Jackson Family Bankruptcy <Parents: Joe,Katherine & Children:Tito,and Jermaine >

Extra ^ | Wednesday, August 21, 2002 | Editors

[Helms]

Jackson Family Bankruptcy

Recently listed in Las Vegas is a lovely five-bedroom home in the gated community of Rancho Nevada Estates. It's nice enough, but not newsworthy until you learn who owns the place and why they are selling.

It's not Michael Jackson's home ­ he lives at the Neverland Ranch. This more modest house-for-sale belongs to the King of Pop's parents, Joe and Katherine Jackson.

Dan Humeston of Century 21 is the lucky listing agent for the Jackson house, which was purchased by Michael’s parents in the 80's at the height of their son's career. No doubt, the sounds of his "Thriller" album echoed off the walls of the spacious den.

And as The Jacksons were one of the hottest acts on the Vegas strip in the 80's, this home, now empty and neglected, holds many happy memories for the family. So why are they selling? It’s because they have to, due to bankruptcy.

After obtaining court papers dating back to March of 1999, "Extra" turned to Manhattan bankruptcy attorney Ralph Preite to make sense of this convoluted case. He says, "Well, it's certainly not a straightforward bankruptcy because it involves more than one case."

Michael Jackson's parents filed for bankruptcy because they were millions in debt, primarily because of a failed business venture in which they promised to bail out a troubled guitar company, but then backed out of the deal. And they were also successfully sued for millions by a South Korean company after organizing and promoting a Michael Jackson concert that never happened.

Now, years later, the Jackson parents have not only been forced to put their Vegas home on the market, but they also had to sell the Jackson homestead in Gary, Indiana where the first family of pop music was raised. "Extra" stopped by the house yesterday and discovered the new owner is having the place painted. Not newsworthy, until you learn the new owner is Michael Jackson. "Extra" is now first to report that Michael recently purchased the famed Jackson house for $25,000. It’s money which will help bail his parents out of their bankruptcy.

But, whether Michael, who is celebrating his 44th birthday next week, will be the highest bidder on the Jackson's Vegas home is anybody's guess.

[Helms]

Stars Michael and Janet Jackson tell their poor family to ... BEAT IT! Own Correspondent: Los Angeles MICHAEL Jackson and his famous sister Janet may be stinking rich, but their family are dirt poor - and the two superstars are refusing to bail them out of financial trouble. In spite of the millions of dollars that have poured into the Jackson coffers over the years, superstar Michael's parents and many of his brothers and sisters are flat broke.

So broke that they have filed for bankruptcy. Creditors have twice raided the Jacksons' $2,7-million (about R17-million), 18-room mansion in Encino, near Los Angeles, to seize their assets. In the first swoop, a beige 1984 Rolls-Royce Silver Spur was taken. It was later auctioned for $30 500. In a second raid, creditors took a classic white 1963 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud and the baby grand piano Michael used to compose songs for his platinum album Thriller.

Fortunately, 40-year-old Michael and Janet were not involved. They separated their financial affairs from the family business, Jackson Communications, long ago. Although Michael has a personal fortune of $250-million and his pop singer sister Janet, 32, is worth about $100-million, they have grown tired of bailing out their spendthrift family, say sources.

The family have, one by one, filed for bankruptcy, starting with parents Joe, 69, and Katherine, 68, and followed by brothers Tito, 45, and Jermaine, 44, and sister Rebbie, 48. Jackie, 48, and 42-year-old Marlon have so far avoided bankruptcy.

An insider said: "It's astonishing how a family who have earned hundreds of millions could have wasted it so senselessly. They've always spent money freely, with no thought of paying their bills or taxes.

"Michael and Janet have washed their hands of this. Their attitude is, 'you're on your own'."

The Jackson parents are still living in the Encino mansion because it is part-owned by Michael. Joe and Katherine have debts totalling more than $2,4million (about R14,5-million), including $1,7-million for one failed business and nearly $229 000 in taxes, according to court papers.

The insider said: "Most of their debt is from legal fees and deals that went sour. They are not even sure they own their own homes in Gary, Indiana, and Las Vegas."

Jermaine reports he has $50 000 in assets and owes 199 creditors. There is no information on Tito's bankruptcy filing, but Rebbie says she owes more than $1,7-million.

The insider said: "The Jackson family's long lives of extravagance have finally caught up with them. The time has come for them to pay the piper."

Meanwhile, there is more worry for Katherine, who suffers from high blood pressure. The news that Janet's ex-lover had threatened to write a book claiming the singer was bisexual has given her sleepless nights.

What upset her most was the news that Janet had fled from him - and holed up with a woman.

