Neverland Ranch

• 1. Introduction

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  Neverland Ranch, known today as Sycamore Valley Ranch, sits in Santa Barbara County, California, on the edge of Los Padres National Forest. The ranch lies about five miles north of the community of Los Olivos and about eight miles north of the town of Santa Ynez.

  In 1983, Michael Jackson visited Paul McCartney at the property. McCartney was staying there while the two men filmed their music video for "Say Say Say".

  Five years later, Jackson owned the place. He renamed it after the fantasy island in the story of Peter Pan, a boy who never ages. From 1988 to 2005, it was both his home and his private amusement park.

  How did a developer's country estate turn into a singer's playground? Why did that singer walk away from it and never come back? And what happens to a place built around one person's imagination once he is gone?

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• 2. Bone's Estate

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  William Bone, a property developer, bought the land in 1981, when it was still called the Zaca Laderas Ranch. He renamed it Sycamore Valley Ranch and moved there with his family.

  Bone hired the architect Robert Altevers to design the main buildings. The two men spent two and a half years researching designs and ideas before settling on a plan.

  The 13,000 square foot main house was finished in 1982. Around it came formal gardens, a stone bridge, and a four-acre lake with a five-foot waterfall. Thomas A. Stone led the gardening and landscape design.

  Bone later explained what the project meant to him. He said it carried "a desire to express everything I had learned in 15 years of home building". He had also considered turning the property into a country club, but he never did.

  Six years after the house was finished, the estate would belong to someone else.

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• 3. A Private Amusement Park

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  In March 1988, Jackson bought the estate from Bone. Before that, he had lived with his family at Hayvenhurst. The price was never made public. Some sources point to $19.5 million, while others suggest nearer $30 million.

  For privacy, the first purchase was made through a trust. His lawyer John Branca and his accountant Marshall Gelfand served as its trustees. In April 1988, Jackson rescinded that arrangement and became the ultimate owner himself.

  The grounds soon filled with garden statues, amusement rides, and a petting zoo. There were three railroads. The first was the Neverland Valley Railroad, a narrow gauge line with two coaches. Its steam locomotive, a Crown 4-4-0 built in 1973, was named Katherine after his mother.

  The second line was also narrow gauge, and its engine was a replica of the C. P. Huntington made by Chance Rides. The third was a custom electric train bought for his children, Michael Jr., Paris, and Prince II. A German company, Elektro-Mobiltechnik, made it in 2001, and it ran on 100 feet of track in the yard behind the main house.

  The rides included a Ferris wheel, a carousel, a zipper, an octopus, a pirate ship, and a wave swinger. There were also a Super Slide, a roller coaster, bumper cars, and an amusement arcade.

  In 1991, the wedding of Elizabeth Taylor and Larry Fortensky took place at the ranch. Two years later, Oprah Winfrey conducted a live interview with Jackson there.

  In 1995, Jackson and his then-wife Lisa Marie Presley invited children from around the world for a three-day World Children's Congress. It was a series of seminars and workshops on issues facing kids, held as part of the 50th anniversary celebration of the United Nations.

  Tucked inside the master closet was a hidden safe room, kept for security.

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• 4. After the Trial

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  On the 18th of November 2003, a search warrant was executed at Neverland Ranch. It was connected to the People v. Jackson trial, after Jackson was charged with multiple counts of molesting a minor. He was acquitted of all charges.

  Still, Jackson said after the 2005 verdict that he would never live at the property again. He no longer considered the ranch a home, and he did not go back.

  The ranch played a central role in the allegations. It is one of the main places where Jackson's accusers have said the alleged abuse happened. That association has been described as a possible reason the property lost so much value.

  His sister La Toya wrote about staying at the ranch during the trial in her 2012 memoir Starting Over.

  The main house was closed to save money. Jackson, meanwhile, lived in Bahrain as a guest of Sheik Abdullah, the son of the country's ruler.

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• 5. Debt and Auction

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  Reports of foreclosure proceedings against the ranch appeared in 2007. A spokesperson for Jackson said the loan was simply being refinanced. Jackson, and later his estate, kept a legal stake of 87.5 percent.

  On the 25th of February 2008, the trustee, Financial Title Company, sent a blunt message. Unless Jackson paid $24,525,906.61 by the 19th of March, the land, the buildings, and items such as the rides, trains, and art would go to public auction.

