As one of the most talked-about figures, Michael Jackson has built a significant fortune. Our team analyzed the latest data to provide a clear picture of their income.

What was Michael Jackson's Net Worth?

Technically, Michael Jackson's net worth at the time of his death was negative $500 million. In order to finance his lifestyle, at one point, Michael took a $380 million loan from Bank of America, using his 50% ownership stake in the music publishing company Sony/ATV as collateral. The interest alone on that loan was tens of millions annually. Within just a few years, he blew through the whole $380 million plus $120 million. That is why, at the time of his death in 2009, Michael Jackson was $500 million in debt.

Michael's first foray into owning music rights began when he purchased the catalogs ofSly and the Family Stonein the early 1980s through his company Mijac. He then bought a series of classic singles like "Great Balls of Fire," "Shake Rattle Rattle and Roll," "When a Man Loves a Woman," and "Runaround Sue," to name a few.

Back in 1984, Robert Holmes owned The Beatles' song catalog. The Australian business magnate was putting it up for sale in the form of ATV Music Publishing, a company he had formed that owned the rights to about 4,000 songs, including a division called Northern Songs, which was the music publishing arm of The Beatles. The fact is thatPaul McCartneyandJohn Lennonsigned a terrible contract at the beginning of their careerthat gave the publishing rights to more than 250 songs to Northern Songs. In 1984, Paul McCartney andYoko Onowere given the opportunity to buy the Beatles catalog but passed because the $40 million price tag was too high.

In November 1984 when Michael purchasedThe Beatlescatalog, ATV Music, for $47.5 million. In 1991, Sony paid Michael $95 million to merge ATV with its own music catalog. The resulting company was named Sony/ATV.In 2016, Sony paid Michael's estate $750 million for its half of the company. Today, Sony/ATV controls millions of songs and is worth $2-4 billion.

In the decade between 1985-1995, Michael Jackson comfortably earned between $50 and $100 million per year through touring, record sales, endorsements and merchandise. Unfortunately, Michael spent the money just as fast as he earned it. His lavish lifestyle cost about $50 million a year to maintain. He paid out $12 million to his girlfriend/egg donor,Debbie Rowe. He spent another $20 million settling a child molestation case, not to mention tens of millions on attorneys. Neverland Ranch cost $19.5 million to buy and a whopping $10 million a year to maintain. He spent $35 million remodeling the compound into his own amusement park. And then there were the Bentleys, the antiques, the art, the exotic animals, and those famous diamond-encrusted gloves. Jackson also spent between $50 and $100 million on movie and music projects that never got off the ground.

(Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)

Michael's most valuable asset at the time of his death was his two music catalogs. His Mijac Music company controlled his own work plus songs by dozens of artists like Sly and the Family Stone,Jerry Lewis, andRay Charles. He also famously owned the Beatles catalog. Or, more specifically, he owned 50% of the company that owned the Beatles catalog plus hundreds of thousands (today millions) of other songs.

Michael Jackson was an American singer, songwriter, actor, producer, and philanthropist who had a net worth ofnegative$500 million at the time of his death. Thoughhis estate would go on to earn over $2 billionin the years after his death, technically speaking, at the time of his death,Michael was in debt to the tune of $500 millionthanks to decades of overspending and over-borrowing. To date, he has sold over 750 million albums, including 35 million that were sold in the year following his death.

Michael Jackson Net Worth at Death

Ultimately, Michael Jackson's financial journey is a testament to their success.

Disclaimer: All net worth figures are estimates based on public data.