Jackson buys Time to Buy Back his ‘Neverland’

Michael Jackson’s Neverland ranch was scheduled to be recently sold at a public auction to make up for the large sum of $24.5 million that the singer owes on the property. But the pop star has managed to work out a 60 day agreement with Fortress Investment Group LLC, to retain ownership of his 2,500 acre property and to postpone the auction until May 14.

This will buy him time to come up with the money owed, or Neverland goes back up for auction.

"That allows us to refinance or sell the property," said Jackson's attorney, L. Londell McMillan, adding that both options are being considered. "We expect to have this matter resolved well before May 14," he said.

While at the peak of his popularity, Jackson bought the property in the bucolic rolling hills of Los Olivos, 150 miles north of Los Angeles, from real estate baron William Bone in 1988.

He beautifully landscaped the area, decorating it with more than a dozen amusement park rides, including a merry-go-round, Ferris wheel and roller coaster and installed a zoo complete with flamingos, giraffes, elephants and orangutans.

Then the ‘King of Pop’ saw his financial empire fall to pieces and he moved out of Neverland. He has not lived on the ranch since his acquittal on child molestation charges in 2005.

Jackson had named ‘Neverland’ after the mythical land of Peter Pan where children never grew up. It was an endeavor, he said, to recreate the childhood he was denied.

A representative of Financial Title Co. of San Francisco, which filed the default notice, did not immediately return a call for comment.

Among those rumored to be interested in the property are soccer star David Beckham, according to Kim Morrison, one of the administrators of a private school located across the road from Neverland.

"It would be nice to have Beckham there," said Morrison, although she quickly added that Jackson "was always a good neighbor."