AP Exclusive: Jackson said net worth $236M in 2007

By STEVENSON JACOBS, AP Business Writer Stevenson Jacobs, Ap Business Writer – Tue Jun 30, 8:22 pm ET
NEW YORK – It's one of the biggest mysteries in the Michael Jackson saga: How much was the lavish-spending, massively debt-ridden pop icon really worth?

In the most detailed account yet of the singer's tangled financial empire, documents obtained by The Associated Press show Jackson claimed to have a net worth of $236.6 million as of March 31, 2007. But less than $700,000 of that amount was in cash — a relatively paltry sum given his opulent lifestyle, prodigious borrowing and seven-figure shopping sprees.

The dollar amounts, which previously consisted of estimates, are crucial because Jackson's estate is expected to become the focus of a legal battle between the singer's family and creditors.

Since then, however, Jackson's debts and assets have grown substantially — he took on more debt in a refinancing transaction later that year, and the Sony/ATV Music Publishing joint venture spent hundreds of millions acquiring new songs.

The revelation came Tuesday as Jackson's family reversed itself and said the singer did in fact have a will — complicating a bid by Jackson's mother to take control of her son's finances. The will names his mother Katherine as guardian of his children and puts his assets in a trust, according to a person who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the topic.

Jackson had $567.6 million in assets, including his Neverland Ranch and his share of the Sony/ATV Music Publishing catalog, which includes the rights to songs by the Beatles, according to a statement of financial condition prepared by Washington, D.C.-based accounting firm Thompson, Cobb, Bazilio & Associates.

The report was prepared at a time when Jackson had large sums of debt coming due that had to be refinanced. The financial statement, which is not as thorough as an audit, was based in large part on estimates provided by Jackson's advisers that the accounting firm said it could not verify.

In the documents, the firm also said it omitted the amount Jackson owed in income taxes.

The documents do not show how much money he had coming in that year or how much he was spending, which makes it hard to estimate just how cash-poor he was. Still, the statement paints a picture of Jackson's tangled finances and the mountain of debt he left behind.

The five-page report says Jackson had debts of $331 million. The singer had just $668,215 in cash, according to the report.

The accounting firm did not return calls seeking comment.

The report puts a net value on Jackson's 50 percent stake in the Sony/ATV Music Publishing catalog — his most prized asset — at $390.6 million. The 750,000-song catalog includes music by the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Neil Diamond, Lady Gaga and the Jonas Brothers.

A separate document obtained by the AP details Jackson's dealings with Sony Music Entertainment Inc., which owns the other half of Sony/ATV. Jackson was guaranteed a cash distribution of $11 million a year from the venture through September 2011, according to the May 25, 2007, document that was signed by the pop star.

The document also detailed Sony's ability to buy an unspecified percentage of Jackson's remaining share in Sony/ATV.

It said Sony agreed to guarantee loans made to Jackson through September 2011 and to help him refinance his debts. Sony also agreed to advance Jackson money to help pay the interest to his main creditor at the time, Fortress Investment Group LLC, to avoid defaulting. Barclays Bank PLC took over the Fortress loan, which is now around $315 million, in December 2007.

The documents also show that Jackson gave his approval for Sony/ATV to use up to $400 million to purchase the 125,000-song Famous Music LLC catalog from Viacom Inc., which holds such songs as "Footloose" and "The Real Slim Shady" by Eminem. The deal was announced a week later.

A Sony/ATV spokesman declined to comment.

Another of Jackson's prized possessions, his Neverland Ranch, is valued at $33 million, according to the accounting firm's report. He also had $20 million worth of cars, antiques, collectibles and other property.

It's likely that Neverland, a 2,500-acre property in the rolling hills of Santa Barbara County, has dropped in value since 2007 along with the rest of the battered California housing market, experts said.

"The luxury market in the past year has really taken a hit in markets across the country," said Rick Goodwin, publisher of Ultimate Homes and its parent publication, Unique Homes.

The ranch in central California's wine country was set to be sold in March 2008 because of missed payments on a $24.5 million loan, but Jackson managed to cut an 11th-hour deal to keep it off the auction block.

The fact that few, if any, similar properties in the area are selling makes it even harder to determine Neverland's current market value. A couple of properties in the 500-acre range are on the market in the area for around $10 million, said Steve Schott, a real estate appraiser based in Santa Barbara.