  On the 13th of March 2008, his lawyer, L. Londell McMillan, announced a private agreement with the investment group Fortress Investment. Before that deal, Jackson was three months behind on payments. McMillan did not reveal its terms.

  The foreclosure auction was canceled on the 12th of May 2008. Colony Capital, a company run by the billionaire Tom Barrack, had bought the defaulted loan for $22.5 million. Jackson said he was "pleased with recent developments involving Neverland Ranch" and was in discussions with Colony and Barrack.

  On the 10th of November 2008, Jackson transferred the title to Sycamore Valley Ranch Company, LLC. Neighbors reported immediate activity, including amusement rides being trucked along the highway.

  The company was a joint venture between Jackson, represented by McMillan, and an affiliate of Colony Capital. The Santa Barbara County Assessor's Office said Jackson sold part of his rights for $35 million. Later reports said Colony had invested only $22.5 million. Reliable sources indicate that Colony held the majority.

  Kyle Forsyth, Colony's project manager, summed up the estate's Tudor-style buildings and savanna-like grasslands as "English country manor meets Kenya." Colony hoped to sell it whole. Subdividing it, Forsyth said, "would destroy it".

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• 6. Scattered Rides

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  Helm and Sons Amusements had bought rides for Jackson while the park was running. It now bought the Zipper, the Lolli Swing, and the Spider.

  Butler Amusements, of Fairfield, California, took six of the rides. Since the sale, they have appeared at county and state fairs across California, Oregon, and Washington. Some carry signs describing where they came from.

  Archway Amusements Corp, of Imperial, Missouri, bought the 65-foot Ferris wheel. The Eli Bridge Company of Jacksonville, Illinois had custom made it for Jackson in 1990 at a cost of $215,000.

  Some rides found permanent homes. The Dragon Wagon, a children's roller coaster, now operates at Coney Island in New York City. Beech Bend Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky bought the Sea Dragon swinging ship in 2008. The bumper cars were installed at CalExpo, the site of the California State Fair.

  By 2009, the rides and the animals, apart from the llamas, were gone. In their place were a meditative zen garden and a section decorated with Peter Pan, Jackson's favorite fictional hero.

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• 7. After Jackson

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  On the 28th and the 29th of June 2009, press reports claimed that Jackson's family planned to bury him at the ranch. The idea was to turn it into a place of pilgrimage for fans, as Graceland has become for admirers of Elvis Presley. His father, Joseph Jackson, later denied the reports.

  On the 1st of July, construction equipment and gardeners entered the grounds, which fed more speculation. Local officials responded that a burial would require the owners to go through a permitting process with county and state government before creating a cemetery. Jackson's 2002 will left his entire estate to a family trust.

  On the 2nd of July 2009, the ranch served as a backdrop for two media appearances. His brother Jermaine led Matt Lauer of The Today Show on a tour of the main house. Jermaine was also interviewed on the grounds by Larry King.

  In January 2013, the singer Lady Gaga said she was willing to help Jackson's children keep the ranch by investing in it. That same year, the British billionaire Jo Bamford made plans to buy it, but he never finished the deal.

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• 8. Price Drops

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  In May 2015, the owners announced that the ranch would go on sale at an initial asking price of $100 million. Colony NorthStar had by then completed extensive renovations. Many people, including fans, protested, and Jermaine Jackson wrote an open letter to Colony NorthStar expressing his disapproval.

  By May 2016, the 2,700-acre property was jointly owned by the Jackson estate and Colony NorthStar. Sotheby's International Realty listed it at $100 million. The price covered a 12,598 square foot, six-bedroom Normandy-style mansion and the four-acre lake with its waterfall. It also included a pool house, three guest houses, a tennis court, and a 5,500 square foot movie theater and stage. The train station and railway tracks came with it.

  According to Time, the owners wanted a buyer who did not plan to turn the ranch into a Jackson museum.

  Interest was thin. By February 2017, the asking price had fallen to $67 million. In early 2018, the ranch was still on the market at the same price, now with Coldwell Banker. In February 2019, the price dropped to $31 million. The listing agent said nothing had changed except the price, and the structures and landscaping were still maintained.

  In December 2020, the billionaire Ronald Burkle, a friend of the Jackson family, bought the property for $22 million. He called it a "land banking opportunity".

  In 2024, the Lake Fire burned nearby, and the ranch was evacuated.

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