In 1985, shortly after recording “The Girl Is Mine” with Paul McCartney, ATV Music Publishing (who had owned The Beatles Northern Songs publishing company since 1968) went up for sale. Michael Jackson paid a reported $47.5 million for the catalogue.

Over the years, Michael went on to purchase numerous companies, some owning rights to songs made famous by Elvis Presley and Little Richard.

In 1995, Jackson merged ATV with Sony. Read more.

In 2007, Michael purchased Famous Music, owner of hits by Eminem, Bjork and Shakira, as well as classics like Moon River, adding additional catalogues to Sony/ATV Music Publishing.

Today, Sony/ATV Music Publishing is co-owned by The Michael Jackson Family Trust and Sony. The value of Sony/ATV Music Publishing has varied in reports. Industry experts have estimated the company to be worth as much as $1.5 billion.