Wednesday, May 28, 2003

Michael Jackson Superstar Going Broke ?

Duncan Campbell and Tania Branigan of the Guardian UK report Michael Jackson is simply fed up and physically sick with getting sued and may be facing financial bankruptcy.

Michael Jackson, the pop music superstar, is facing bankruptcy, according to his former financial advisors. He had just one too many lawsuits of all kinds. In his career, Jackson had to face about 1,500 lawsuits.

Jackson's lawyer, Brian Oxman said the latest lawsuit arrived in Indianapolis, and which landed him in hospital, suffering from what Mr Oxman described as "reaction to lawsuits". It was a claim against Jackson as a former member of the Jackson Five over a dispute that goes back to the 60s. The judge in the case ordered that Jackson return to give a deposition within three weeks once he has recovered.

"He has, on some occasions in the past, not eaten when he should," Mr Oxman said. "He can become very concerned and nervous at depositions. He doesn't like lawsuits, and it makes him ill to have to cope with litigation that people seem to heap on him ... This is the kind of life that Michael leads. No one wants to be reasonable. Everyone wants to be crazy. He is tired of being sued."

Lawyers are saying Jackson's "the day of reckoning is near" and in papers filed in the Los Angeles county superior court claim that he is a "ticking financial timebomb waiting to explode".

Another lawsuit claims that Jackson owes the Union Finance and Investment Corporation of South Korea $12m (£7.4m) in unpaid fees and expenses. And the company claimed they were hired by Jackson to sort out his money matters in 1998. Fearing Jackson might be short of funds to pay them, the company sued for their payments .

"For whatever reason, Michael Jackson is not paying his debts," attorney Pierce O'Donnell told the Associated Press. "He has little or no means of income. He lives off a line of credit. The day of reckoning is near." Union Finance, which launched the lawsuit a year ago and says it took depositions from Jackson in Beverly Hills last week, claims that the singer's financial situation is indeed serious. Jackson's record sales have failed to keep pace with his increasingly lavish tastes.

But Brian Oxma says Union Finance had already been paid for the work they had done for Jackson.

Duncan Campbell and Tania Branigan report on the superstar's income status:

" The 44-year-old has earned an estimated US$ 575m ( £350m) in his career. Forbes magazine last year estimated his net worth at US$328m ( £200m).

Thriller Album

He made $115m(£70m) from 1982's Thriller alone, which sold 50m copies and remains the biggest-selling album of all time.

But his last release, Invincible, cost $30m(£18m) to produce yet sold less than 7m copies.

In 2001 five former employees had to pay him back close to $2m for breaching privacy agreements. Penalties for disclosure of information include $50,000 (£30,000) per person spoken to and $5m( £3m) per broadcast made on US network television. Fines for derogatory remarks start at $10,000 ( £6,000) per person spoken to in private conversation.

Jackson had used $450m ( £275m) publishing holdings - which include most of the Beatles' titles and 300,000 other songs - as collateral against a $200m ( £120m ) loan.

Recently, he put up his 2,600-acre ranch, Neverland, on the market for $25m (£15m).

But Jackson spends millions on other properties and hotels: a brief jaunt to New York cost him $98,000 (£60,000).

Michael Jackson with his close friend, Elizabeth Taylor

He recently gave his friend Elizabeth Taylor a $10,000 bottle of perfume.

Hundreds of children visit Neverland at his expense each year. One trip cost him a reported $20m (£12m), when he settled allegations of sexual abuse out of court in 1993.

He owes $10m (£6m) to a concert promoter after cancelling tour dates, and faces lawsuits from two former managers. Sotheby's last week announced that he had settled the £1m lawsuit it launched when he changed his mind after buying two paintings.

His brief marriage to Debbie Rowe also proved expensive: divorce cost him around $18m (£11m. )

Forbes Magazine warned that Jackson had incurred big debts and that his spending seemed to be out of control.

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