LOS ANGELES — The money is rolling in. The bills are being paid. And all those people who said Michael Jackson might earn more in death than in life are being proved right.
Like the estates of Elvis Presley and Yves Saint Laurent, Jackson’s has grown immensely since he died June 25, 2009. Without Jackson’s lavish spending sprees, and with the help of new revenue pouring in from nostalgia over the reign of the King of Pop, estate co-executors John Branca and John McClain have dramatically turned around Jackson’s finances.
The estate has earned more than $250 million in the year since he died. Executors used some of that to pay off $70 million in debt, including the $5 million mortgage on the Jackson family compound in Encino, part of Los Angeles.
“There’s a long way to go before they pay off all of their debts,” said Lance Grode, a former Jackson lawyer.
