The family of Michael Jackson, who died in 2009, has won a case from the US tax authorities. The judge ruled that the singer’s reputation was not worth $ 434 million ($ 361 million), but about $ 4 million.
The lawsuit brought by the singer’s family concerned the singer’s ‘ image and likeness ‘ about which the tax authorities wanted money. That value was estimated at $ 434 million by comparing it with an artist like Elvis Presley and the possibilities for musicals, theme parks and movies.
However, the family said that this was not a fair comparison, as Jackson’s image had already suffered badly from the various allegations of sexual abuse and thus interest in such projects was significantly less. They first estimated the value at about $ 2,000, but later came back with an amount of about $ 3 million.
The judge has now decided in favor of the family because, according to the 250-page conclusion . “the possibilities mentioned by the IRS (the US tax authorities, ed.) are not realistic in the case of Jackson”.
The judge estimated the value of Jackson’s shares in New Horizon Trust III and II at about $ 107 million, but those shares have become worthless, according to the judge, because he still had outstanding liabilities of about $ 89 million at the time he passed away.