A source said: "Janet is hiding with choreographer Tina Landon. People are talking like crazy. For her to be hiding out with a woman only adds fuel to the rumour that she is bisexual.

[Helms]

http://www.jackson.ru/Photo/e-gal1.htm?id=1&uid=69

"Forge" night club, Miami Beach, Florida - 17.05.2003

[BrooklynGOP]

I just don't understand how you can blow all that money. You can live very well just off the dividends!

[thoughtomator]

Plastic surgery costs a lot. Would you deny Michael Jackson his lifelong dream to be a teenage white girl, just so his parents and siblings would have a home to live in and food to eat?

[KellyAdmirer]

Suspicions about Janet's tendencies have been around for a long, long time, but the Jackson family doesn't interest me much, outside a rubbernecking-at-a-car-crash sense. Some folks don't know how to save their money, obviously.

[rabidralph]

It's a good thing they have those social security checks coming in.

[BrooklynGOP]

I don't think you've read the article.

[MizSterious]

Well, they've been morally bankrupt for a long time.

[JustPlainJoe]

I feel for them....I...I Really do...

It must take a HECK of a lot of work to get millions in debt! How darn hard is it to pay your bills and live with what you make?

All those years of good fortune wasted on the wrong people.

[thoughtomator]

I was being sarcastic

[mhking]

The house in Gary is a two or three bedroom bungalow one block from my old high school (Roosevelt High) in Gary's midtown area. I'd say the 25 grand MJ paid for it is a little on the low side for the neighborhood. If I had to guess, most homes in that neck of the woods are going for somewhere around 50K or so. I'm guessing (I don't know for sure) that the home is vacant right now.

They're obviously poor stewards of their money. While I don't wish fiscal problems on anyone, perhaps it's a lesson that is necessary for them, collectively, to learn.

Black conservative ping

If you want on (or off) of my black conservative ping list, please let me know via FREEPmail. (And no, you don't have to be black to be on the list!)

Extra warning: this is a high-volume ping list.

[Helms]

The U.S. Congress passed its first bankruptcy act in the year 1800. News article: U.S. Bankruptcies up in 2002

---

Noted Individuals Who Have Filed for Bankruptcy Protection

A

Lionel Bart . . . British composer-lyricist-playwright (1972)
Kim Basinger . . . Oscar-winning actress (1993)
Jay Black . . . rock star; lead member of "Jay and the Americans" (1986)
Lorraine Bracco . . . Oscar-nominated actress (1999)
Matthew Brady . . . portrait/U.S. Civil War photographer (1872)
Toni Braxton . . . rock star (1998)
Anita Bryant . . . singer; 1958 Miss America 2nd runner-up (1997 and 2001)

B

George Clinton . . . rock star (1984) (note: this is not the composer George S. Clinton)
Samuel L. Clemens ("Mark Twain") . . . best-selling American author-humorist (1894)
Natalie Cole . . . singer (19__) (sources: People magazine, February 24, 1997 / Dateline NBC, September 29, 1996 / et al.)
Gary Coleman . . . actor (1999)
Concrete Blonde . . . rock group (19__) (source: LA Weekly, March 26-April 1, 1999).
John Connally . . . former Texas governor; wounded in 1963 Kennedy assassination in Dallas (1987)
Francis Ford Coppola . . . Oscar-winning film writer-director-producer (1990)
Cathy Lee Crosby . . . actress; American author (1992)

D

Vic Damone . . . singer (1971)
Dorothy Dandridge . . . Oscar-nominated actress-singer (1963)
Lee de Forest . . . Oscar-winning film/sound synchronization pioneer; producer (1937)
Dino De Laurentis . . . Oscar-winning film producer (1988)
Walt Disney . . . Oscar-winning film producer; animation & theme park pioneer (1923)

E

Eddy "the Eagle" Edwards . . . Great Britain's first Olympic ski jumper (1991)

F

Keith Famie . . . Survivor II: The Australian Outback contestant; chef-restauranter; American author (19__; 1996/97) (source: interview, CBS special Survivor: Back from the Outback, May 10, 2001)
Mick Fleetwood . . . rock star; lead member of "Fleetwood Mac" (1984)
William Fox . . . co-founder of 20th Century Fox Film Corporation (1936)

G

Marvin Gaye . . . singer (19__;mid-late 1970s)
Andy Gibb . . . rock star (1987)
Ulysses S. Grant . . . 18th U.S. President; Civil War general;best-selling American author; face is pictured on the U.S. fifty dollar bill (1884, after leaving office)

