What happened to his Beatles catalog?

The Beatles songs were never technically "his catalog" in the way his own recordings were. They were part of ATV Music Publishing, a company that had acquired the Northern Songs publishing catalog, which contained around 250 Lennon-McCartney compositions alongside thousands of other songs.

How Jackson got it

Jackson purchased ATV's 4,000-song catalog for $47.5 million, becoming the owner of approximately 250 Lennon-McCartney songs, as well as tracks by Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones, Elvis Presley and more. The acquisition is one of the most famous in music business history, partly because McCartney and Jackson had previously enjoyed a lengthy period of collaboration, but that relationship soured after the ATV acquisition. McCartney had been attempting to gain control of the music he composed with John Lennon for years, something he said he'd previously mentioned to Jackson.

How he started losing it

In 1995, amid reported financial issues, Jackson sold half of ATV to Sony Music for approximately $100 million, and together the two formed Sony/ATV Music Publishing, with Jackson and Sony each owning 50% of the company. With financial problems mounting and a potential bankruptcy appearing imminent, Sony negotiated a deal on Jackson's behalf to reduce loan payments on his debts, and as part of the negotiations, retained an option to purchase 50% of Jackson's 50% ownership in the future, which would give Sony 75% ownership of the catalog.

How Sony ended up with all of it

After Jackson died in 2009, his estate continued to profit from his music catalog. In 2016, Sony Music bought the remaining 50% stake in Sony/ATV for $750 million, taking full control of the catalog. That deal included some of the most valuable music in history, including the Beatles catalog, along with songs from other legendary artists like Elvis, Little Richard, the Rolling Stones, Hank Williams, Cher, Eminem, and Lady Gaga.

To put the numbers together: Jackson paid $47.5 million for ATV in 1985. His estate collected $100 million when it sold half to Sony, then $750 million when Sony bought the rest. Sony spent roughly $850 million acquiring what Jackson bought for $47.5 million, and now holds the whole thing outright. Whatever else went wrong in his financial life, that purchase was, as one outlet called it, perhaps the shrewdest business move of his career.