Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Known as the "King of Pop," he is widely considered one of the most important cultural figures of the 20th century. Over 40 years, his music helped break racial barriers in America and made him a famous figure worldwide. Through his songs, concerts, and fashion, he influenced how artists perform visually in popular music. He popularized dance moves such as the moonwalk, the robot, and the anti-gravity lean. Many people believe he was the greatest entertainer of all time.

As the eighth child of the Jackson family, Jackson first performed publicly at age six as the lead singer of the Jackson 5, a successful group signed to Motown. He became a solo star with the album Off the Wall (1979) and achieved global success with Thriller (1982), the best-selling album in history. The music videos for "Thriller," "Beat It," and "Billie Jean" changed how videos were made and viewed as an art form. His later album Bad (1987) was the first to produce five number-one songs on the US Billboard Hot 100. His albums Dangerous (1991) and HIStory (1995) included the number-one songs "Black or White" and "You Are Not Alone," with the latter debuting at the top of the Hot 100. His final album, Invincible (2001), was the most expensive album ever created.

Starting in the mid-1980s, Jackson faced public attention because of changes in his appearance, relationships, behavior, and lifestyle. In 1993, he was accused of sexually abusing a child from a family friend. In 2005, he was tried in court and found not guilty of those charges and others. In 2009, while preparing for This Is It, a series of comeback concerts, he died from an overdose of propofol, a drug given by his personal doctor, Conrad Murray. Murray was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in 2011. Jackson’s death caused worldwide reactions, including a record increase in internet traffic and a rise in music sales. His memorial service, held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, was watched by more than 2.5 billion people.

Jackson is one of the best-selling music artists in history, with over 500 million records sold. He is one of only three artists, along with Paul McCartney and Phil Collins, who sold over 100 million records both as solo artists and as members of a band. He shares a record for having 13 Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles as a male solo artist and is the only artist with a top-ten single in six different decades. He received many awards, including 13 Grammy Awards, the Grammy Legend Award, the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, 26 American Music Awards, 12 World Music Awards, 8 MTV Video Music Awards, 6 Brit Awards, and 3 presidential honors. He was inducted into multiple halls of fame, including the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Dance Hall of Fame. Jackson donated an estimated $500 million to charity, setting a standard for celebrities to support good causes. In 2024, half of his music collection was sold to Sony for $600 million, the largest music acquisition for a single artist.

Life and career

Michael Joseph Jackson was born on August 29, 1958, in Gary, Indiana. He was the eighth of ten children in the Jackson family, an African-American family that worked hard to earn money. They lived in a small home on Jackson Street. His mother, Katherine Jackson (née Scruse), played the clarinet, cello, and piano. She wanted to be a country-and-western singer and worked part-time at Sears. She was a Jehovah's Witness. His father, Joe Jackson, was a former boxer and worked as a crane operator at US Steel. He also played guitar for a local rhythm and blues group called the Falcons. Michael grew up with three sisters—Rebbie, La Toya, and Janet—and five brothers: Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, and Randy. A sixth brother, Marlon’s twin Brandon, died shortly after birth.

In 1964, Michael and Marlon joined the Jackson Brothers, a band formed by their father. The band already included Jackie, Tito, and Jermaine. At first, Michael and Marlon played instruments like the congas and tambourine. Michael later said that his father physically and emotionally abused him during rehearsals. Joe Jackson admitted that he often whipped Michael. Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, and Marlon denied that their father was abusive, saying the whippings, which hurt Michael more because he was younger, kept the group disciplined. Michael described his childhood as lonely and isolated.

By late 1965, Michael began singing lead vocals with Jermaine, and the group was renamed the Jackson 5. That year, they won a talent show where Michael danced to Robert Parker’s song “Barefootin’” and sang the Temptations’ song “My Girl.” From 1966 to 1968, the Jackson 5 performed across the Midwest, often on the Chitlin’ Circuit. They opened shows for artists like Sam & Dave, the O’Jays, Gladys Knight, and Etta James. They also performed in clubs, at high school dances, and in local auditoriums. In August 1967, while touring the East Coast, they won a weekly amateur competition at the Apollo Theater in Harlem.

