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Michael Jackson is said to be living on
a diet of gravy, painkillers and biscuits.(Photo:
chinadaily/agencies)
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BEIJING,
Nov. 27 -- Michael Jackson is said to be living on a diet of gravy,
painkillers and biscuits.
The cash-strapped star ¨C who settled a ¡ê4.7 million
court case against Sheikh Abdulla Al-Khalifa at the weekend ¨C is apparently
surviving on the bizarre diet after his spending habits spiralled out of
control.
Jackson¡¯s financial woes are said to be a result of
him blowing ¡ê1 billion on luxuries such as a Ferrari car and the entire stock
from antiques shops and comic book stores he has visited.
Sources close to the ¡®Thriller¡¯ singer say he is a
¡°millionaire who lives like a billionaire¡±.
However, the 50-year-old¡¯s family lawyer Brian Oxman
insists the star is in excellent health and is not struggling financially.
He said: ¡°Michael is in excellent financial shape. We
should all be so fortunate to have his problems.
¡°He lives a pretty simple lifestyle these days. The
extravagances are in the past. He is very low-key, but he is happy and doing
well.¡±
Jackson was being sued last week for borrowing the
huge sum from the sheikh and failing to repay him by recording two new albums,
writing an autobiography and penning a stage show.
The ¡ê4.7 million included ¡ê23,500 in utility bills
for his Neverland estate, a 10-day Paris hotel bill of ¡ê105,000, bank funds of
¡ê655,000, court costs during his child abuse case in 2005 totalling ¡ê1.5
million, ¡ê335,000 living expenses during six months in the Middle East as well
as Italian and UK holidays coming to ¡ê234,000.
The star was recently forced to sell his ranch, which
initially cost ¡ê17 million and ran up running costs of ¡ê2 million.
Staff bills came to ¡ê2.5 million a year while Debbie
Rowe ¨C the mother of two of his children, Prince, 11, and Paris, 10 ¨C demands
¡ê750,000 a year in maintenance.
(Source: China Daily/Agencies)
