Michal Jackson's ever-famous Neverland Ranch finds itself a new host to a man who is swimming with dollars—Ron Burkle.
The Neverland Ranch says goodbye to the memories of Michael Jackson
The Neverland Ranch has a new owner after going on sale in the market for five long years. The deal was made after numerous price cuts and rebranding missions that will make the property enticing amid its controversial and most talked past.
According to Yahoo, the late singer's famous ranch was bought by billionaire Ron Burkle for $22 million, a price of $3.5 million higher when Michael bought it in 1987.
The billionaire businessman is now the ranch's proud owner, possessing the 2,700-acre property located in Los Olivos, California. That said, the deal comes in handy with Ron seeing the ranch as a land banking opportunity, as stated by his spokesman on Christmas Eve, Dec. 24 (Thursday).
How did Ron Burkle buy Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch?
The Wall Street Journal finds that Ron is an associate of the late pop superstar and is the co-founder of the Yucaipa Companies investment firm. He is wealthy as anyone could imagine by buying and selling grocery store chains and holding investments in the United Kingdom and the United States talent agencies.
Ron's recent investment scheme was made on a Beverly Hills-based APA agency through his firm Yucaipa Companies.
To date, he is now the ranch owner, of which the starting price of $100 million in 2016 dropped to $67 million after a year. It houses a 12,500 square-foot main building and a 3,700 square-foot pool house.
It also is home to a 50-seat movie theater and an enormous dance studio. Besides entertainment, physical leisure can also be enjoyed in the ranch as it stands a Disney-inspired train station, a barn, and a firehouse.
The swerving price of the Neverland Ranch
As mentioned above, the property was first listed at $100 million but went down to $67 million in 2017 after failing to find a potential buyer, per CNN. In 2019, the price went back up for $31 million, but eventually was sold for $22 million, although the price was not stated.
The Neverland Ranch was corporately owned by the late singer's estate and a fund managed by Colony Capital, a real estate investment trust.
During that time, agent Kyle Forsyth is the one who shared the property's listing with Suzanne Perkins. "Everyone pulled back for about a year in general," he said last year. Also, Forsyth declared that he is no longer connected with Colony Capital or the ranch's listing.