That after four platinum albums, more than 100 million albums sold [second only to the Beatles] and while pioneering a multimedia empire that spanned radio, TV, cartoons and magazines, the Jackson brothers are broke...They say Tito Jackson, 55, formed a blues band several years ago and plays at small venues for $500 to $1,500 a gig. Michael Jackson, 49, is on the verge of losing Neverland ranch as well as the family's Encino, Calif., home, and that he's hiding out in Las Vegas and repeatedly makes promises to his brothers while sabotaging any attempts by them to ply their musical trade. Randy Jackson, 46, does odd jobs like changing tires to support himself. He was Michael's business manager during the 2005 molestation trial but ran into serious problems with friends after he persuaded three people to take out lines of credits against their homes to help Michael pay his attorney fees and Michael stiffed them. Marlon Jackson, 51,lives in San Diego, where he works stocking groceries at a Vons supermarket. He fell on hard times three years ago when he was forced to leave his foreclosed home and move into an Extended Stay America hotel with his wife, Carol. Jackie Jackson, 56, started an Internet clothing business and is trying to produce records by his sons. So far nothing has panned out. Jermaine Jackson, 54, splits time between the parents' Hayvenhurst mansion and his girlfriend's home in the San Fernando Valley. With more than $5 million in federal, state and other liens against him and a 1995 bankruptcy filing, he doesn't work or have a regular income.
They say a slew of bad investments; poor advice, bankruptcy, stubborn pride, divorces, IRS debt, and child support have left the family in financial ruins. They say too, that when Michael celebrated 30 years in the music industry with two star-studded concerts in Madison Square Garden, he paid Marlon Brando $1 million just to show up, gave five- and six-figure fees to artists such as Whitney Houston, Usher, Britney Spears and Destiny's Child to perform, but had his brothers sign a contract that would pay them only $1,100 each. Then Michael charged the brothers for hotel and travel, and the siblings were never paid their performance fees, according to them.
The girls, however, aren't doing that bad. Janet Jackson, 41, said to be worth upwards of $150 million, bought her mother a home in Las Vegas in anticipation of losing the family's mansion, Hayvenhurst, to foreclosure. They say, like their Neverland colleagues, workers at Hayvenhurst have not been paid for months. La Toya Jackson, 52, the family turncoat who declared Michael guilty during the 1993 molestation case, a millionaire in her own right, earns a living mostly in Europe and in the UAE judging beauty and singing contests. She lives with a wealthy boyfriend in Beverly Hills and has little contact with her siblings, and Rebbie Jackson, 57, is married to successful businessman Nathaniel Brown.
