Jacko's auction treasures now extra hot stuff
Filed under: Debt, Wealth, Celebs & Money
If you thought prices at the canceled auction in April for Michael Jackson's belongings were high -- $20,000 for one of the front gates to Jackson's Neverland Ranch -- the pop icon's death on Thursday will likely push the prices off the charts. A Michael Jackson auction is a garage sale of the century, if it ever happens.
The auction set for April 22-25 in Beverly Hills was canceled a week earlier after Jackson's lawyers and the auction house agreed to settle and have the items returned to Jackson.
He had initially agreed to allow the sale of items taken from his home -- valued at $10 million -- but in March he filed a lawsuit seeking the return of some of the 2,000 personal items. A judge ruled the auction could continue as set, but both sides later reached an agreement.
A joint statement by both a Jackson spokesman and Julien's Auction House suggested that the items would be put in a museum for the public to view, and that putting them into the hands of private collectors wouldn't serve Jackson's fans.
But with the King of Pop's untimely death, all bets are off. One option is for Jackson's estate to turn Neverland Ranch over to the state as a tax write-off, which would then allow the cash-strapped state of California to charge admission and earn some needed money. Sound callous? It's been done before. Hearst Castle in San Simeon was given to the state in this way so that William Randolph Hearst's heirs didn't have to pay taxes on the property.Jackson had more than $24 million of debt, and the failed auction was intended to help him pay some of it off. I'm not a lawyer, but my limited knowledge of estate law is that heirs don't have to pay the debts of the deceased. Jackson's debt may be wiped out.
As for mementos of Jackson's life, I think one of the best reads, if they're still for sale, may be the five-catalog box set, listing everything for sale at the canceled auction. The set went for $200 in April and is a relatively cheap way to look at his life.
Except, ahem, it's now going for up to $2,000 on eBay.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-26-2009 @ 9:02AM
al said...
i hate that MJ died! but if the truth is ever know?you dont die at 50 now days,he probility had aids or he was afraid of getting caught for molesting childern again
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6-26-2009 @ 11:21AM
Eric said...
Thank God you're not a lawyer because that's exactly what heirs have to. That's why people's estates get tied up in probate - the process that seeks and takes care of every creditor before the money goes to the estate.
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6-27-2009 @ 9:39AM
Lil T said...
Well u don't hate it "too" much that he died, since you made those insidious comments!
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6-27-2009 @ 9:48AM
Laura said...
I'm sorry to rain on your parade, but people DO die at his age. I had a brother that passed away 2 weeks after his 50th birthday. He had cancer. He went through two brain surgeries and fought cancer for a year and a half. I believe that when your number is up, you have no choice.
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6-27-2009 @ 10:57AM
Jack said...
Well I think it's great that the state's gonna charge admission to see his house. It'd be a great attraction with all those kid rides and animals and stuff.
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6-27-2009 @ 12:22PM
maria said...
sooner or later all these vultures are goin to devour all of michael jacksons possesions before we, "his fans", will ever get a chance to even see them, if theres anything left to see!!!!!!!!!!!!
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6-27-2009 @ 7:07PM
Kat said...
Michael Jackson...I will never forget when he dangled a baby off a balcony. Sick.
I am truly saddened by the passing of Farrah Faucet. What a beautiful, talented, loving woman she was. To record her battle with cancer was extraordinary. I think we can all learn a lot about life from Farrah.
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6-27-2009 @ 4:43PM
Nrthdude said...
It's sad that there is no coverage of another HUGE pop icon's death - Farrah Fawcett. She was a wonderful star that many people loved and adored. The media never gave her a break during her life and now they're doing the same with her death.
Farrah's death was the real tragedy.
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6-28-2009 @ 6:17PM
lynn said...
I feel like if his doctor gave him to much drugs he was the one taking them no one told him to. He wanted them so why blame the doctor. Here is murder when you give someone drugs that does not want them such as they did my dad if you don't believe it read my sister's book. You have to order it online at any book store online Free Rein To kill Euthansia In America that is true murder. There was nothing we could do about it no body no crime, and we did not fit the criteria. He was asking for the drugs my dad wasnt. Dont get me wrong MJ was a great singer and artist along with Farah but that Doctor should not be held accountable.
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6-27-2009 @ 9:06PM
Linda said...
My Sympathy to the Jackson family , Michael will never be forgotten. May he rest in peace.
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6-27-2009 @ 11:29PM
Karen said...
I couldnt have said it better. She was real and NOTHING about her was fake or did she portray to be some sex goddess like say "THE MS. BRAD PITT" and I could go on. Her memory will live forever in my heart but in the gentle way that she was. Quietly, but definately remembered.
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6-28-2009 @ 12:22AM
nina said...
For those that didn't like the king of pop, to hell with you people ! mIcheal Jackson was a person like any other, but with a blessing from God. The only thing he ever did wrong was, opening his HEART to PEOPLE that use him right on to the very END. Let him REST IN PEACE NOW,,,,,
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6-29-2009 @ 3:20PM
TommyBoy said...
Charge admission to tour Neverland. Great...and a special admission to enter the room where little 7-9 year old boys suddendly got to play with a live puppet. He was a super entertainer...but, lets face it, he was stuck with an unholy passion. And his money kept him out of prison for it.The winners here are going to be the lawyers to say the least. He died the same death as Elvis but he was "no" Elvis..by any means.
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