Michael Jackson.Photo:Bangshowbiz
Michael Jackson owed
nearly $500 million in debt before he died after his wild spending and
failed tours put a strain on his pocket, forensic account William R. Ackerman told the court.
The ‘Thriller‘ hitmaker was
forced to fork out $30 million-a-year in interest charges after his wild
spending on lavish furniture and bizarre artwork spiralled out of
control, and his previous tours failed to bring in any profit to cover
it, forensic accountant William R. Ackerman has told the court.
Ackerman was called to testify on behalf
of concert promoters AEG Live in the wrongful death lawsuit filed by
the Jackson family on Monday August 12, 2013, where he told jurors how
the late singer would regularly splash out on travel, donations to
charity, gifts and ‘a lot of money of jewellery’. He explained: ‘He
spent more than he brought in. Consistently, his largest expenditure was
interest expense. He spent a ton of money on interest. ’On an annual
basis [he was] spending 15 to 20 million dollars a year more than he
brought in.’
However, Michael’s Neverland Ranch
– where he lived from 1988 to 2005 – and private amusement park was
also putting a strain on the star’s pocket as it required maintenance
staff for the petting zoo and the train travelled around the property.
Banks and credit companies refused to
provide the ‘King of Pop’ with any more cash loans after 2007, which
meant mortgage payments on his mother Katherine’s family home were not
met. Ackerman told the Los Angeles court: ‘He was tapped out.’
The Jackson family are suing AEG Live as they believe the company negligently hired and supervised Conrad Murray
– who is currently serving four years imprisonment for involuntary
manslaughter – who administered the lethal dose of Propofol, which
killed Michael in 2009.
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