Los Angeles, California – October 17, 2025 – In a dramatic courtroom revelation that’s reignited the saga of Michael Jackson’s sprawling legacy, new filings disclose that the pop icon’s daughter, Paris Jackson, has pocketed approximately $65 million in benefits from his estate over the past 16 years—funds that executors credit to their savvy stewardship of a once-bankrupt fortune now valued at over $2 billion.
The eye-popping figure surfaced in an October 9 motion filed by estate co-executors John Branca and John McClain in Los Angeles Superior Court, firing back at Paris’s June petition questioning “premium payouts” and bonuses totaling $625,000 to three law firms in 2018 for unrecorded attorney hours. “Few have benefited more from the Executors’ business judgment than Petitioner herself, who has received roughly $65 million from the Estate in benefits,” the document asserts, underscoring that Paris “would have never received that had the Executors followed a typical playbook for an estate like this one in July 2009.” At the time of Michael’s overdose death on June 25, 2009, the King of Pop was saddled with over $500 million in debts to more than 65 creditors, leaving his three children—Prince, 28, Paris, 27, and Bigi (formerly Blanket), 23—as heirs to a financial house of cards.
Paris, the middle child and a rising musician and model who’s navigated her own spotlight struggles including mental health battles and a 2020 suicide attempt, fired the first shot in June by alleging the estate “failed to provide adequate responses” on the payouts, seeking to overturn a 2010 court order allowing executors to greenlight legal fees without prior approval. Her move, which also flags delays in the executors’ responses to court queries, comes amid broader turbulence: In August 2024, a Los Angeles appeals court greenlit the estate’s $600 million partial sale of Michael’s music catalog to Sony Music Group, a deal hailed as a cornerstone of its revival. Yet, the estate faces fresh threats, including a $400 million damages suit from alleged abuse accusers Wade Robson and James Safechuck—claims the estate vehemently denies, insisting Michael was innocent.
Executors, undeterred, tout their track record: From Michael’s debt-ridden demise, they’ve ballooned the estate into a “powerhouse and a force in the music business,” generating over $3 billion through licensing deals, the blockbuster Cirque du Soleil show Michael Jackson: One, and catalog reissues. They defend the 2018 bonuses—peanuts, they argue, against a single year’s $290 million haul—as rewards for “instrumental” work, like a $287 million windfall from an EMI investment. Attorneys Jonathan Steinsapir and others slam Paris’s challenge as untimely and a violation of California’s anti-SLAPP law against frivolous suits, urging dismissal. “The Executors are confident these payments were appropriate and approved by the Probate Court,” estate lawyer Steinsapir affirmed.
The disclosure has sent ripples through Hollywood and beyond, with fans and family watchers dissecting the irony: Paris, who once symbolized her father’s reclusive final years under nanny Grace Rwaramba’s care, now stands as a prime beneficiary of the very machine she’s scrutinizing. Social media erupted, with #ParisJacksonEstate trending on X, where users marveled at the sum—“From broke to boss-level glow-up for MJ’s kids”—while others speculated on her brothers’ hauls, though filings focus solely on Paris. Brother Prince, a philanthropist dabbling in film, and reclusive Bigi, fresh off a short film award, remain low-key amid the fray.
Paris, touring with her band The Kellys and prepping a sophomore album after her 2020 debut Wilted, has yet to publicly address the filing—reps for her and the estate didn’t respond to requests for comment by press time. But in a nod to her advocacy roots, she recently spoke on transparency in family legacies during a September podcast, saying, “Questioning the gatekeepers isn’t disloyalty—it’s protecting what Dad built.”
As the probate battle looms—potentially reshaping payouts for all heirs—this chapter underscores the enduring enigma of Michael’s empire: A testament to genius, guarded by lawyers, and fueled by the very conflicts that once shadowed the Thriller maestro. For Paris, the $65 million isn’t just inheritance; it’s a high-stakes reminder that even in death, the beat goes on.
GlobalWire Entertainment Desk. Court documents and filings reviewed for this report.