Sold: Neverland Ranch
Michael Jackson, recording artist and entertainer, has reportedly sold his child-like fantasy home The Neverland Ranch in Santa Barbara, California (120 Miles Northwest of Los Angeles) for $35 million. Sycamore Valley Ranch Company, a company based in Delaware is reportedly a joint venture between Jackson and an affiliate of Colony Capital LLC. This information is unconfirmed at the time of posting because it was reported to the AP from a source unauthorized to speak on the record about the deal.
Neverland, which rests on 2,800 acres has been home to the King of Pop since 1988 when he designed it to be an amusement park. He established a zoo, a Ferris wheel and a roller-coaster. At the height of his popularity, he invited thousands of kids to come play at his ranch.
Jackson defaulted on the $24.5 million he owes on the property and was facing foreclosure. Colony Capital bailed him out earlier this year by purchasing his loan. Colony Capital, based in Los Angeles is a real estate investment company run by billionaire Tom Barrack.
It is rumored that Jackson has upwards of $300 million in debt and legal fees, so this sale for (a measly) $35 million won’t help too much but I suppose it will cover a few legal fees, of which Jackson has incurred many.
He named the ranch Neverland after the fictional world of Peter Pan to create the child’s world that he feels he was denied by being a child star. Michael Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana in 1958.
