Once home to elephants, tigers, orangutans, horses, giraffes, and a slew of other animals, Michael Jackson’s former residence is on sale for $100 million, according to the Wall Street Journal. Dubbed Neverland Ranch by the singer, it’s now called Sycamore Valley Ranch.
The property no longer has any animals, except a llama, and the amusement park rides — including a Ferris wheel, pirate ship, and octopus ride — have gone. There’s still almost 2,700 acres of land. The main residence, built in 1982, is 12,598 square feet, with six bedrooms, seven full bathrooms, and two partial ones. The mansion houses a large kitchen, five fireplaces, a hot tub, and wine cellar. Dozens of other buildings are scattered over the property, including a 50-seat movie theater, three guest houses, barns and animal shelters, and corrals. The four-acre lake has a waterfall. The upkeep cost Jackson $240,000 a month, CNN reports.
Before his death in 2009, Jackson faced financial troubles. Investment firm Colony Capital bought a stake in the ranch for $23 million in 2008. There have been extensive renovations since then. “We’ve really just been custodians of an irreplaceable estate and are proud to say we’ve restored it to the original elegance Michael first envisioned,” Colony’s Thomas Barrack Jr. told Bloomberg in 2014. “We are frustrated, bitterly disappointed and saddened that it has come to this,” a representative for Jackson’s estate told Forbes at the time. “Sadly, Michael lost control of Neverland during his life as a result of advice from a former manager.”
Yet Jackson hadn’t lived at Neverland since 2003, after 70 Santa Barbara police officers searched the home in connection with multiple child molestation charges. The residence then closed in 2006.
Anyone hoping to take a casual look inside the ranch should be forewarned: Harry Kolb of Sotheby’s and Jeffrey Hyland of Hilton & Hyland, who listed the property, told the Wall Street Journal that potential buyers must first go through “extensive pre-qualification” before being considered.
