3 Things Michael Jackson Taught Us About Money

Let me start by saying I grew up with Michael Jackson's music and while I am sad about both his life and death, I think the musical gift God gave him to share with the world is undeniable.

I believe in learning fromour mistakes so we can try not to repeat them. While reading some of the news stories on the state of the King of Pop's finances, I realized there are 3 lessons we can all learn from him.

1. It doesn't matter how much or how little you have. What matters is how you manage what you have.

Most of us feel that having lots of money would solve our money problems. The truth is that if you can't manage $500, you can't manage $5,000,000. As Michael's money grew, his appetite for things grew and because he had little self control in that area, he spent what he made. Only instead of going to the mall and buying Jordan's, he bought cars and houses.

"For unto whomsoever much is given, of him much shall be required" Luke 12:48

The more money you have, the more discipline you need

2. The problems you don't resolve will eventually undo the good decisions you've made.

Great Decision:

"One of Jackson’s shrewdest deals at the height of his fame in 1985 was the $47.5 million acquisition of ATV Music, which owned the copyright to songs written by the Beatles’ John Lennon and Paul McCartney. " Associated Press

Bad Decision:

"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 $95 million. Then in 2001, he used his half of the ATV assets as collateral to secure $200 million in loans from Bank of America." Associated Press

Michael's acquisition of ATV Music was a great decision. However a habit of poor money management put him in the bad position to have sell off and borrow against this very valuable asset. If he had not spent his current money, he would not have had to borrow against money he had set aside for his future.

3. Don't spend everything

"Jackson'sfinancial problem stems from the fact he continued to spend tens of millions of dollars a year even as his musical output—and his income—slowed down. In recent years Jackson financed these personal debts by borrowing against assets, and by some estimates his total borrowings at his death may have exceeded $400 million." Newsweek

This makes me the saddest of all. Michael didn't do one of the most basic things he could have done to ensure his financial prosperity would continue regardless of his album sales. He didn't save any money. Because of that, his life was culturally enriching for us but not financially profitable for him.

My most sincere condolences to the Jackson Family. Michael will continue to be missed.

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