by wildcherry on Friday, June 26th, 2009 | Entertainment, News | No Comments

All of us should be able to learn something from this story! Never ever have a mountain of debt or else your family will be the ones that suffer if something ever happen to you.

Full List of Michael Jackson Album

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Michael Jackson the singer was also Michael Jackson the billion-dollar business.

Yet after selling more than 61 million albums in the U.S. and having a decade-long attraction open at Disney theme parks, the “King of Pop” died Thursday at age 50 reportedly awash in about $400 million in debt, on the cusp of a final comeback after well over a decade of scandal.

The moonwalking pop star drove the growth of music videos, vaulting cable channel MTV into the popular mainstream after its launch in 1981. His 1982 hit “Thriller,” still the second best-selling U.S. album of all time, spawned a John Landis-directed music video that MTV played every hour on the hour.

“The ratings were three or four times what they were normally every time the video came on,” said Judy McGrath, the chairman and CEO of Viacom Inc.’s MTV Networks. “He was inextricably tied to the so-called MTV generation.”

Five years later, “Bad” sold 22 million copies. In 1991, he signed a $65 million recording deal with Sony.

Jackson was so popular that The Walt Disney Co. hitched its wagon to his star in 1986, opening a 3-D movie at its parks called “Captain EO,” executive produced by George Lucas and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The last attraction in Paris closed 12 years later.

One of Jackson’s shrewdest deals at the height of his fame in 1985 was the $47.5 million acquisition of ATV Music, which owned the copyright to songs written by the Beatles’ John Lennon and Paul McCartney. The catalog provided Jackson a steady stream of income and the ability to afford a lavish lifestyle.

He bought the sprawling Neverland ranch in 1988 for $14.6 million, a fantasy-like 2,500-acre property nestled in the hills of Santa Barbara County’s wine country.

But the bombshell hit in 1993 when he was accused of molesting a 13-year-old boy.

“That kind of represents the beginning of the walk down a tragic path, financially, emotionally, spiritually, psychologically, legally,” said Michael Levine, his publicist at the time.

He settled with the boy’s family, but other accounts of his alleged pedophilia began to emerge.

When he ran into further financial problems, he agreed to a deal with Sony in 1995 to merge ATV with Sony’s library of songs and sold Sony music publishing rights for $95 million. Then in 2001, he used his half of the ATV assets as collateral to secure $200 million in loans from Bank of America.

As his financial problems continued, Jackson began to borrow large sums of money, according to a 2002 lawsuit by Union Finance & Investment Corp. that sought $12 million in unpaid fees and expenses.

In 2003, Jackson was arrested on charges that he molested another 13-year-old boy. The 2005 trial, which ultimately ended in an acquittal, brought to light more details of Jackson’s strained finances.

One forensic accountant testified that the singer had an “ongoing cash crisis” and was spending $20 million to $30 million more per year than he earned.

In March of last year, the singer faced foreclosure on Neverland. He also repeatedly failed to make mortgage payments on a house in Los Angeles that had been used for years by his family.

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Sudden death of michael Jackson, Fans mourning Michael

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by bintangkecil on Thursday, June 25th, 2009 | Entertainment, News, World | 1 Comment

American pop idol and superstar Michael Jackson died today in Los Angeles from apparent cardiac arrest.

Michael Jackson Greatest Hits CD/MP3s on Amazon

Cardiac arrest is a condition in which the electrical signals to the heart become abnormal, making it impossible for it to properly pump blood through the body. In over 90 percent of victims, death occurs.

Michael Jackson, who as a member of the Jackson 5 and then as a solo artist became one of the biggest stars in pop music history, was pronounced dead Monday at UCLA Medical Center after an apparent heart attack, the Los Angeles Times reports. He was 50.

Jackson arrived at the hospital in a deep coma following a heart attack, the Times said. The paper said Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics responded to a call at Jackson’s home around 12:26 p.m. He was not breathing when they arrived. The paramedics performed CPR as he was en route to the medical center, which is only a few minutes away from Jackson’s rented BelAir home. Reportedly, he never regained consciousness.

Photo: AP

It is too early to tell, however, the exact reasons behind the 50-year-old Jackson’s death. Undiagnosed heart disease is the leading underlying cause of cardiac arrest. However, other risk factors like a family history of the condition, previous heart attack or heart failure, and drug abuse or excessive alcohol intake can increase the risk of its occurence.

Celebrity Web site TMZ.com, which was the first to report of Jackson’s death, said LaToya Jackson was seen running from the hospital, sobbing. It was reported Jackson’s mother and at least some of his brothers were present.

Father Joe Jackson, who was the driving force behind the Jackson 5 and Michael Jackson’s early singing career, was reportedly in Las Vegas.

Jackson’s death came less than a month before the start of a scheduled series of so-called comeback concerts. From July 13 to March 6, 2010, Jackson was scheduled to perform 50 sold-out concerts at London’s O2 Arena.

Check out some Michael Jackson childhood pictures here.

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