The Jackson 5 recorded songs for a label called Steeltown Records, releasing their first single, “Big Boy,” in 1968. Bobby Taylor of Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers brought the group to Motown after they performed with him at Chicago’s Regal Theater. Taylor helped produce some of their early Motown songs, including a version of “Who’s Lovin’ You.” After joining Motown, the Jackson family moved to Los Angeles. In 1969, Motown leaders decided that Diana Ross would introduce the Jackson 5 to the public. This helped support her new television career. The group made their first TV appearance at the Miss Black America pageant, performing a cover of “It’s Your Thing.” A magazine called Rolling Stone later described young Michael as a musical talent with great skills who quickly became the group’s main singer.

In January 1970, the Jackson 5’s song “I Want You Back” reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, staying at the top for four weeks. Three other Motown singles—“ABC,” “The Love You Save,” and “I’ll Be There”—also reached number one. In May 1971, the Jackson family moved into a large home on Hayvenhurst Avenue, a 2-acre estate in Encino, California. During this time, Michael grew from a child performer into a teen idol. Between 1972 and 1975, he released four solo albums with Motown: Got to Be There (1972), Ben (1972), Music & Me (1973), and Forever, Michael (1975). The title songs from his first two solo albums, “Got to Be There” and “Ben,” sold well, as did his cover of Bobby Day’s “Rockin’ Robin.”

Michael continued working with the Jackson 5. The group was later described as an example of black artists who reached different audiences. They were frustrated with Motown’s refusal to let them have creative control. Michael’s performance of their top single “Dancing Machine” on Soul Train helped popularize the robot dance.

The Jackson 5 left Motown in 1975, signing with Epic Records and renaming themselves the Jacksons. Their younger brother Randy joined the band around this time, while Jermaine stayed with Motown to pursue a solo career. The Jacksons toured internationally and released six more albums between 1976 and 1984. During this period, Michael wrote songs like “Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)” (1978), “This Place Hotel” (1980), and “Can You Feel It” (1980).

In 1977, Jackson moved to New York City to play the Scarecrow in The Wiz, a musical film directed by Sidney Lumet. The film was not successful at the box office. Its music was arranged by Quincy Jones, who later produced three of Jackson’s solo albums. During his time in New York, Jackson visited the Studio 54 nightclub, where he heard early hip-hop music. This influenced his beatboxing on later tracks, such as “Working Day and Night.”

Jackson’s fifth solo album and first as an adult, Off the Wall (1979), helped him become a successful solo artist. It marked his move from bubblegum pop to more complex music. The album produced four top-10 songs in the US: “Off the Wall,” “She’s Out of My Life,” and the number-one hits “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” and “Rock with You.” Off the Wall reached number three on the Billboard 200 and sold over 20 million copies worldwide. Jackson won a Grammy Award

Death

On June 25, 2009, less than three weeks before his concert residency in London, Michael Jackson died from cardiac arrest caused by an overdose of propofol and benzodiazepine. Conrad Murray, his personal doctor, had given Jackson medications to help him sleep at his home in Los Angeles. Paramedics received a 911 call at 12:21 pm Pacific time and arrived at the property four minutes later. Jackson was not breathing, and CPR was performed. Resuscitation continued during transport to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and for over an hour after his arrival, but efforts were unsuccessful. Jackson was pronounced dead at 2:26 pm Pacific time. Murray had administered propofol, lorazepam, and midazolam; Jackson’s death was caused by a propofol overdose.

News of his death spread quickly online, causing websites to slow down or crash due to high traffic. Web traffic increased by 11% to 20%. MTV and BET aired marathons of Jackson’s music videos, and Jackson specials were shown on television worldwide. MTV briefly returned to its original music video format, showing hours of Jackson’s videos with live news coverage. US President Barack Obama sent a letter of condolence to the Jackson family, and the House of Representatives observed a moment of silence.

Jackson’s memorial was held on July 7, 2009, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, following a private family service at Forest Lawn Memorial Park’s Hall of Liberty. Over 1.6 million fans applied for tickets to the memorial; 8,750 recipients were chosen randomly, each receiving two tickets. The memorial was one of the most-watched streaming events in history, with an estimated 31.1 million viewers in the US and 2.5 to 3 billion worldwide.

Mariah Carey, Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie, Jennifer Hudson, and Shaheen Jafargholi performed at the memorial. Smokey Robinson and Queen Latifah gave eulogies. Al Sharpton received a standing ovation when he told Jackson’s children, “Wasn’t nothing strange about your daddy. It was strange what your daddy had to deal with. But he dealt with it anyway.” Jackson’s 11-year-old daughter, Paris Katherine, spoke publicly for the first time and wept while addressing the crowd. Lucious Smith provided a closing prayer. On September 3, 2009, Jackson’s body was entombed at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.