Jackson died Thursday at age 50 of what his family has said was cardiac arrest. Medical examiners in Los Angeles are perhaps weeks away from determining the official cause of death.

The divvying up of Jackson's assets — and the settling of his debts — are likely to be hotly contested in court. On Monday, lawyers for Katherine and Joe Jackson won temporary custody of Michael Jackson's three children and moved to become administrators of his estate.

A judge granted 79-year-old Katherine Jackson temporary guardianship of the children, who range in age from 7 to 12. He also gave her control over some of her son's personal property that is now in the hands of an unnamed third party. But the judge did not immediately rule on her requests to take charge of the children's and Jackson's estates.

___

Associated Press writers Alex Veiga, Ryan Nakashima and Anthony McCartney in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

What Michael Jackson Did on His Last Day

By S. JAMES SNYDER S. James Snyder – Tue Jun 30, 10:55 am ET
Michael Jackson spent the last night of his life doing what he had always done: performing. The singer was in rehearsals at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, running through a full slate of songs from his upcoming 50-concert London event flanked by friends and colleagues. He marveled at the major set pieces that had finally been installed in the rehearsal space. "He was just glowing, and you could see it, that he was finally seeing it all come together," says Dorian Holley, the vocal director for Jackson's upcoming tour. "Up until Wednesday, it had always been [just a concept], but that last day you could see it in him, that he was seeing the show finally come together for the first time. It was a big moment." (See TIME's complete Michael Jackson coverage.)


Holley says he left rehearsals just before midnight on the night of June 24, as Jackson headed off to attend yet more meetings. About 12 hours later, a 911 call would be placed from Jackson's home in Holmby Hills, reporting urgently that "he's not breathing ... He's not responding to CPR, anything."


The pop icon had seemed different during these rehearsals - not ailing by any means, but perhaps more contemplative - says Holley, who has coached Jackson on solo tours since 1987. In preparing for previous tours, Holley said auditions for backup singers and other performing roles would usually be held via videotape, and it wouldn't be all that uncommon for the two to speak directly only two or three times over the span of a year. But for "This Is It," the London concerts scheduled to begin in July, Jackson was much more present and available, attending auditions and eagerly talking with everyone in the crew about the larger mission behind the tour. (See TIME's photos: "The Young Michael Jackson at Home.")


"It almost sounds crazy to say that the show wasn't about him, but ... he'd put it in perspective all the time, saying, 'This is what we're here for, to spread a message of love and taking care of the planet, that we want people to understand it's very, very dear and not to take it for granted,'" Holley tells TIME. (See TIME's top 10 Jackson moments.)


Until the last hour of rehearsals, Jackson maintained a ferocious, perfectionist pace, says Holley, who, after decades working with the singer, says he was still astonished by his vocal and physical prowess. Some in the public questioned whether Jackson, at 50, would still be able to command a stage, and recent reports published Sunday in Britain's Daily Mail said that Jackson had been too feeble to dance, sing or, at times, even speak in the weeks leading up to his death. But, Holley - despite his own early concerns about a lack of rehearsal time leading up to the first London shows in July - says the star's presence and energy during his final week was unequivocal. "He'd take the stage with this group of dancers, all in their 20s, but you couldn't take your eyes off him ... Many of his songs have six or seven parts, and he would often come over if we were missing an important note in our mix, and he would sing through all the parts rapid-fire to show us what he wanted. We would just sit there with our jaws open - it was awesome," Holley says. "He could still do everything ... The only difference now was that he would sometimes talk about how it made him sore." (Hear TIME's top 10 Jackson songs.)


"This time around, we had the technology to isolate just his microphone and listen to his singing separate from everything else. I had no idea what a genius he was. The way he's able to use his voice as a percussion instrument, lyricist, jazz singer all at the same time. I'm sure as people mine his works in years to come, they're going to discover how much is there," he says.


It was a text message on Thursday afternoon that gave Holley the first hint of bad news - a note saying Jackson had been rushed to the hospital. Neither he nor the crew knew how to react to the uncertainty, so they did what they always did - they went in to rehearse. Except this time, as fans all over the world from Los Angeles to New York City to Tokyo to Buenos Aires played his music, sang his songs and emulated his dance in tribute, Holley says the crew couldn't bring themselves to touch the music.


