Neverland Ranch Still Michael Jackson's Property
By Jane Ivory
15:31, May 13th 2008
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Neverland Ranch Still Michael Jackson's Property

The foreclosure auction of Michael Jackson’s famous Neverland Ranch in Los Angeles has been canceled, after an investment company stepped in and bough the loan, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday.

Reports of Michael Jackson risking to lose his famed Neverland Ranch unless he paid a balance estimated at $24.5 million surfaced in late February. Should he fail to cover the debt, the 2,800-acre ranch was to be foreclosed and sold at a public auction on March 19.

In March, Jackson reached an agreement with his creditors, Fortress Investment Group, to postpone the auction until this week, reports the Los Angeles Times, an agreement that has apparently led to the rescue of his home. The auction was scheduled for Wednesday, May 14.

The 49-year-old pop star said in a statement that he was “pleased with recent developments involving Neverland” that would “allow me to focus on the future.”

While Jackson seems set to focus on the future, Neverland has long been part of his life. He acquired the Santa Barbara County property in 1988 for $28 million and named it after J. M. Barrie’s Peter Pan stories, which tell of a magical island where children never grow up.

Transformed into an amusement park, it includes a zoo, a merry-go-round, Ferris wheel and roller coaster, as well as statues of Peter Pan characters. The singer reportedly acquired exotic animals which he kept on the ranch.

He has not lived there over the past couple of years, ever since his acquittal in 2005 on charges of child molestation. There have been problems with the ranch before, when in 2006 state authorities ordered the property shuttered and fined Jackson for failing to pay his employees or maintain proper insurance.

Jackson moved to Bahrain in 2005, with his three children, and was a guest of the crown prince.

He has long been rumored to move back to the States and attempt a career resuscitation. In February, the King of Pop celebrated the 25th anniversary of his historical “Thriller” album, with Sony-BMG releasing a special extended edition which fared well on the Billboard chart.



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