In August 2009, the Los Angeles County Coroner ruled Jackson’s death a homicide. Law enforcement officials charged Murray with involuntary manslaughter on February 8, 2010. In late 2011, Murray was found guilty and held without bail. He was sentenced to four years in prison but released after one year and eleven months.

At the 2009 American Music Awards, Jackson won four posthumous awards, including two for his compilation album Number Ones, bringing his total American Music Awards to 26. In the year after his death, over 16.1 million of Jackson’s albums were sold in the US, and 35 million worldwide. Jackson became the first artist to sell one million music downloads in a week, with 2.6 million song downloads. Thriller, Number Ones, and The Essential Michael Jackson became the first catalog albums to outsell any new album. Jackson also became the first artist to have four of the top-20 best-selling albums in a single year in the US. Within a year of his death, Jackson sold over 75 million records worldwide. By the end of 2013, Jackson had sold over 50 million albums worldwide since his death.

Following the surge in sales, in March 2010, Sony Music signed a $250 million deal with the Jackson estate to extend distribution rights to Jackson’s back catalog until at least 2017. It was the most expensive music contract for a single artist in history. Sony agreed to release ten albums of previously unreleased material and new collections of released work. The deal was extended in 2017. In July 2018, Sony/ATV bought the estate’s stake in EMI for $287.5 million.

In 2015, Thriller became the first album to be certified for 30 million shipments by the RIAA. A year later, it was certified 33× platinum after Soundscan added streams and audio downloads to album certifications.

In February 2024, Sony Music acquired half of Michael Jackson’s publishing rights and recording masters for $600 million. The deal includes assets from Jackson’s Mijac publishing catalog but excludes royalties from several Jackson-related productions. This transaction may be the largest for a single musician’s work.

Jackson’s posthumous releases and productions are administered by the estate of Michael Jackson, which owns Jackson’s trademarks and rights to his name, image, and likeness. The first posthumous Jackson song, “This Is It,” co-written in the 1980s with Paul Anka, was released in October 2009. The surviving Jackson brothers reunited to record backing vocals. It was followed by a documentary film about the rehearsals for the canceled This Is It tour and a compilation album. Despite a limited two-week engagement, the film became the highest-grossing documentary or concert film ever, earning over $260 million worldwide. Jackson’s estate received 90% of the profits. In late 2010, Sony released the first posthumous album, Michael, and the lead single “Hold My Hand,” a duet with Akon. Jackson’s collaborator will.i.am expressed disgust, saying Jackson would not have approved the release.

The video game developer Ubisoft released a music game featuring Jackson for the 2010 holiday season, Michael Jackson: The Experience. It was among the first games to use Kinect and PlayStation Move, motion-detecting camera systems for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

In October 2011, the theater company Cirque du Soleil launched Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour, a $57 million production in Montreal. A larger and more theatrical Cirque show, Michael Jackson: One, designed for residency at the Mandalay Bay resort in Las Vegas, opened on May 23, 2013, in a renovated theater.

In 2012, Jackson’s brother Jermaine retracted his signature on a public letter criticizing executors of Jackson’s estate and his mother’s advisors over the legitimacy of his brother’s will. T.J. Jackson, the son of Tito Jackson, was given co-guardianship of Michael Jackson’s children after false reports of Katherine Jackson going missing. Xscape, an album of unreleased material, was released on May 13, 2014. The lead single, a duet between Jackson and Justin Timberlake, “

Legacy

Michael Jackson is known as the "King of Pop" because he changed how music videos are made and helped create modern pop music. For much of his career, he had a huge influence on young people around the world. His impact was not only in music but also in dance, fashion, and raising awareness about important global issues. His music and videos helped MTV include more people of different races and shifted its focus from rock music to pop and R&B, leading to the end of a music format that once dominated the channel. In songs like "Black or White," "Heal the World," "Earth Song," and "They Don't Care About Us," Jackson's music promoted racial unity, environmental care, and fairness. He is considered one of the most important cultural figures of the 20th century, and his work in music, dance, and fashion, along with his personal life, made him a global cultural icon for over 40 years.

