According to a well-timed article in the Wall Street Journal, in the months preceding the untimely but not entirely shocking death of Michael Jackson–be honest people, he hadn't looked healthy 10 years–Neverland Ranch was being cleaned up, fixed up and readied for sale by Colony Capital, the real estate investment company that acquired the gigantic Los Olivos, CA estate last year in some sort of joint effort with Mister Jackson to save the property from foreclosure.
Mister Jackson purchased the 2,600 acre property with it's 13,000 square foot Tudor style main house back in 1987 and proceeded to build his own private wonderland that was really more State Fair than private residence.
Since vacating the property in the aftermath of his last child molestation trial in 2005, the zoo has been emptied out, the carnival rides removed and the contents of the house and his personal property catalogued for a highly publicized exhibition and auction that was cancelled at the last minute due to an agreement between the auction house and Mister Jackson's camp.
The status of the objects is in question but it has been reported (somewhere but we don't recall where) that they are (allegedly) in the possession of Mister Jackson's self-proclaimed spokesman and manager Dr. Tohme R. Tohme (who is not a doctor of any kind) and is not the actual physician who lived with Mister Jackson in his $100,000 per month leased mansion in the Holmby Hills. However, if Michael Jackson's history tells us anything, we should expect that (not a) Dr. Tohme will seek to turn a buck from Mister Jackson's belongings and claim it's for the children.
What will become of Neverland Ranch now is any one's guess but, crass as it may be to say out loud, money is money and Your Mama would bet everything we have the good people at Colony Capital, who reportedly think the property is worth in excess of $70,000,000, will make every effort to cash in on their investment in any way can.
Hold on to your boots children, because it's going to get ugly.
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