The Michael Jackson estate’s 10 years of trouble and triumph

LOS ANGELES — Ten years ago, entertainment lawyer John Branca and Michael Jackson renewed the partnership that had brought the wealth and status of both men to new heights. Eight days later, Jackson would be dead. Yet his role in Branca’s life would only become larger.

Branca has represented his own pantheon of stars, but considered Jackson history’s greatest entertainer, and had guided him through some of his biggest moments including the King of Pop’s “Thriller” video, his “Bad” tour, and his acquisition of The Beatles’ song catalog.

“Michael and I in the 80s were quite the team,” Branca, now the co-executor of Jackson’s estate, said in an interview with The Associated Press from his Los Angeles office, where he reflected on the chaotic aftermath of Jackson’s death, the pile of debt that Jackson left, the deals that made his name skyrocket in value again, and challenges like the recent documentary “Leaving Neverland” that threatened to sink his reputation again.

After seven years of little contact, Jackson rehired Branca on June 17, 2009, while the singer was rehearsing for his would-be “This Is It” comeback tour. Branca left on a vacation to Mexico, where on June 25 he would get a phone call telling him Jackson was dead at age 50. It was then, he said, that “all hell broke loose.”

As he hurried back to the U.S., Branca had his staff comb the vaults and find a 2002 will he did with Jackson that named him co-executor along with music executive John McClain and left everything to the singer’s mother, his children and charity. It would turn out to be the last will Jackson made, to Branca’s surprise and to the chagrin of much of the Jackson family, who were cut out of both Jackson’s money and control of his legacy.

Jackson left nearly $500 million in debt and a tarnished image despite the singer’s acquittal of child molestation charges in 2005. Through the end of 2016, the estate has grossed more than $1.3 billion, according to the most recent court filings available.

“The estate has been incredibly well run, the numbers speak for themselves,” said Zack O’Malley Greenburg, a senior editor of media and entertainment at Forbes who has reported extensively on the estate. “He’s out-earned pretty much every living entertainer since his death.”

The executors did it with moves that included selling Jackson’s stake in The Beatles and other song catalogs at a massive profit, renegotiating a titanic record deal with Sony, putting out three posthumous albums and creating a pair of hit shows with Cirque du Soleil.

And while the task was not easy, Jackson left them a goldmine of music and dance to draw from.

“This is the most beloved pop star in history worldwide. As good as we might be as managers, we could not have done this for Tommy James and the Shondells,” Branca said with a laugh.