During the investigation, Jackson was examined by mental health professional Dr. Stan
Katz, who spent several hours with the accuser too. Katz said Jackson was a regressed 10-
year-old, and did not fit the profile of a pedophile.
During the two years between the charges and the trial, Jackson reportedly became de-
pendent on pethidine (Demerol), and lost a lot of weight. The People v. Jackson began on
January 31, 2005, in Santa Maria, California, and lasted five months, until the end of
May. Jackson was acquitted on all counts. After the trial, he relocated to the Persian Gulf
island of Bahrain, as a guest of Sheikh Abdullah.
Reports of financial problems for Jackson became frequent in 2006 after the closure of
the main house on the Neverland Ranch as a cost-cutting measure. One prominent finan-
cial issue concerned a $270 million loan secured against his music publishing holdings.
After delayed repayments on the loan, a refinancing package shifted the loans from Bank
of America to debt specialists Fortress Investments. A new package proposed by Sony
would have had Jackson borrow an additional $300 million and reduce the interest rate
payable on the loan, while giving Sony the future option to buy half of Jackson's stake in
their jointly owned publishing company (leaving Jackson with a 25% stake). Jackson
agreed to a Sony-backed refinancing deal, although details were not made public. Despite
these loans, according to Forbes, Jackson was still making as much as $75 million a year
from his publishing partnership with Sony alone.
Jackson was awarded the Diamond Award on November 15, 2006, for selling over
100 million albums, at the World Music Awards.
[68]
Following the death of James Brown,
Jackson returned to the U.S. to pay tribute during Brown's public funeral on December
30, 2006. In late 2006, he agreed to share joint custody of his first two children with ex-
wife Debbie Rowe. Jackson and Sony bought Famous Music LLC from Viacom in 2007.
This deal gave him the rights to songs by Eminem, Shakira and Beck, among others.
I've been in the entertainment industry since I was six-years-old... As Charles Dickens
says, "It's been the best of times, the worst of times." But I would not change my career...
While some have made deliberate attempts to hurt me, I take it in stride because I have a
loving family, a strong faith and wonderful friends and fans that have, and continue, to
support me.

—Michael Jackson
The 25th anniversary of Thriller was marked by the release of Thriller 25, which added
the previously unreleased song "For All Time" and re-mixes. Two remixes were released
as singles to moderate success: "The Girl Is Mine 2008" and "Wanna Be Startin' Some-
thin' 2008". Thriller 25 sold well as a re-issue, peaking at number one in eight countries
and Europe. In 12 weeks Thriller 25 sold over three million copies worldwide. To cele-
brate Jackson's 50th birthday, Sony BMG released a series of compilation albums called
King of Pop.
[130][131]
King of Pop did reach the top 10 in most countries where it was is-
sued, and also sold well as an import in other countries.
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