Michael Jackson's Following On the Rise

Richie Mogwai September 28, 2009

Michael Jackson’s demise can only increase his throngs of followers by the truckloads or more! After all, isn’t this what always happens when a truly talented artist dies?

Think Vincent van Gogh, John Lennon, Elvis, the list goes on and on. The fact is, the market value of an undisputed talent skyrockets when he or she passes away. Even Marilyn Monroe, or for that matter, James Dean’s passing, can attest to this phenomenon—err, had the same effect.

And just as no one doubts that Michelangelo or Leonardo da Vinci’s genius, nobody can doubt Michael’s. His genius, in a nutshell: Thriller, Billy Jean, the moonwalk, 750 million dollars worth of music albums sold around the world, and hey, 13 Grammy Awards!

Sony and other big businesses know this only too well, no matter how alarmingly silent they are about the whole thing. The only question is whether Michael’s loved ones will be the true beneficiaries of the treasures that his death will increase in value exponentially.

Another thing that can be relied on with pinpoint accuracy is that more people will miss Michael now that he’s gone. It’s only human nature to finally come to terms with the value of somebody when he or she is no longer in the world, never before.

Be honest, or better still, don’t be a hypocrite. You might even hate someone with a passion while he or she is alive, yet you end up crying endlessly when the same person finally passes away?

Like Midas and his magic touch, everything that Michael touched or helped create while he was alive will rise in value around the world. Need we say more?

Even the lowly souvenir vendor in Times Square knows this. Yet social memory is short, and as president Abraham Lincoln often said when he was alive: “This too, shall pass.”

Truly, the tears will dry out and mourners will move on. Monuments will be built, there’s no doubt about it, and tributes will continue to be made. What happened to Marilyn, happened to Lady Diana, and is bound to happen with Michael.

Silent fortunes are being made as we speak, and we can only hope that these will all ultimately end up in the right hands. This is why Michael’s last will and testament is so key to everything.

It will determine whether his wife or ex-wife, mom, dad, siblings, children, or the destitute in South Africa will be the true heirs of his dynasty, or maybe not! This is what unfolds as we follow the money.

But what about following the heart? The brazen truth is, the throngs of mourners soon leave, leaving the real loved ones behind, still grieving.

Do you ever stop grieving the death of a loved one? Of course not, as anyone who has loved and lost will attest, the pain just never goes away. The void will always be there, and so will it be, with Michael. But mind you, only to those who truly love him, not those to whom the treasures that he leaves behind are what matter the most. This can only be the true and final test of Michael’s legacy.