FORTUNES AFTER DEATH

Michael Jackson is worth even more in death, as his estate has netted made more than $1bn (£677m) since his passing a year ago, says the Billboard.

The magazine says Jackson's album sales have generated about $383m (£259m), while revenue from the film This Is It has hit nearly $400m (£271m).

Profits from publishing rights, licensing and touring are also included in the total.

A new recording contract is estimated to have made $31m (£21m) so far.

The Sony Music Entertainment deal will see 10 albums of the late singer's music released over the next seven years, including one of previously unreleased material.

The estate is guaranteed between $200m (£135m) and $250m (£169.5m) for the deal but Billboard believes approximately $31m (£21m) of this will have been paid in the last 12 months.

Despite the This Is It tour never getting off the ground, revenue from tickets retained by fans as souvenirs and not refunded brought in about $6.5m (£4.4m), with merchandise raking in $5m (£3.4m), although concert promoter AEG has a cut of these profits.

Jackson's music publishing company, Mijac, currently has a value of around $150m (£102m), according to Billboard.

The magazine said Mijac could have generated as much as $50m (£33.9m) in the last year.

Jackson's estate also owns half of music publishing company, Sony/ATV.

Barry Massarsky of Massarsky Consulting estimated that Jackson's share of Sony/ATV's revenue is $80m (£54.3m) a year.

Other profits have come from DVD sales and rentals, downloads, royalties and ringtones.

Jackson died on 25 June last year at the age of 50.

Posted By: Mayor Timo I Source: BBC World News

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A GOOD LUCK FACE

Posted By: Mayor Timo

Wealthy Chinese men want what most rich guys want in a potential mate: good looks.

But they also want something special: a good-luck face.

According to an article in China Daily, 1,000 women competed in a dating contest in Guangzhou for the chance to meet a single millionaire. The finalists get to date a single guy with a guaranteed net worth of at least $7 million.

To impress, one bachelor flashed his private plane, while another promised a Porsche to the lucky winner. (This is, after all, a country with a third more millionaires than it had a year ago, and 32 million more men than women.)

The article said the women, age 28 to 30, “will be selected on the basis of their looks, temperament and character.” They will also have to take psychological tests and get grilled on their family background.

But the clincher is the face. Apparently, feng shui masters will inspect each woman to determine if she has a “wang fu” or good-luck face.

“So far, only a fifth have survived the first round–with most failing the ‘face’ test–and will now move on to showcase their other talents,” the article says.

Apparently, these high-end hook-ups are becoming increasingly popular in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen. And it has angered some traditionalists.

“It feels much the same as an emperor selecting his concubines out of a row of girls in ancient times,” said one office worker. “The only difference is that it’s now for the wealthy class, not the emperor.”

If they think that is bad, wait till China gets the syndicated re-runs of the “Millionaire Matchmaker” or “The Bachelor” in China. Or maybe Jake Pavelka should look for the good-luck face next time around.

Source: The Wealth Report

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