Jackson's rise to fame in the 1980s made him a worldwide celebrity, and his influence spread across many countries. In Africa, his ability to inspire and bring people together through music was compared to Nelson Mandela. In India, he was likened to Mahatma Gandhi because his work supported social justice and humanitarian causes, and his influence even reached Bollywood, where dancers were often compared to him. In Europe, his impact was compared to that of the Pope, as large crowds gathered to see him and attend his concerts, which spread messages of love and healing during difficult times. In the Middle East, his fame was as widespread as Coca-Cola, showing how his music connected people globally. In South Korea, he is seen as a key influence on the K-pop industry, shaping the development of the genre.

J. Edward Keyes of Rolling Stone said Jackson was a major star. Danyel Smith of Vibe Media Group called him "the greatest star." Steve Huey of AllMusic described him as a powerful force with a unique voice, amazing dance moves, and the ability to dominate music charts. BET said Jackson was "the greatest entertainer of all time," and his work continues to inspire artists today. In 1984, Time magazine's Jay Cocks called Jackson the biggest phenomenon since the Beatles and Elvis Presley, possibly the most popular Black singer ever. In 2003, The Daily Telegraph's Tom Utley called Jackson "extremely important" and a "genius." At Jackson's memorial in 2009, Berry Gordy of Motown called him "the greatest entertainer that ever lived." Guinness World Records named him "the Most Successful Entertainer of All Time," and he has appeared on Rolling Stone's lists of the "Greatest Singers of All Time."

Craig Glenday of Guinness World Records said Jackson was the most famous person in the world in 2006. After Jackson's death, Glenday noted that Jackson remained the most famous person until his passing, and his fame was greater than that of Confucius. The Guardian said Jackson was unmatched in fame, with so many people knowing who he was that those who did not were rare. His influence reached many parts of the world, including remote areas like São Tomé and Príncipe and Tristan da Cunha, where artists still celebrate his music.

In 2018, the National Portrait Gallery named Jackson the most depicted cultural figure of the century, saying his influence on art was as great as that of Jesus Christ. Nicholas Cullinan, director of the gallery, said Jackson's impact on art was unmatched and that he was the most depicted figure in modern art history. In 2014, a study by Young-Ho Eom at the University of Toulouse ranked Jackson as one of the most influential people in history, placing him alongside figures like Carl Linnaeus, Adolf Hitler, and Jesus Christ. Another study in 2013 also ranked Jackson as one of the most influential people, placing him with Napoleon Bonaparte. Many publications and studies have noted Jackson's influence beyond music, including fields like psychology, law, chemistry, and engineering.

Philanthropy

Michael Jackson is known for his efforts to help others and support good causes. His early work in charity has been called by The Chronicle of Philanthropy as helping to begin the recent increase in famous people giving money to charities. The Los Angeles Times said his actions set an example for other entertainers to follow. Some estimates say he gave more than $500 million to charities during his life, without considering inflation. In 1992, he created the Heal the World Foundation and used money from his Dangerous World Tour to support it.

Jackson’s help went beyond giving money. He performed at concerts to raise funds, and he arranged some of these events. He gave free tickets to his concerts to groups that help children in need. He visited children who were sick in hospitals around the world. He also donated personal and professional items to charity auctions. He received many awards for his work, including two from American presidents. His wide range of charitable efforts is listed in the Guinness World Records.

On May 14, 1984, President Ronald Reagan gave Jackson an award for his support of charities that help people with alcohol and drug abuse. Jackson also supported the Ad Council and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s campaign to stop drunk driving. He allowed the campaign to use his song “Beat It” in public service announcements to spread awareness.

Artistry

Michael Jackson was known for his expressive singing and ability to sing every note perfectly without help. Critics said his singing style changed depending on the type of music he performed, ranging from soft and clear to loud and strong. In history, he is the only person to win Grammy Awards for three different music styles as a solo artist: Pop Vocal for "Thriller," Rock Vocal for "Beat It," and Rhythm and Blues Vocal for both "Billie Jean" and "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough." His longtime sound engineer, Bruce Swedien, said that a key part of their recordings involved Jackson and the engineer trying many ways to create different sounds, rhythms, and emotions to achieve a unique "sonic character." His singing style included techniques like short, quick notes (staccato), smooth and flowing notes (legato), high-pitched sounds (falsetto), and unusual vocal effects like hiccups, background sounds, wails, and growls. These techniques became part of his famous sound.

