Friday, June 26, 2009

The Loss and Liabilities of the King of Pop

“Like a comet blazing through the evening sky, gone too soon…”

The King of Pop, Michael Jackson is dead. News have shocked and deeply saddened fans across the world as the fifty year old music icon was found not breathing and in a coma when emergency paramedics arrived.

His personal physician was apparently trying to resuscitate him. Jackson was taken to the UCLA Medical Center where attending doctors tried to revive the musician for over an hour. It was announced that he died of a cardiac arrest.

Cardiac arrest is an abnormal heart rhythm that stops the heart from pumping blood to the body. It can occur after a heart attack or be caused by other heart problems.

The news came as a shock to everyone as Jackson was busy preparing for his comeback. He was reportedly in a healthy physical condition after a medical screening and was rehearsing for a series of shows in London's O2 Arena

The concerts had been scheduled to kick off July 13 all of which have been booked and sold out.

Even while the whole world mourns the loss of such a wonderful talent, a lot of questions still remain up in the air.

Jackson has three children, Prince Michael 7, Michael Joseph Jackson Jr., 12, and daughter Paris Michael Katherine, 11. At the time he died, he was also deeply in debt which is estimated to be around $400 million.

The massive debt is attributed to his years of excessive spending and little work. He has not toured since 1997 or released a new album since 2001, but continued to live an opulent lifestyle, spending $30 million more annually than he was earning.

Jackson has also amassed a debt of unpaid wages, lawsuits and unpaid keep on Neverland Ranch. Technically, it’s going to be a legal nightmare to find out what’s going to happen to Michael Jackson’s assets and liabilities as well as possible contractual obligations.

Under the laws of contract, excuses for non-performance is as follows: mistake, misrepresentation, frustration of purpose, impossibility, impracticality, illegality, unclean hands, and unconscionability.

The death of Michael will doubtless ripple through the industry. His massive debt will also take much, if not most of his fortune and estate.

He may have found peace in his sudden rest but for his family, handlers, and associates, his death is only the beginning.

Michael the Moonwalker and the man who had magic with music may have gone too soon but everything he’s left behind, from music to memories and everything else in between will remain.