Michael Jackson was forced to give up the deeds to his famous Neverland ranch in November 2008, as a result of a downturn in his fortune. At the peak of his fame, the superstar invited thousands of children to play in the grounds and struck up close friendships with a number of young boys, which later resulted in child abuse allegations in 1993 and again in 2003.

Although the first dispute ended in an out of court settlement and the second in his acquittal, the cases took a heavy toll on his health, career and finances. Following his 2003 arrest on charges of molesting a 13-year-old boy, his empire began to crumble and Jackson was forced to sell most of his music publishing holdings to Sony and, in 2006, to close the main house on the Neverland ranch and relocate to Bahrain.