Jackson began singing as a child, and his voice changed over time. Between 1971 and 1975, his voice shifted from a boy soprano to a lyric tenor. He was known for his precise pitch and wide vocal range. Music journalists praised his vocal development with each new album. When he released Off the Wall in the late 1970s, Rolling Stone compared his voice to Stevie Wonder's, saying his "feathery-timbred tenor" was "extraordinarily beautiful" and could smoothly transition to a bold falsetto. When Thriller came out in the early 1980s, Rolling Stone noted his voice had matured into a "fully adult voice" that carried "tinges of sadness." With the release of the introspective album Dangerous, The New York Times wrote that on some tracks, Jackson's voice "quivered with anxiety" or "dropped to a desperate whisper." When singing about themes like brotherhood or self-esteem, he returned to smoother vocals. For Invincible, Rolling Stone wrote that even at age 43, Jackson still performed "exquisitely voiced rhythm tracks and vibrating vocal harmonies." Joseph Vogel noted Jackson's use of non-verbal sounds to express emotion, and Neil McCormick said his singing style was "original and utterly distinctive."

Jackson was influenced by musicians like James Brown, Little Richard, Jackie Wilson, Diana Ross, Fred Astaire, Sammy Davis Jr., Gene Kelly, and David Ruffin. Little Richard had a strong influence on Jackson, but James Brown was his greatest inspiration. As a child, Jackson's mother would wake him whenever Brown appeared on television. Jackson said he was "mesmerized" by Brown's performances.

Diana Ross influenced Jackson's vocal technique. He used the "oooh" sound in his songs, a technique Ross often used with the Supremes. She acted as a mother figure to Jackson, and he often watched her rehearse. He said he learned a lot from observing how she moved and sang, and she encouraged him to build confidence.

Choreographer David Winters, who met Jackson while working on a 1971 Diana Ross TV special, said Jackson watched the musical West Side Story almost every week. It became his favorite film, and he paid tribute to it in "Beat It" and the "Bad" video.

Jackson did not have formal music training and could not read or write musical notes. He is credited with playing guitar, keyboard, and drums, but he was not highly skilled in these instruments. When composing songs, he recorded ideas by beatboxing and imitating instruments with his voice. He explained: "I'll just sing the bass part into the tape recorder. I'll take that bass lick and put the chords of the melody over the bass lick, and that's what inspires the melody." This method was used in his demos for "Beat It" and "Billie Jean," where he vocalized the melody, bass lines, and lead and backing vocals by layering each part. Engineer Robert Hoffman recalled that Jackson once sang every note of every chord to a guitar player after writing a song overnight. Hoffman also remembered Jackson singing string arrangements piece by piece into a cassette recorder.

Jackson began dancing as a young member of the Jackson 5 and included dance in his performances. Sanjoy Roy of The Guardian described Jackson's movements as "flicking and retracting his limbs like switchblades" or "snapping out of a tornado spin into a perfectly poised toe-stand." The moonwalk, taught to him by Jeffrey Daniel, became his signature dance move and one of the most famous of the 20th century. Jackson is credited with naming the move "moonwalk," which was previously called the "backslide." His other moves included the robot, crotch grab, and the "anti-gravity" lean in the "Smooth Criminal" video.

Jackson explored many music genres, including pop, soul, rhythm and blues, funk, rock, disco, post-disco, dance-pop, and new jack swing. Steve Huey of AllMusic wrote that Thriller improved on the strengths of Off the Wall; the dance and rock tracks were more aggressive, while the pop songs and ballads were softer and more soulful. The album included ballads like "The Lady in My Life," "Human Nature," and "The Girl Is Mine," funk songs like "Billie Jean" and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'," and disco tracks like "Baby Be Mine" and "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)."

With Off the Wall, The Guardian's Tom Ewing wrote that Jackson's "vocal tics – the gasps and shudders that punctuate almost every song" gave the impression of a singer "desperate to cut loose and express himself in movement." Christopher Connelly of Rolling Stone noted that with Thriller, Jackson developed a long association with themes of paranoia and darker imagery. AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine highlighted this in songs like "Billie Jean" and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'." In "Billie Jean," Jackson portrays an obsessive fan who claims he is the father of her child, and in "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'," he criticizes gossip and the media. "Beat It" addresses gang violence and was Jackson's first

Honors and awards

Michael Jackson is one of the most successful music artists in history, with record sales estimated between 500 million and over 1 billion worldwide. During his solo career, he had 13 number-one songs in the United States, more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era at the time of his death. He is one of only three artists, along with Paul McCartney and Phil Collins, who sold over 100 million records both as solo artists and as members of bands. He was honored by three U.S. presidents at the White House. In 1984, he received a "Presidential Public Safety Commendation" from Ronald Reagan for his humanitarian work. In 1990, he was named "Artist of the Decade" by George H. W. Bush through the National Children's Museum. In 1992, he was recognized as a "Point of Light Ambassador" by Bush for welcoming underprivileged children to his Neverland Ranch.

