by Jeroslyn JoVonn
October 17, 2025
The executors say they transformed what was once a heavily indebted estate into a business empire.
After Paris Jackson raised questions about payments from Michael Jackson’s estate to law firms the executors disclosed that the King of Pop’s daughter has received $65 million in benefits.
An Oct. 9 court filing from Michael Jackson’s estate revealed Paris’s benefits as part of a motion by the estate’s executors, responding to her legal challenge over their management and transparency, People reports. After Paris accused the executors of making “premium payouts” to three law firms in 2018, they noted that she remains one of the top beneficiaries of her late father’s estate.
“Few have benefited more from the Executors’ business judgment than Petitioner herself, who has received roughly $65 million from the Estate in benefits,” the filing says. “She would have never received that had the Executors followed a typical playbook for an estate like this one in July 2009.”
The executors say they transformed what was once a heavily indebted estate, with Michael Jackson owing $500 million at the time of his death, into a thriving, “$2 billion estate” that is “a powerhouse and a force in the music business today.”
In June, Paris, 27, filed a petition challenging $625,000 in “gifts” and “gratuities” paid to three law firms in 2018 for what she called “uncaptured time.” The filing states that two of the firms received their full “premium payments,” violating a court order that allowed only partial attorney fee payments until court approval.
In their recent motion, the executors stated that the bonuses paid to the law firms were for “extraordinary services and results” that were “instrumental and critical in helping the Executors achieve unprecedented outcomes for the Estate, including, among other things, over $287 million in returns from the EMI investment.”
When Paris filed her challenge against the executors, Jonathan Steinsapir, attorney for Michael Jackson’s estate, defended the payments, stating they were consistent with decade-long practices and had been approved by a probate court.
“The Executors’ approval of payments to attorneys have been made with the same business judgment that has earned this Estate over $3 billion,” Steinsapir said.
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