Michael Jackson died with $500 million in debt

Michael Jackson’s debts and claims at the time of his death in 2009 totaled more than $500 million, according to a court filing by the pop superstar’s estate that provides details of his financial struggles toward the end of his life.

Jackson owed about $40 million to tour promoter AEG, according to the filing this month in Los Angeles County Superior Court and reported earlier by People magazine. The filing said 65 creditors filed claims against the singer after his death, some of which resulted in lawsuits, and that some of his debt “borrowed interest at extremely high interest rates.”

A representative for the Jackson estate, whose heirs include John Branca and John McClain, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The estate filed the court papers seeking authorization to pay about $3.5 million to several law firms for their work in the second half of 2018.

In the court filing, the executors claim they have eliminated the debt from the estate and nearly all creditor claims and disputes have been resolved.

Jackson earned hundreds of millions of dollars throughout the 1980s and 1990s as the creator of some of the best-selling albums of all time, as well as dazzling concert tours that sold out stadiums around the world. He purchased the Beatles’ song catalog for $47.5 million in 1985 and later sold it to Sony/ATV Music in exchange for a 50% stake in the company. Sony bought the estate’s share for $750 million in 2016.

But when Jackson died at age 50, shortly before embarking on a tour called This Is It, he left behind a tangle of assets and liabilities.

Jackson was famous for his lavish lifestyle and reckless spending. He had racked up millions of dollars in debt at his Neverland Ranch estate in southern California and had a penchant for expensive art, jewelry and private jets. He was paying more than $30 million a year in interest, an accountant testified at a 2013 manslaughter trial, in which AEG won.

The Jackson estate is currently in a dispute with the IRS following a tax audit. In a separate court filing this year, the estate said the federal agency accused it of undervaluing its assets and said it owes “an additional $700 million in taxes and penalties.”

Kirsten Noyes research contributed.