Michael Jackson won hundreds of awards and is among the most-awarded artists in popular music. His honors include 39 Guinness World Records, such as "Most Successful Entertainer of All Time," 13 Grammy Awards, the Grammy Legend Award, the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and 26 American Music Awards, including "Artist of the Century" and "Artist of the 1980s." He also received the World Music Awards' "Best Selling Male Artist of the Millennium" and the Bambi Pop Artist of the Millennium Award.

He was added to the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1980 as part of the Jacksons and in 1984 as a solo artist. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame as a member of the Jackson 5 in 1997 and 1999, and again as a solo artist in 2001. In 2002, he was added to the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2010, he became the first artist inducted into the Dance Hall of Fame, and in 2014, he was posthumously inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame. In 2021, he was among the first inductees into the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame.

In 1988, Fisk University gave him an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters. In 1992, he was named a titular king of Sanwi, a traditional kingdom in Ivory Coast. In July 2009, the Lunar Republic Society named a moon crater after him. In August 2009, Google honored him with a Google Doodle on what would have been his 51st birthday. In 2012, a species of extinct hermit crab, Mesoparapylocheles michaeljacksoni, was named in his honor. In 2014, the British Council of Cultural Relations listed his life as one of the 80 most important cultural events of the 20th century. World Vitiligo Day is celebrated on June 25, the anniversary of his death, to raise awareness about the autoimmune condition he lived with.

Earnings

In 1989, Jackson's yearly income from selling albums, advertising deals, and concerts was estimated to be $125 million. In 1996, Forbes reported that Jackson earned about $35 million each year, and in 1997, the amount was $20 million. Jackson was one of the richest celebrities and musicians during his lifetime. His net worth, or total money he owned, varied greatly over time. Some estimates said he had a negative net worth of $285 million in 2002, 2003, and 2007, while others said he had a positive net worth of $350 million. In August 2018, Forbes reported that Jackson earned $4.2 billion in total before taxes during his life and after his death. From sales of his music recordings through Sony, he earned about $300 million in royalties. He might have earned an additional $400 million from concerts, music publishing (including his share of the Beatles catalog), advertising deals, merchandise sales, and music videos.

In 2013, the people managing Jackson's estate filed a legal case in the United States Tax Court because of a disagreement with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) about how much the estate was worth. The estate claimed its value was about $7 million, but the IRS said it was worth more than $1.1 billion. In February 2014, the IRS said Jackson's estate owed $702 million, including $505 million in taxes and $197 million in penalties. In 2021, the Tax Court decided in favor of the estate, stating that the total value of the estate was $111.5 million, with Jackson's name and likeness valued at $4 million.

In 2016, Forbes estimated that the Jackson estate earned $825 million annually, the highest amount ever recorded for a celebrity. This was mainly due to the sale of the Sony/ATV music catalog. In 2018, the estimate was $400 million, and by 2024, it had increased to $600 million. This brought Jackson's total earnings after his death to $3.3 billion. Forbes has regularly listed Jackson as one of the top-earning deceased celebrities, ranking him first from 2010 to 2024, except in 2012, 2021, and 2022.

Discography

• Got to Be There (1972)
• Ben (1972)
• Music and Me (1973)
• Forever, Michael (1975)
• Off the Wall (1979)
• Thriller (1982)
• Bad (1987)
• Dangerous (1991)
• HIStory: Past, Present, and Future, Book I (1995)
• Invincible (2001)

Filmography

• The Wiz (1978)
• Michael Jackson's Thriller (1983)
• Captain EO (1986)
• Moonwalker (1988)
• Michael Jackson: The Legend Continues (1989)
• Michael Jackson's Ghosts (1997)
• Men in Black II (2002)
• Miss Cast Away and the Island Girls (2004)
• Michael Jackson's This Is It (2009)
• Bad 25 (2012)
• Michael Jackson's Journey from Motown to Off the Wall (2016)
• Thriller 40 (2023)