# How did Michael Jackson manage to live like a superstar while being effectively broke? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 11, 2009, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-michael-jackson-manage-to-live-like-a-superstar-while-being-effectively-broke/506029 "2009-08-11T04:11:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2009, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-michael-jackson-manage-to-live-like-a-superstar-while-being-effectively-broke/506029/21 "2009-08-12T01:15:10Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > In every state I’ve lived in (5 so far) it usually takes 90 days/three months from requesting eviction of a tenant to when it actually happens - assuming some legal challenge doesn’t delay it even further. Right. But, if I pay my rent every single month on time…and then, one day, I pay it one day late…can’t the rent man give me the boot? I have no clue where I got that idea, but it is in my head. I wonder if my own rentman at some point told me that. I thought they had the right to evict for whatever they want to, actually. As long as they give you a certain amount of time to leave. (and 90 days sounds awfully long to me. I could swear it was a much shorter time than that.) I’m gonna try to google it, even though I my google-fu is so weak. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2009, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-michael-jackson-manage-to-live-like-a-superstar-while-being-effectively-broke/506029/22 "2009-08-12T02:22:33Z")
Stop arguing about rent law. That’s ignrnt. Get back to Michael and stop being ignrnt. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2009, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-michael-jackson-manage-to-live-like-a-superstar-while-being-effectively-broke/506029/23 "2009-08-12T13:08:47Z")
> [@Napier](#): > > Stop arguing about rent law. That’s ignrnt. Get back to Michael and stop being ignrnt. The word is “ignant.” ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2009, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-michael-jackson-manage-to-live-like-a-superstar-while-being-effectively-broke/506029/24 "2009-08-12T13:57:58Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > Right. But, if I pay my rent every single month on time…and then, one day, I pay it one day late…can’t the rent man give me the boot? I have no clue where I got that idea, but it is in my head. I wonder if my own rentman at some point told me that. > > I thought they had the right to evict for whatever they want to, actually. As long as they give you a certain amount of time to leave. (and 90 days sounds awfully long to me. I could swear it was a much shorter time than that.) > > I’m gonna try to google it, even though I my google-fu is so weak. It depends completely on the state. Massachusetts has very strong tenant’s rights laws for example and it is pretty hard to evict someone. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2009, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-michael-jackson-manage-to-live-like-a-superstar-while-being-effectively-broke/506029/25 "2009-08-12T14:40:37Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > It depends completely on the state. Massachusetts has very strong tenant’s rights laws for example and it is pretty hard to evict someone. Ok. Since I don’t know what is up with NYS, I’m just gonna go ahead and always pay my rent early. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2009, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-michael-jackson-manage-to-live-like-a-superstar-while-being-effectively-broke/506029/26 "2009-08-12T14:44:00Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > It’s kind of like, if I am going down the tubes toward bankruptcy and I have $2,000 left on my credit limit on my VISA card, hey why not charge it all up. Just a side note: Bankruptcy judges REALLY don’t like when you do this. Any buying sprees immediately before filing look like you said “screw it”, and will often cause the judge to reject your filing. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2009, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-michael-jackson-manage-to-live-like-a-superstar-while-being-effectively-broke/506029/27 "2009-08-12T14:47:50Z")
Another important factor to remember about Jackson is he always had income. He was collecting royalties on a consistent basis for his own music and the rights he had bought. So people could loan him money with some confidence that they would eventually get paid as long as they could put a lien on those future royalties. Jackson essentially mortgaged away his future income in order to maximize his present income. And then he died. So I suppose you can argue that he managed his finances well. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2009, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-michael-jackson-manage-to-live-like-a-superstar-while-being-effectively-broke/506029/28 "2009-08-12T15:19:02Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > Canadian laws allow landlords to throw people out in the street after missing one payment? Must be a line at the border for real estate investors from the US who want to buy houses to rent. Funny thing about housing and rental laws: complaints have to go through a tribunal (at least here in Ontario). For example, I met a girl who lost her apartment because she got a cat. That’s illegal. But it was six months before the Ontario Housing Tribunal heard the case and by then she’d been living with her mom and someone else had been living in her apartment for six months (and the tribunal was not about to evict the new tenant). So best case scenario, she got some reimbursement for her moving costs (which the landlord never paid). I can totally see an “at risk” individual who is living on the fringe getting thrown out for being a day late with his rent. Sure he legally have the right to fight his eviction in court, but do you really think that’s going to happen? It’s not like the guy has the resources to get help, and he’s homeless in the meantime anyway. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-michael-jackson-manage-to-live-like-a-superstar-while-being-effectively-broke/506029.md?page=1)