Jackson had been preparing to take the world back, Holley says, and during the singer's final night, he finally knew he was ready. "You would think that, on the one hand, the world has kind of beaten him up, and you could forgive him for having some trepidation and fear. But he didn't have any of that," says Holley. "Words fail to describe what people would have seen with the tour. I couldn't even imagine until last week when it became physically apparent [on the set]. He was ready to show the world, and I so wish there could have been just one concert so the world would have seen."


TIME's Commemorative Issue: Remembering Michael Jackson.

Spokesman: Jackson memorial won't be at Neverland

By ANTHONY MCCARTNEY and NEKESA MUMBI MOODY, Associated Press Writers Anthony Mccartney And Nekesa Mumbi Moody, Associated Press Writers –


LOS ANGELES – A Jackson family spokesman says a public memorial for Michael Jackson is in the works, but it won't be held at the late pop star's Neverland Ranch. No further details are provided in the statement issued Wednesday by family spokesman Ken Sunshine.

The public relations firm Sunshine, Sachs & Associates has been retained by the family and says it will announce those plans shortly.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Michael Jackson's 7-year-old will was filed Wednesday in a Los Angeles court, giving his entire estate to a family trust while making his mother the guardian of his children and cutting out his former wife Debbie Rowe.

Court documents estimated the current value of his estate at more than $500 million.

It names his mother, Katherine Jackson, 79, as a beneficiary of the trust and the guardian of Jackson's children, who are also named as beneficiaries of the trust.

It also names entertainer Diana Ross as a successor guardian for the children and their estates if something happens to Katherine Jackson.

Ross introduced the Jackson 5 on the Ed Sullivan Show in the late 1960s and was instrumental in launching their career. She was a lifelong friend of Michael Jackson.

Jackson's longtime lawyer John Branca and John McClain, a music executive and a family friend, are named in the will as co-executors.

In a statement, Branca and McClain said: "The most important element of Michael's will is his unwavering desire that his mother, Katherine, become the legal guardian for his three children. As we work to carry out Michael's instructions to safeguard both the future of his children as well as the remarkable legacy he left us as an artist we ask that all matters involving his estate be handled with the dignity and the respect that Michael and his family deserve."

The executors moved quickly to take control of all of Michael Jackson's property, going to court Wednesday to challenge a previous ruling by the judge that gave Katherine Jackson control of 2,000 items from Neverland.

Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff said Katherine Jackson will retain authority over the items until another hearing set for Monday.

Beckloff urged attorneys from both sides to try to reach a compromise soon.

"I would like the family to sit down try to make this work that we don't have a difficult time in court," the judge said.

An effort to bury Michael Jackson at Neverland Ranch fizzled, and it appears more likely a funeral and burial will take place in Los Angeles, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press. The family has the final say.

Authorities in Santa Barbara County had been preparing for tens of thousands of fans to descend on the 2,500-acre ranch after media reports said a public viewing would take place later this week.

But the person, who is not authorized to speak for the family and requested anonymity, said nothing was planned for Neverland, at least through Friday.

A private memorial service for family and friends could take place at the ranch, most likely after the funeral.

"The family is aware a Neverland burial is not possible. They are expected to make decisions about whatever funeral and memorial service" will take place, the person said.

Heavy construction equipment and workers were seen passing through the wrought-iron gates of Neverland on Tuesday. The property is about 120 miles northwest of Los Angeles.

At once a symbol of Jackson's success and excesses, Neverland — nestled in the hills of Santa Barbara County's wine country — became the site of a makeshift memorial after his death Thursday.

The will, dated July 7, 2002, gives the entire estate to the Michael Jackson Family Trust. Details of the trust will not be made public.

California's attorney general, who oversees charitable donations from estates, is also named as a person who must be notified. It suggests some of the trust's proceeds could go to charity, although which ones might benefit was not clear.

The documents said Jackson's estate consisted almost entirely of "non-cash, non-liquid assets, including primarily an interest in a catalog of music royalty rights which is currently being administered by Sony ATV, and the interests of various entities."

One of Jackson's most lucrative assets is his stake in the massive Sony-ATV Music Publishing Catalog, which includes music by the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Neil Diamond, Lady Gaga and the Jonas Brothers, and is estimated to be worth as much as $2 billion. The five-page will is signed by Jackson, and each paragraph includes Jackson's scrawling initials.

