The Michael Jackson brand is alive and well-paid: the pop legend has made more money in death than he ever did alive.
Worldwide box office now is over $300 million. And Michael has almost 60 million Facebook friends. He's the biggest selling artist on iTunes and he's sold approximately 50 million albums since he passed away.
| Birth name | Michael Joseph Jackson |
|---|---|
| Born | August 29, 1958 Gary, Indiana, U.S. |
| Died | June 25, 2009 (aged 50) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Genres | R&B, pop, soul, dance, disco, funk, new jack swing, |
| Occupations | Singer-songwriter, actor, dancer film producer, record producer, screenwriter, director, philanthropist |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar, keyboards, drums, beatboxing, percussion |
| Years active | 1964–2009 |
| Labels | Steeltown, Motown, Legacy, Epic, MJJ Productions |
| Website | www.michaeljackson.com |
In the News
According to Global Language Monitor, the coverage from the death and aftermath to the funeral of Michael Jackson tops Pope John Paul II as No.1 media (noting the longer time frame and contentious circumstances re. the former)
The King of Pop proved to have earning power well past his days on Earth. In October of 2017, Forbes announced that Jackson had topped the publication’s list of top-earning dead celebrities for the fifth straight year, raking in a sizable $75 million.
- Earnings 2016 $825 Million
- Earnings 2015 $115 Million
- Earnings 2014 $140 Million
- Earnings 2013 $160 Million
- Earnings 2012 $145 Million
- Earnings 2011 $170 Million
Charity King
*The Guinness Book of World Records is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world.
Michael Jackson holds Guinness World Record (highest-earning deceased artist) with the Most Charities Supported by a pop star.
60 Minutes Now! Michael Jackson's lucrative legacy
60 Minutes Lara Logan reports.
The 297th performance of the Michael Jackson IMMORTAL World Tour. Cirque du Soleil produces the show featuring their acrobats and contortionists, but Michael Jackson -- or at least his music -- is the star.
Lara Logan: It's just unbelievable. Michael Jackson sells more tickets dead than most artists do alive.
John Branca is an executor of Michael Jackson's estate -- an architect, if you will -- of how to make money off his legacy, most of which will eventually be turned over to Jackson's three children. Branca was Jackson's lawyer and adviser off and on for over 25 years and negotiated many of the singer's biggest deals during his lifetime.
Jackson's father and some of his siblings challenged Branca as executor and the validity of Jackson's will. But the California courts upheld the will and Branca's ability to carry out Michael Jackson's wishes.
John Branca: There was a series of wills and they were substantively almost identical.
Lara Logan: In that 20 percent went to charity, 40 percent went to his children, and 40 percent went to his mother as long as she was alive, and on her death would go to the children. The basic principle never changed.
John Branca: Never changed. The whole objective of Michael's estate plan is to take care of his mother during her lifetime and to accumulate the principle and assests for the benefit of Michael's children.
Beware of Michael Jackson's online thought police
The Guardian, Friday 25 January 2013
Deborah Orr
Jacko's vigilante fans have attempted to preserve their idol's reputation by bombarding a new biography of him with one-star reviews
Cyberspace is home to a bewildering number of vigilante groups policing all sorts of perceived thought crimes. Among them is a bunch of enthusiastic Michael Jackson fans, who patrol the internet in search of words that sully the perfection of their idol's posthumous reputation. Their latest strike is against a biography by one Randall Sullivan, entitled: Untouchable: The Strange Life and Tragic Death of Michael Jackson, which has received 100 one-star reviews on Amazon. One thing is clear, though: it's not the idea that Jackson was or should remain "untouchable" that they object to. They toil to keep Jackson's image protected from prying eyes or minds, residing undisturbed in Neverland for ever.
Albums Wiki
Michael Jackson at the Internet Movie Database
Wikipedia
Total Awards won 498 + Presidential Awards
| Year | Recipient | Award |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Thriller | The Best Selling Album of All Time |
| 1986 | Commercials deal with Pepsi | Highest-Paid Commercial Spokesperson |
| 1988 | Bad World Tour | Most Successful Concert Series |
| Bad World Tour | Most Sold Out Shows At Wembley Stadium | |
| Bad World Tour | Highest Grossing Tour by a male solo artist | |
| Bad World Tour | Largest Attendance of Audience | |
| 1993 | Sony Music Contract | Largest Entertainment Contract Ever ($890 million) |
| 1993 | Our Children, Our Hope Of Tomorrow Award | |
| 1993 | Lifetime Achievement Award | |
| 1996 | Scream | The Most Expensive Short Film |
| 2000 | Most Charities Supported By a Pop Star | |
| 2002 | Ghosts | Longest Music Video |
| The Making of Thriller | Best Selling Music Video | |
| The Jackson family | Most Successful Pop Family | |
| 2006 | Most Successful Entertainer of All Time | |
| Youngest Vocalist to Top the US Singles Chart | ||
| Highest Paid Entertainer of all Time | ||
| First Entertainer to Earn More Than 100 million Dollars in a Year | ||
| Most Valuable Sculpture By A Living Artist: ‘Michael Jackson and Bubbles’, a porcelain sculpture created by the artist Jeff Koons in 1988 sold for $5,616,750 at Sotheby’s in New York on May 15, 2001. The piece measures 106.7 x 179.1 x 82.6 cm (42 x 70.5 x 32.5 in). (Listed in Guinness Book of World Records 2006) | ||
| Most Valuable Oscar: David O Selznick’s 1940 Best Film Oscar for ‘Gone With The Wind’ (USA, 1939) was bought by Michael Jackson, for $1,542,000 on June 12, 1999, at Sotheby’s, New York (Listed in Guinness Book of World Records 2006) | ||
| Most Weeks at the Top of the US Album Charts | ||
| Thriller | Most Successful Music Video | |
| "You Are Not Alone" | First Vocalist to Enter the US Single Chart at Number One | |
| 2009 | Most Hit singles in the UK charts in a year | |
| 2009 | Longest span of No.1 hits by an R&B artist | |
| 2010 | Michael Album Poster, Middlesex, England | Worlds Largest Poster |
| Highest-earning deceased artist | ||
| Most Searched For – Male | ||
| 2011 | Jacket | Most expensive jacket sold at auction |
| Longest span of US top 40 singles | ||
| 2012 | Michael Jackson's Glove | Most expensive glove sold at auction |
Discography | Studio albums | Compilation albums | Singles | Songs | Tours | Videography | Filmography | Television