Never say Never. Michael Jackson’s troubled Neverland ranch has found a new owner.
Billionaire Ron Burkle, co-founder of investment firm Yucaipa Companies and a former associate of Jackson, bought the Los Olivos, Calif. Property for $ 22 million, reports the Wall Street Journal.
In addition to clinging to about 2,700 acres and a nearly 12,000 square foot mansion – among the many structures on the property – Burkle has also struck a deal. The property hit the market for the first time in 2015 for an incredible $ 100 million.
Thereafter, the spread languished in the market. In 2017, he went back on sale asking for $ 67 million, after a massive price cut of $ 33 million. In 2019, it was quoted at $ 31 million, the newspaper added.
In addition to the property’s extensive scale, it is also replete with amenities – such as a 50-seat cinema, a basketball court and several guest houses – that have long been the subject of dark stories.
In 2016, a report emerged alleging that Jackson kept a locked cabinet in an inn full of pictures of naked boys and children’s toys. Most recently, the 2019 documentary “Leaving Neverland” focused on the stories of two men, Wade Robson and James Safechuck, who claimed that Jackson sexually abused them as children at Neverland Ranch, as well as elsewhere.
Jackson, who died at the age of 50 in 2009 from an acute drug overdose, stopped visiting Neverland after his 2005 acquittal of child sexual abuse charges. While on sale, Neverland was renamed Sycamore Valley Ranch in an apparent effort to rid the property of its disturbing legacy. Jackson bought it for about $ 19.5 million in 1987, and gave it fantasy touches of “Peter Pan” by adding an amusement park, which has since been removed.
Jackson’s estate co-owned Neverland with a fund managed by the real estate investment fund Colony Capital. According to the Journal, Jackson failed to pay a loan secured by the ranch and Colony purchased the note in 2008, which placed the bond in a joint venture. Burkle was Jackson’s adviser on business affairs in the mid-2000s, the Journal added, at a time when Jackson was trying to avoid a financial meltdown due in part to his luxurious lifestyle.
The property is located 30 minutes from the center of Santa Bárbara and has 22 structures in total, including a three-bedroom inn with a fireplace.