Jackson, who died June 25 at age 50, left behind three children: son Michael Joseph Jr., known as Prince Michael, 12; daughter Paris Michael Katherine, 11; and son Prince Michael II, 7. Rowe was the mother of the two oldest children; the youngest was born to a surrogate mother, who has never been identified.

Katherine Jackson was granted temporary guardianship Monday of Jackson's three children. A judge held off on requests to control the children's estates.

Rowe, who was married to Jackson in 1996 and filed for divorce three years later, surrendered her parental rights. An appeals court later found that was done in error, and Rowe and Jackson entered an out-of-court settlement in 2006.

Neither Rowe nor her attorneys have indicated whether she intends to seek custody of the two oldest children.

Funeral plans have not yet been announced.

Members of Jackson's family met Tuesday with officials from the Los Angeles police and California Highway Patrol about funeral services. But "details are still pending," according to Fran Clader, a spokeswoman for the patrol. The patrol would need to be consulted if the body was moved from Los Angeles to Neverland.

It was unclear whether Jackson could be legally buried at the ranch. The state's health and safety code makes interring any uncremated remains outside of a cemetery a misdemeanor. Cremated remains can be kept in a home or private mausoleum outside a cemetery.

It was not possible to rule out that Jackson's body might return to the ranch, either for the private service or a burial sometime in the future, if the family can get the go-ahead from state and local officials.

____

AP writers Michael R. Blood, Noaki Schwartz and Ryan Nakashima in Los Angeles contributed to this story.

UPLOAD FILE CAN MAKE MUCH MONEY $$$

CLICK HERE FOR DETAIL


USE SHARECASH UPLOADFILE CAN MAKE MONEY




ShareCash is a next-generation upload site, where you get paid CASH for every download you get! Simply register, upload files, and let the cash start rolling in!



What makes us different



Unlike other upload websites that give you pathetically low prices, such as $10 for 1000 US downloads, well give you 30-60 cents PER DOWNLOAD! Thats $600 for 1000 US downloads - sixty times more than any other upload cash website!


Here are some assorted features:



Simple sign up. Start earning in less than 30 seconds!
Low cashout limit - get your money after earning only $10 !
Accepts any file type!
Super secure - your details, files, and earnings are safe with us!
Amazing support - contact us 24/7 for your every question or need!

Terminator Salvation beaten at the box office

by Shaun Davis
Terminator Salvation scored well at the box office over the four-day weekend, but still found itself trumped by Night At The Museum 2: Battle Of The Smithsonian, according to Box Office Mojo.

Salvation managed to take in $67.2 million after being shown on around 6,400 screens at 3,530 sites. However, it was Night Of The Museum 2 that took top honours for the weekend with an estimated $70 million gross. This comes after the film was shown on 7,000 screens at 4,096 sites.

Meanwhile Star Trek maintained its course for $200 million after raking up an estimated $29.4 million over the weekend, bringing its total up to $191 million.

Terminator Salvation is out at cinemas worldwide and you can read SciFiNow’s review of the film on this very website.


Although most expected Terminator Salvation to top the box office on its opening weekend it was not to be.

Ben Stiller’s Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian took the number one spot ahead of Terminator with a $53.5M take across its Friday-Sunday opening run - some $20M more than the first Night at the Musueum movie.

Terminator Salvation is estimated to have taken $43M for the same stretch - roughly $1M less than what its predecessor Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines managed six years ago.

The numbers don’t reflect Terminator’s full opening haul. Terminator opened a day ahead of Smithsonian which added an additional $13.4M to Terminator’s total estimated gross, effectively taking its tally to $56.4M.

Most pundits expected Terminator Salvation to top $70M but it was not to be. Smithsonian proved a stronger competitor than anticipated whilst Salvation had to also deal with a still strong Star Trek ($22M) and Angels & Demons with $21.4M.

In the face of a $200M budget, Terminator’s opening box office tally is a disappointment for Warner Bros. Warner’s only comment was to indicate that the film was also hurt by competition from real world events such as the National Basketball Association playoffs which they claim hurt business in cities like Los Angeles.

Source: Reuters

ALYAH - JUST DANCE @ DANGA BAY

ALYAH - TAK MUNGKIN KERANA SAYANG