It’s been one year since the world was rocked by news that theKing of Pop, Michael Jackson, had passed away. In that time, much of the reporting about his finances focused on what the pop icon did wrong. For instance, only $70 million of his reported $500 million indebtedness has been paid off, AP reports. However, there are many financial moves Michael Jackson got right. The documentary, Michael Jackson's This is It based on his final concert rehearsal footage, has sold more than 5 million DVDs worldwide and Sony Music, Jackson’s record company grossed $252 million. In fact, his estate has earned more than $250 million alone in the year since he died thanks to attorney John Branca and music executive John McClain, who are building several new streams of income, including sales of a video game and through many licensing agreements. Although Jackson's executors manage millions of dollars, his estate planning requirements aren’t too different from what the average Joe or Jane should be doing. You may not have Jackson’s millions, but estate planning attorney Wynne Whitman, a partner with Schenck, Price, Smith & King L.L.P., and the author of Smart Women Protect their Assets (FT Press; $13.99), recommends four things you can do that Jackson did to ensure that his children and his legacy would be financially secure. (Source: MichaelJackson.com/us).
Marcia is a multimedia content producer focusing on technology at Black Enterprise Magazine. In this capacity she writes and assigns stories to educate readers about social media; digital integration; gadgets, apps, and software for business and professional development; minority tech startups; and careers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics).
In 2012, she received two Salute to Excellence Awards from the National Association of Black Journalists and was recognized by Blacks in Technology (BiT) as one of the Top 10 Black achievers in the tech arena for 2011 at SXSW in Austin, Texas. She has spoken about technology on panels for New York Social Media Week, at The 2012 Rainbow/PUSH Wall Street Summit, as well as at Black Enterprise'ss Entrepreneurs Conference and Women of Power Summit. In 2011, SocialWayne.com chose her as one of 28 People of Color Impacting the Social Web, and through crowdsourcing she was listed as one of BlackWeb2.0's/HP's 50 Most Notable African American Tastemakers in Social Media and Technology for 2010. Since taking on the role of Tech editor in September 2010, she has conceived and produced five cover stories on Technology and/or STEM and countless articles, videos, and slideshows online.
