Billionaire Ron Burkle Buys Michael Jackson’s Neverland Estate

As indicated by reports, the Neverland Ranch of the late pop star Michael Jackson has been sold to Billionaire and investor Ron Burkle for a fourth of its underlying asking price.

Burkle, who was a friend of Jackson, recently purchased the bequest in Los Olivos, California, for $22m rather than the real cost of (£16.2m) for the Neverland Ranch. The arrangement went on with three familiar people available.

The 2,700-section of land (1,100 hectare) compound was first put on sale for $100m in 2015. From that point forward Neverland, north of Santa Barbara city, has been here and there the market, listed most as of late a year ago at the lower cost of $31m.

The King of Pop Music, Michael Jackson initially paid about $19.5m for Neverland, which he named after an anecdotal island where children never grow up in ‎JM Barrie’s Peter Pan story.

Jackson, who was prevalently known as Wacko Jacko purchased the bequest as his own home in 1987 but struggled to pay for it. Afterward, he transformed the place into an entertainment complex, and constructed a zoo and carnival on the site, where he consistently engaged children and their families.

Meanwhile, during the 1990s and 2000s, the estate became the centre of various investigations into child sexual assault allegations against Jackson. The Pop star denied claims by Santa Barbara investigators that he had utilized Neverland as a dreamland to prep little children.

In 2005, Jackson was tried and absolved of charges of mishandling a 13-year-old kid at the estate. Since his passing in June 2009, Jackson has been the subject of additional maltreatment claims, including those made for a narrative called Leaving Neverland in 2019. Neverland has been rebranded as Sycamore Valley Ranch and has gone through broad redevelopment since Jackson’s death.

For 68 year old Investor Burkle, he saw the Jackson’s Neverland as a wise investment spot, and a land banking opportunity. Thus, opted to purchase it.

Ron Burkle is co-founder and managing partner of Yucaipa Companies, LLC, a private investment firm. His net worth as of 24 December 2020 was estimated to be $1.4bn, according to a profile by American business magazine Forbes.