Since the tragic passing of the King of Pop nearly two decades ago, there have been many questions about who inheritted what of his staggering fortune.
Now, it’s only natural to believe that his family would get their cut, but that’s not always the case with these things.
Back in 2009, the awful news circulated on every major TV station that Michael Jackson had died at the age of 50 and since then, it’s been a battle of the Jacksons.
The King of Pop died at the age of 50 in 2009. (Kevin Mazur/WireImage)
After the music icon’s passing, his giant estate continued to generate a whopping half a billion dollars in just three years, according to Forbes.
Thanks to his This Is It film, he accumulated an extra $60 million advance payment, as well as a new contract for his recordings which racked up $250 million. And the singer’s Immortal World Tour, Cirque du Soleil, grossed over $75 million in 2012.
So, it’s no surprise that there was a fight for his cash.
Even though Jackson left behind his estate to his family, his fortune is still being debated to this day, and his kids haven’t seen a penny of their $85 million.
Because of a dispute between the late ‘Thriller’ singer – who would have been 66 now – and the IRS over a tax bill, his three kids Prince, 27, Paris, 26, and Bigi (aka Blanket), 22, can’t get any money from the fortune until it’s resolved.
Michael Jackson’s kids – Prince, Paris and Bigi – haven’t had a penny of their inheritance (Alan Chapman/Dave Benett/Getty Images)
While they are given an allowance from the estate and are apparently ‘very well taken care of’, they are still missing out of their rightful inheritance.
A statement about the issue obtained by PEOPLE read: “In annual reports provided to the probate court, which are publicly available, anyone can see that the Estate provides Michael’s mother and children with very substantial amounts of money to support them.
“The Estate has a very cooperative relationship with Michael’s children and whenever they need anything, the Estate works with them to ensure that they are very well taken care of, just as Michael would have wanted.”
In his will, which was submitted in 2002, it was explained that his interests would be placed in the ‘Michael Jackson Family Trust’, with 20 percent of his money to be donated to charity, while the rest would go to a lifetime trust for his mum Katherine Jackson, and a trust for his three children.
His father – the creator of the Jackson Five Joe Jackson – as well as his siblings and and ex-wives, did not appear in his will.
The Jackson family want a piece of his estate (Carlo Allegri/Getty Images)
There was also a clause which stated that if they challenged the will, they’d be disinherited.
But this didn’t stop his dad trying to claim some money from the estate, which was rejected in 2009.
Judge Mitchell Beckloff said in 2009: “Joe Jackson takes none of this estate. This is a decision his son made.”
Now, Bigi is in a legal battle with his grandmother Katherine after reportedly filing legal papers to stop her from using his dad’s estate money to pay for legal fees.
TMZ claimed: “Based on recent reporting, it seems like it may be related to the deal the estate made with Sony to sell about half of Michael’s music catalogue for $600M.”
While Bigi and Katherine opposed the deal, the court ruled against them and now the grandmother wants to appeal, while the youngest Jackson doesn’t want his father’s estate paying for the legal bills.
