Held his first live concert in four years at Madison Square Garden, New York, in early September 2001. He was paid £10 million for two concerts.
His 1979 debut solo album "Off the Wall" has sold around 20 million copies worldwide.
His 1982 album "Thriller" is the biggest selling album of all time, with confirmed sales of over 47 million, and over an estimated 100 million copies worldwide.
His 1987 album "BAD" is third to "Thriller" as the biggest selling album of all time, with 20 million copies sold worldwide.
His 1991 album "Dangerous" is second to "Thriller" as the biggest selling album of all time, with over 20 million copies sold worldwide.
His 2001 album "Invincible" sold over 10 million copies worldwide.
His 2001 album "Invincible" was his first full album of new material for ten years, since 1991's "Dangerous".
His album "HIStory: Past, Present and Future - Book I" has sold 16 million copies worldwide since its release in 1995, making it the biggest selling multiple-disc album of all time.
His death triggered an outpouring of grief. Fans gathered outside the UCLA Medical Center, his Holmby Hills home, the Apollo Theater in New York, and at Hitsville U.S.A., the old Motown headquarters in Detroit where his career began, now the Motown Museum. Streets around the hospital were blocked off, and across America people left offices and factories to watch the breaking news on television.
His estate contains a child's mini coaster, Zipper, Bumper cars, Merry go round, octopus, Giant slide and rocking dragon.. There is also a full size basketball court, water wars section (for water gun fights) 2 Trains, (one steam train) and a zoo where he has various exotic animals including elephants, giraffes, alligators, a tiger and even an Anaconda.
His favorite The Beatles'' song is "Come Together" - his version of the song is on "History - Past, Present and Future.".
His favorite movie as a child and teenager was Oliver! (1968).
His gold coffin seen at his memorial is a rare design called the Promethean. It cost $25,000 and is made of solid bronze but is 14-carat gold-plated with a hand-polished mirror finish and lined with velvet. It is identical to the coffin used to bury James Brown in 2006 - which may have inspired Jackson after he saw it when Brown lay in state.
His greatest hits compilation "Michael Jackson: Number Ones" sold 6 million copies worldwide following its release in November 2003, peaking at Number 1 in most countries except the United States. It had been planned at the last minute after "Resurrection", a follow-up to his 2001 album "Invincible", was canceled.
His hit song "Bad" from 1987 was initially supposed to be a duet with fellow 80's superstar Prince. Prince said in an interview that he did not wish to sing the line "Your butt is mine".
His memorial service from the Staples Center on Tuesday, July 7th 2009 brought the Internet's second largest day ever in terms of total traffic.
Holds 10 different Guinness World Records.
Honored by CBS as the "top selling act of the Eighties" in March 1990.
In 1991, Sony Pictures Entertainment announced a top secret film project called "MidKnight" which would star Jackson as meek young man by day, who secretly changes into a heroic singing and dancing knight at the stroke of midnight. The film was part of Jackson's $1 billion re-up with Sony Music. But the project fell apart due to contractual issues as well as the 1993 child molestation allegations.
In 1997 a survey declared Jackson the most famous person in the world, ahead of Pope John Paul II and then US President Bill Clinton.