Michael Jackson owed more than $500 million at the time of death, according to court documents obtained by PEOPLE.
Jackson died on June 25, 2009 of cardiac arrest in Los Angeles at the age of 50. Before his death, the King of Pop held a six-hour dress rehearsal at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. As part of his comeback plan, he wrote new songs and endured hours of grueling rehearsals to perfect the show, which was scheduled to run from July 2009 to March 2010.
But given his exorbitant spending habits, Jackson desperately needed money to pay off his accumulated $30-million-a-year debt, according to the Los Angeles Times. The latter reported that CPA William R. Ackerman, who testified as a defense witness on behalf of AEG Live in the wrongful death trial in August 2013, provided a detailed analysis of the singer's finances, telling jurors that Jackson was spending money for charity, gifts, travel, art, and furniture. “He spent a lot of money on jewelry,” Ackerman added.
Back in 1993, Jackson had accumulated a growing debt, and by 1998 he already owed $140 million. Between June 2001 and June 2009, his debt increased by approximately $170 million. Ackerman noted that interest on Jackson's loans also rose over the years, ranging from just under 7% to 16.8% per year.
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