one of Michael Jackson’s iconic ‘Thriller’ jackets is now up for auction.

The post Michael Jackson died with over $500million in debt, court filings detail appeared first on NME.