H

Merle Haggard . . . country music star (1993)
Corey Haim . . . actor (1997)
Dorothy Hamill . . . Olympic gold-medal ice-skater (1996)
M.C. Hammer . . . rock star (1996)
Richard Harris . . . Oscar-nominated actor-producer-director; Irish-born author ("twice bankrupt") source: BBC World News)
Isaac Hayes . . . Oscar-winning songwriter-composer-musician-singer (1976)
Sherman Hemsley . . . actor (2002)

I

Ron Isley . . . rhythm-and-blues singer (19__; mid-late 1990s)

J

La Toya Jackson . . . rock star (1995)
Janice-Marie Johnson . . . rock star/disco diva (19__;1980s) (source: interview segment, Extra TV show, June 9, 2000)
Kacey Jones . . . country music star; musical humorist (19__) (sources: KaceyJones.com / Dish magazine, October 2000)

K

#B22222 Chaka Kahn . . . rock star (19__) (source: People magazine, February 24, 1997)
Larry King . . . talk-show host; best-selling American author (1978)
Bowie Kuhn . . . former U.S. baseball commissioner (19__)
Gary Kurtz . . . Oscar-nominated film producer (Star Wars, American Graffiti, etc.) (19__)

L

Veronica Lake . . . actress (1951)
Cyndi Lauper . . . rock star (1983)
Stan Lee . . . comic book industry pioneer; co-creator of "Spider Man," "The Incredible Hulk," "The X-Men," etc. (2001)

M

Meat Loaf . . . rock star (1983)
Ashley MacIsaac . . . musician-fiddler (2000)
Mindy McCready . . . country music star (1997)
Melba Moore . . . singer-actress (19__; 1990s)
Debelah Morgan . . . singer-songwriter-producer (2000)
Lorrie Morgan . . . country music star; American author (19__) (source: Current Biography Yearbook 2000)
Motor City Five/MC5 . . . rock group of the 1960s (1970)

N

Willie Nelson . . . singer-songwriter-actor; American author (19__; est. 1990) (source: Sunday Morning, CBS-TV news program, September 30, 2001, interview conducted by Dan Rather)
Wayne Newton . . . singer-actor-entertainer (1992)
Immanuel Nobel . . . father of manufacturer-philanthropist Alfred Nobel, who founded the Nobel Prizes (twice: 1833/year Alfred was born; 1856/when Alfred was 23)
Mary Nolan . . . actress (1931)

O

Jennings Osborne . . . Arkansas businessman; Christmas light sponsor, including at DisneyWorld (1995)

P

Johnny Paycheck . . . country music star (1976)
Tom Petty . . . rock star (1979)
Susan Powter . . . exercise/fitness expert; talk-show host; best-selling American author (1995)

R

Burt Reynolds . . . Oscar-nominated actor-director; American author (1995)
Debbie Reynolds . . . Oscar-nominated actress-singer; American author (1997)
Mickey Rooney . . . Oscar-nominated actor; American author (1962)

S

Harry Saltzman . . . film producer (James Bond movies) (1975)
Ray Sawyer . . . rock star; member of "Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show" (1973)
Shenandoah . . . country music band (1991)
Anna Nicole Smith . . . model-actress; 1993 Playboy magazine "Playmate of the Year" (1996)
Lynne Spears . . . American author; mother of rock star Britney Spears (1998; filed with husband James prior to Britney's stardom)
J. Fife Symington . . . Governor of Arizona (1995, while still in office)

T

TLC . . . rock group (1995)
Mike Tyson . . . boxer (2003)

W

Tammy Wynette . . . country music star; American author (1988)

[JustPiper]

These people are bankrupt in so many ways more than monetary

[I still care]

"Although Michael has a personal fortune of $250-million and his pop singer sister Janet, 32, is worth about $100-million, they have grown tired of bailing out their spendthrift family, say sources"

I don't see why they WOULD bail out the family - not if you are financially irresponsible and immoral to boot. From the article (who knows how accurate it is) they have been bailed out many times, and continue to spend away.

Besides, these people have millions in debts. I am sure Michaal and Janet have the attitude why should THEY pay it off? Let the creditors eat it.

I know families that make a business out of bankruptcy. One at a time they spend everything up, declare bankruptcy, and only then do they get money from their families.

After all, if you give them money BEFORE the bankruptcy, it will just be given to your creditors. Notice how little MIchael bought that home for (25000). I am sure his family is not going hungry.

[cyborg]

People who aren't used to money, do not make good millionaires. Where is Rebbie? She is doing well to stay far from the rest of the family.

[oust the louse]

"I just don't understand how you can blow all that money."

Pure stupidity.Kids raised to be superstars so Dad can profit off the offspring.Minimal bussiness sense as well.Trying to bail out a guitar factory? Come on Daddy Jackson...didn't you ever hear of IBM or Microsoft to invest in?