Michael Jackson: The Last Photo Shoot (2014)

Genre

documentary film

Country

United States

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

This documentary looks at the final photo shoot of Michael Jackson before his death. It also discusses the legal and financial arrangements set up after he passed away.

informativefactualneutralslow-pacedstraightforwardsomberreflective

What happens

The estate of Michael Jackson is a legal entity established following the death of American singer Michael Jackson on June 25, 2009, for the purpose of administering his property and overseeing his posthumous income. Jackson's last will was filed by the attorney John Branca at the Los Angeles County courthouse on July 1, 2009. Signed July 7, 2002, it names Branca and accountant John McClain (McClain died on May 26, 2026) as executors; they were confirmed as such by a Los Angeles judge on July 6, 2009. All assets are given to the (pre-existing) Michael Jackson Family Trust (amended March 22, 2002), the details of which have not been made public. The Associated Press reported that, in 2007, Jackson had a net worth of US$237 million: $568 million in assets, which included Neverland Ranch and his 50% share of the Sony/ATV Music Publishing catalog, and debts of $331 million. The guardianship of his three children was given to his mother, Katherine, or if she was unable or unwilling, to singer Diana Ross. According to Jackson's will, his assets and posthumous earnings are allocated to a trust, with 40% to his mother, 40% to his three children, and the remaining 20% to unspecified charities. In 2012, in an attempt to end a family dispute, Jackson's brother Jermaine retracted his signature on a public letter criticizing the executors of Jackson's estate and his mother's advisers over the legitimacy of Michael's will. T.J. Jackson, son of Tito Jackson, was given co-guardianship of Michael's children after false reports of Katherine having gone missing. Media reports suggested that the settlement of Jackson's estate could last many years. The value of Sony/ATV Music Publishing was estimated to be $1.5 billion. The estimate made Jackson's share of Sony/ATV worth $750 million, from which Jackson would have had an annual income of $80 million. In September 2016, a deal was finalized for Sony's acquisition of Jackson's share of Sony/ATV from the Jackson estate for $750 million. In 2016, Jackson's estate earned $825 million, the highest yearly amount for a celebrity ever recorded by Forbes. In July 2018, Sony/ATV bought out the Jackson estate's 10% stake in EMI for $287.5 million. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

• Gone Too Soon (2010)
• Michael Jackson: The Life of an Icon (2011)
• Michael Jackson: Searching for Neverland (2017)
• Michael Jackson's This Is It (2009)
• Michael Jackson's Private Home Movies (2003)
• Thriller 40 (2023)
• Michael (2026)
• Michael Jackson: Chase the Truth (2019)