The enormous estate once housed amusement park rides, a zoo, a movie theater, and train station.

What happened to Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch? See what became of the star’s infamous property

The enormous estate once housed amusement park rides, a zoo, a movie theater, and train station.

By Brianna Zigler

June 4, 2026 2:53 p.m. ET

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Michael Jackson; an aerial view of Neverland Ranch in 2004. Credit:

Paul Harris/Getty

- *Michael Jackson: The Verdict* puts the spotlight back on Jackson's 2005 trial, including the raid of Neverland Ranch that preceded it.

- Neverland Ranch was purchased by Jackson in 1988 and doubled as his home and private theme park.

- Jackson abandoned the home after his 2005 acquittal, and it sold to Ron Burkle in 2020.

In 2003, Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch was raided by police. Netflix's new documentary *Michael Jackson: The Verdict* opens with shocking footage of that incident.

The docuseries, which arrives just over a month after the release of Jackson biopic *Michael,* puts Jackson’s infamous molestation trial back in the spotlight. It centers on the case against the world-renowned pop legend and his subsequent trial in 2005, including the media blitz surrounding the case and the circumstances that led to his acquittal.

One question left lingering after the three-part series is: What became of Jackson's infamous Neverland Ranch?

Per the *New York Times**, *Neverland Ranch was Jackson’s 2,700-acre property in Los Olivos, Calif., that doubled as an amusement park. The singer resided there for almost 20 years, but he never returned after his trial.

Below, we take a look at what happened to Neverland Ranch after Jackson left it. Who bought it? And does it appear in *Michael*?

What was Neverland Ranch?

An aerial view of Neverland Ranch's amusement park.

Steve Starr/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty

Neverland Ranch was Jackson’s home and private theme park for 17 years, and where he would entertain adults and children whom he invited to the ranch. The house itself was 13,000 square feet.

The property, originally known as Sycamore Valley Ranch, was built in 1981 by real estate developer William Bone. After purchasing the property in 1988 for a cool $19.5 million, Jackson renamed it the Neverland Ranch, after the magical island in *Peter Pan* where boys never grow up.

He added excessive amenities to his home, like a zoo with elephants and tigers, a train station, a 50-seat movie theater, and amusement park rides with a Ferris wheel that reportedly cost $215,000 when he bought it in 1990.

Jackson would invite hundreds of children to come play at his ranch, particularly ill and underprivileged kids. But the home was as much a playground for them as it was for Jackson, who had a notoriously difficult upbringing under the thumb of his father, Joe Jackson.

His sister, La Toya Jackson, wrote in her 2011 memoir *Starting Over* that the ranch "was a living fairy tale, which Michael created to finally have a normal childhood and life for himself."

Jackson’s children, Paris and Prince, spent a portion of their childhoods living in seclusion at the ranch to protect them from the media and paparazzi.

While parents happily brought their own children to Neverland Ranch for years, the property and its many kid-friendly accoutrements were viewed very differently after the molestation allegations surfaced.

The ranch was raided in 2003,* *and Jackson was subsequently charged on 10 criminal counts, including child molestation. His legal team called the claims "a big lie" and maintain his innocence to this day.

Did Jackson live at Neverland Ranch after the trial?

Michael Jackson exiting the Santa Barbara County Court in 2005.

Kimberly White/Corbis via Getty

Jackson did not live at the ranch following his 2005 acquittal. He traveled the world and ultimately settled in a sprawling estate in Los Angeles that reportedly cost $100,000 per month, according to the *New York Post*.

The French château would be Jackson’s final home; he spent the last six months of his life there before passing away on June 25, 2009.

Regarding Neverland Ranch, Jackson's eldest son Prince told a civil court jury in 2013, “I guess they ruined it for my dad.”

What happened to Neverland Ranch after Jackson’s death?

An aerial view of Neverland Ranch in 2004.

Paul Harris/Getty

One year prior to his death, *The New York Times** *reported that Jackson had transferred ownership of the ranch to Sycamore Valley Ranch Company, a joint venture between Jackson and real estate investment company Colony Capital.

Jackson defaulted on a $24.5 million mortgage in May 2008 to avoid having the ranch go to auction, after which Colony Capital purchased his debt. It was believed that the ranch had “fallen into disrepair.”

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When the home was first set to be put on the market in 2014, *Forbes* reported that Colony Capital may have put as much as $50 million into updating the property, including ridding it of many of its child-friendly features.

Then, in 2017, the Associated Press shared that the ranch had been devalued from $100 million to $67 million. The property had also reverted to its old name, Sycamore Valley Ranch.

After years on the market, the home finally sold in 2020.

Who owns Neverland Ranch now?

An exterior view of Neverland Ranch in 1995.

Stephen Kim/WireImage

Ultimately, Neverland Ranch was purchased by Jackson’s former financial advisor, investment billionaire Ron Burkle, for a reported $22 million.

Per the *Wall Street Journal**,* Burkle saw the investment as a “land banking opportunity,” although as of the 2020 purchase, there has been no significant news or updates related to the ranch.

Is Neverland Ranch featured in Michael?

Michael Jackson waving to fans outside his Calif. home.

Kim Kulish/Sygma via Getty

While *SF Gate* reported in June 2024 that a film shoot was scheduled to take place at the former Neverland Ranch, it was conspicuously absent from *Michael* when it hit theaters on April 24.

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*SF Gate* followed up in May, revealing that the film had intended to use the ranch as a pivotal set piece — and would even open with the 2003 raid. However, a civil lawsuit from the ‘90s prevented that from happening.

Jordan Chandler, one of Jackson's alleged victims, and his family reached a reported $23 million settlement in 1994. A clause in that settlement stipulated that the case could not be featured in any adaptation of Jackson's life. As detailed in a *New Yorker* profile of director Antoine Fuqua, the scenes at the ranch had already been shot when the creative team was informed that they were legally forbidden from depicting Chandler's allegations.

Fuqua thus had to retool his entire movie, which had significantly focused on Jackson’s allegations prior to the shakeup.

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