How did Michael Jackson spend his millions? The King of Pop splurged on Neverland Ranch, his own zoo, arcade and theme park, Johnny Depp’s scissorhand gloves and a Bruce Lee statue
- The late music legend famously splashed on Neverland Ranch and its arcade, which had life-size action figures of Batman, Superman, Spider-Man and Darth Vader
- A big film buff, Jackson owned the Oscar for Gone with the Wind while his zoo housed giraffes, tigers and his chimp, Bubbles – but he was apparently in debt too
Jackson earned millions of dollars through his long and impressive career; in fact, even years after his passing he was still bringing in millions in revenue. As per Forbes, in 2018 alone the estate of the late singer raked in some US$400 million, making him the highest-paid deceased star of that year.
At the time of his death in 2009, however, the Thriller singer was in fact in millions of dollars of debt. In the wake of his tragic passing, much of his possessions were put up for auction, giving the public a rare glimpse into the King of Pop’s often outrageous spending habits.
So how did Jackson spend his fortune? We look at some of the most extravagant, unconventional and unexpected purchases made during his lifetime.
1. Neverland Ranch
Arguably the most famous purchase Jackson ever made was the vast California property that would ultimately become known as the Neverland Ranch. In addition to the roughly 1,100 hectare (2,700-acre) ranch being Jackson’s home for many years, it also featured his own private amusement park, petting zoo and even three railways.
According to Rolling Stone, the music legend bought the estate for US$17 million in 1988 and spent an estimated US$35 million extra on the upgrades. Jackson still owned Neverland at the time of his death, but by 2015 the property had been put up for sale with an initial asking price of US$100 million. It later sold in 2020 for way less, at US$22 million, to billionaire Ron Burkle.
2. The animals
