Michael Jackson Was Still Rich

By: Roshawn Watson

Michael Jackson has been plagued by rumors of financial difficulties for years, yet Jackson has always maintained (when he did comment) that the rumors were untrue. Make no mistake, it does appear that he owed hundreds of millions of dollars at the time of his death. This is believed to be largely due to his lavish lifestyle. However, he still was not broke. Due to some wise business decisions (e.g. purchasing the Beatles music catalog) and maintaining certain rights to his own extensive catalog, Michael Jackson appears to have assets exceeding his debts by nearly $240 million. By almost anyone’s estimates, that means Michael Jackson was still rich albeit cash poor.

Additionally, his last week record sales broke Billboard Chart History and surpassed those of new releases of both Black Eye Peas and teen sensations the Jonas Brothers. His albums occupied 9 out of 10 of the top spots in the Pop Music Catalog Chart. This definitely suggests the strength of his brand as the King of Pop, as nothing like this has every happened in Billboard history. Several retailers have reported having trouble keeping his merchandise on the shelf since his untimely passing.

One interesting spin on the value of Michael Jackson’s brand comes from the Harvard Business blog. Their article poses the simple but interesting question, “why can’t a resource as scarce as the King of Pop capture more value.” Believe it or not, it suggests that at $25 million a year, we grossly underpaid Michael Jackson given that he was one of the world’s greatest entertainers.