Michael Jackson

AAP

MICHAEL Jackson the singer was also Michael Jackson the billion-dollar business.

Yet after selling more than 61 million albums in the United States and having a decade-long attraction open at Disney theme parks, the 1980s "King of Pop" died on Thursday at age 50 reportedly awash in about $US400 million ($A497.5 million) in debt.

The moonwalking pop star drove the growth of music videos, vaulting cable channel MTV into the popular mainstream after its launch in 1981.

His 1982 hit Thriller, still the second best-selling US album of all time, spawned a John Landis-directed music video that MTV played every hour on the hour.

"The ratings were three or four times what they were normally every time the video came on," said Judy McGrath, the chairman and CEO of Viacom Inc's MTV Networks.

"He was inextricably tied to the so-called MTV generation."

Five years later, Bad sold 22 million copies. In 1991, Jackson signed a $US65 million ($A80.85 million) recording deal with Sony.

One of Jackson's shrewdest deals at the height of his fame in 1985 was the $US47.5 million ($A59.08 million) acquisition of ATV Music, which owned the copyright to songs written by the Beatles' John Lennon and Paul McCartney.

The catalogue provided Jackson a steady stream of income and the ability to afford a lavish lifestyle.

He bought the sprawling Neverland ranch in 1988 for $US14.6 million ($A18.16 million), a fantasy-like 1,000-hectare property nestled in the hills of Santa Barbara County's wine country.

But the bombshell hit in 1993 when he was accused of molesting 13-year-old Jordan Chandler.

"That kind of represents the beginning of the walk down a tragic path, financially, emotionally, spiritually, psychologically, legally," said Michael Levine, his publicist at the time.

He settled with the boy's family but other accounts of his alleged paedophilia began to emerge.

When he ran into further financial problems, he agreed to a deal with Sony in 1995 to merge ATV with Sony's library of songs and sold Sony music publishing rights for $US95 million ($A118.16 million).

Then in 2001, he used his half of the ATV assets as collateral to secure $US200 million ($A248.76 million) in loans from Bank of America.

As his financial problems continued, Jackson began to borrow large sums of money, according to a 2002 lawsuit by Union Finance & Investment Corp that sought $US12 million ($A14.93 million) in unpaid fees and expenses.

In 2003, Jackson was arrested on charges that he molested another 13-year-old boy. The 2005 trial, which ultimately ended in an acquittal, brought to light more details of Jackson's strained finances.

One forensic accountant testified that the singer had an "ongoing cash crisis" and was spending $US20 million to $US30 million ($A24.88 million to $A37.31 million) more per year than he earned.

In March of last year, the singer faced foreclosure on Neverland. He also repeatedly failed to make mortgage payments on a house in Los Angeles that had been used for years by his family.

In addition, Jackson was forced to defend himself against a slew of lawsuits in recent years, including a $US7 million ($A8.71 million) claim from Sheik Abdulla bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the second son of the king of Bahrain.

Al Khalifa, 33, took Jackson under his wing after his acquittal, moving him to the small Gulf estate and showering him with money.

In his lawsuit, Al Khalifa claimed he gave Jackson millions of dollars to help shore up his finances, cut an album, write an autobiography and subsidise his lifestyle - including more than $US300,000 ($A373,000) for a "motivational guru".

The lawsuit was settled last year for an undisclosed amount. Neither the album nor book was ever produced.

Memorabilia auctions were frequently announced but became the subject of legal wrangling and were often cancelled.

Another wealthy benefactor came to Jackson's aid last year as he faced the prospect of losing Neverland in a public auction.

Billionaire Thomas Barrack, chairman and CEO of Los Angeles-based real estate investment firm Colony Capital LLC, agreed to bail out the singer and set up a joint venture with Jackson that took ownership of the vast estate.

When Jackson died he was on the cusp of a final comeback after well over a decade of scandal.

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