After Michael Jackson's 2005 Trial, He Abandoned His Controversial Neverland Ranch. Here's What Happened to the Property Next

The property was equipped with a Ferris wheel, a petting zoo, a movie theater and several trains

NEED TO KNOW

• Michael Jackson transformed Neverland Ranch into a 2,700-acre entertainment complex with a Ferris wheel and petting zoo
• The singer abandoned the home following his 2005 child molestation trial
• The property was sold in 2020 for $22 million after being listed for $100 million in 2015

Michael Jackson lived at his famous Neverland Ranch for nearly 20 years.

Named for the mythical land of Peter Pan, Michael's estate — where the singer resided from 1988 to 2005 — featured a 13,000-square-foot French country home, a movie theater, a lake, a train station, an amusement park with a Ferris wheel and a petting zoo with llamas, chimps and other animals, per The New York Times.

At the height of his popularity, Michael would invite thousands of children to come play on the grounds. According to his sister La Toya Jackson in her 2011 book Starting Over, the ranch served to recapture the typical childhood that the singer never got to live out.

“Neverland was a living fairy tale, which Michael created to finally have a normal childhood and life for himself,” she wrote.

However, in 2003, his home was raided by police as part of an investigation into the nature of Michael's friendship with a 13-year-old boy, per The Guardian. (Michael was acquitted of all charges in 2005, according to The New York Times.) Following his death, the 2019 documentary Leaving Neverland detailed Wade Robson and James Safechuck's allegations of sexual molestation, which they claimed happened on the property.

According to La Toya, Michael vowed never to return to his former home after his 2005 trial. “I hate this place,” he said, per her book. “I can't stand it. I never want to see it again. Never. I'll never come back here.” He died on June 25, 2009, at the age of 50, without ever returning to the ranch.

Here's everything to know about what happened to Neverland Ranch after Michael Jackson's death.

What is Neverland Ranch?

Neverland Ranch is a 2,700-acre property located in Los Olivos, Calif., where Michael famously resided for 17 years.

According to The New York Times, the pop star paid $17 million for the estate in 1988. He subsequently poured $35 million into transforming the property into his own personal “entertainment complex,” with his 65-foot Ferris wheel alone costing $215,000, per The Denver Post.

Named for Peter Pan's fictional island, it became known for the whimsical features Michael added to the grounds, including a 50-seat movie theater, a petting zoo housing 50 different species of animals and a life-size train that ran throughout the ranch, per Money. The grounds' accompanying train station and gardens were reportedly modeled after the entrance to Disneyland's Magic Kingdom.

La Toya attributed Michael's unusual home additions to his desire to experience “normal things.”

“He would never have been able to [enjoy] a trip to the movies or the zoo, in the real world,” she wrote in her book. “So he created every possible source of entertainment he could desire for himself inside his own private world.”

According to Michael's daughter, Paris Jackson, the property's features were used as a reward for good behavior for her and brothers Prince and Bigi Jackson.

“We couldn't just go on the rides whenever we wanted to. … we had to be good,” she told Rolling Stone in January 2017. “If we were good, every other weekend or so, we could choose whether we were gonna go to the movie theater or see the animals or whatever. But if you were on bad behavior, then you wouldn't get to go do all those things."

Why did police raid Neverland Ranch?

In the 2003 documentary Living with Michael Jackson, Michael was pictured holding hands with Gavin Arvizo, who was 13 years old and recovering from cancer at the time. The film subsequently triggered an investigation into the nature of the relationship between Michael and Arvizo, and, in November 2003, more than 40 police officers raided Neverland Ranch, per The Guardian.

Michael was indicted on 10 criminal counts including child molestation, abduction, false imprisonment and extortion, per NPR, but was acquitted of all charges in June 2005, according to The New York Times.

Ten years later, Safechuck and Robson claimed in the 2019 documentary Leaving Neverland that the property was equipped with multiple hidden rooms and secret spaces in which they alleged that Michael sexually abused them.

What happened to Neverland Ranch?

In November 2008, Michael defaulted on a $24.5 million loan for Neverland Ranch, per The New York Times.

Despite having physically abandoned the estate in 2005, the outlet reported that The Wiz star's fund management company, Colony Capital, then put his home into a new coventure that allowed it to remain partly in Michael's possession.

Following Michael's death, Colony Capital removed many of its key assets, such as the petting zoo and rides, per Rolling Stone.

In 2017, Neverland Ranch was reverted back to its original name of Sycamore Valley Ranch, per Billboard. Sycamore Valley Ranch is what the property was called when it was first introduced to Michael by Paul McCartney, who was staying there, in the late ‘80s.

It changed hands once more in 2020, when it was sold for $22 million.

Who owns Neverland Ranch now?

Michael's financial advisor, investment billionaire Ron Burkle, bought the King of Pop's former home in 2020 for $22 million.

The price was severely marked down from its initial listing price of $100 million in 2015 and $67 million in 2017. It fell to $31 million in 2019.

According to the Associated Press, Burkle saw Neverland Ranch as a “land banking opportunity.”

Is Neverland Ranch in the Michael Jackson biopic?

On April 24, Michael — a biopic about Michael starring his nephew, Jaafar Jackson — hit theaters. According to SF Gate, fans may get a glimpse of Neverland Ranch in the film.

A film permit activity list obtained by the outlet stated that shooting took place from April 15 to May 1, 2024, at the property from 6 a.m. to midnight for “dialogue, petting zoo, stunt.”

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