i just checked out www.mjjsource.com and the statistics are quite incredible. needless to say the dude raked in some cash. but how in the hell did he end up in financial trouble after all that? i don't really want to know - i'm just puzzled by it all.

Michael, i think you are extremely gifted, i do, but man, you need to go to jail to help you come down to Earth.

someone get Micheal Jackson Rick James number!

I think Bubbles ate it!

Ate the money or Rick James' number?

theVelvetRoper said:

Probably both! lol

It's interesting to see that MJ has done only three tours in the last twenty years. I wouldn't mind betting that Prince has sold more than MJ's million concert tickets over his many tours in that time. (not trying to compare the two of course!)

Sure, he's had some huge selling albums and tours, but they've been few and far between over a period of decades, yet he's been living all that time like a king as though the money has been constantly flooding in.

I've heard rumours that he used to tear up money and play with it as confetti... apparently one of his assistants begged him to stop and he said "Oh, it's only money, silly!"

sabaisabai said:

don't forget he owns (or owned?) the rights of the Beatles-songs.....that's a pretty cash-cow!

I doubt very much that he has financial woes.

It's more likely the press simply having another dig at him.

MJ has no biz saavy. Have you noticed that Prince and Madonna have developed "empires"? Such as record labels and entertainment companies? MJ has put his career in other people's hands all his life.

KatSkrizzle said:

Very good point.It's too bad that Michael didn't learn anything from Madonna.She has a fortune that is well over $300 Million and she's a shrewd businesswoman.It's hard to imagine how Michael even MAKES money these days...his records aren't selling and he never tours.I guess he's living off the royalties he gets from the Beatles catalog?

DavidEye said:

What do you mean his records aren't selling?

Invincible sold around 9m and his recent Number Ones has gone 4 x platinum in the UK alone!

I reckon Michael has more money put aside than people know about. The combined sales of his solo albums on the Epic label come to roughly 170m. That's gonna have earned him a fair bit of cash.

Cloudbuster said:

Yes,'Invincible' may have sold 9 million copies worldwide,but considering how much it cost to make,I doubt that he really made alot of money from it.But yeah,it's obvious that he's not dirt-poor yet...lol...but if I were him,I'd chill out with the excessive spending.

well either way he's a damn fool and he still needs to go to jail.

and while we're at it, get him Ike Turner's number too.

He seems a pretty good bussiness man to me, he owns all his own music (which is quite a rare thing) Owns quite a lot of other peoples music, not just the beatles, infact he owns some of Madonnas songs!
I'm sure he might have spent too much, but I can't seem him being as poor as me!

People(espcially the media) are always talking about his financial woes.....None of these people truly know what Mike got. But there's a reason why the media is so fascinated with his finances.....I did a post on this, this time last year.....don't have time to develop it now though.

DavidEye said:

Cloudbuster neglects to mention that most of those 9 million were sold only after Sony deeply discounted it, relegating it to bargain bins worldwide.

DavidEye said:

prince has an empire?

Invincible sold nowhere near 9 million units...these r surely shipment figures...6 m would still
b a very generous sales tally 4 Invincible.

Martinelli said:

It also needs to be considered how much $$ he receives for each CD. What would it be, 50 cents or $1? So with 10 million in sales that gives him $10 million in cash. That doesn't last long if you're spending a million a month.

i love that some of you are talking about MJ's bank account like you manage his books. sorry, guys, but mj has been in the business for years...he probably knows every trick in the book to keep his money. perhaps all of these rumours are started by mike, himself, in order to help him swindle his banking books and skim on taxes...who knows? one thing is for sure: even if his own records aren't selling, the beatles are still the number one selling rock band. but, thriller and off the wall still remain big sellers...not to mention those re-issues (which cost nothing to release) that came out a few years ago. DVDs, CDs, merchandise sales direct from his site, royalties stemming back to the jackson 5, tv specials, etc. i don't know what's going on at MJ's bank but something tells me he is nowhere near broke.

SassierBritches said:

He had trouble enough keeping his nose, I don't think his money is really all that safe.

VoicesCarry said:

...not EVEN right...

SassierBritches said:

Do you reckon the tax men work on rumours?

VoicesCarry said:

Not true. It had sold 6.5m by the time Butterflies was released to US radio at the beginning of 2002.

Martinelli said:

True. shipment figures are 9m. Actual retail sales are around 8.5m. Still pretty good.

Cloudbuster said:

how many of those went up jordi's ass?

Christopher said:

All of them. I'm trying to wedge my copy up there as we speak.

Cloudbuster said:

give him some jesus juice, that might help..

Christopher said:

Jesus and I spoke last night. He don't wanna share his juice no more.

Cloudbuster said:

i told you about taking advantage of the juice....now you'll just have to use vodka.