Michael Jackson has no end of troubles, including financial, and no, I don't think people are out to get him because he is eccentric: I think they are concerned that he is truly dangerous. Regardless of the outcome of the most recent charges, one does not dangle a baby over thin air where one slip would mean instant death without being considered a danger. That is still for me the single most troubling (uncontested) bit of behavior in this ongoing saga.

Mr. Jackson has spent millions of dollars on legal fees over the past two decades, hiring a who's who of high-priced entertainment lawyers and public relations experts to represent him in hundreds of lawsuits.

He is an inveterate spender, with the upkeep of his Neverland ranch costing nearly $4 million a year, say colleagues who know him. According to accounts of executives close to his record company, Sony Music Group, and published reports, he has borrowed millions of dollars to pay for his lavish lifestyle.

In June Mr. Jackson settled a lawsuit filed by Myong-Ho Lee, a former business adviser, who said Mr. Jackson had been in financial trouble. The amount of the settlement has not been divulged. Earlier this year, a jury in Santa Maria, Calif., said Mr. Jackson owed a German concert promoter $5.3 million for backing out of two concerts in 1999.

For many musicians, the plummeting album sales Mr. Jackson has experienced would be career-ending. But people who know him say that in fact most of his wealth comes from his joint venture with Sony Music Entertainment, the music publishing arm of his record company.

....Reports about the decline of Mr. Jackson's financial health began to surface in June 2002, when the singer clashed with the former head of the Sony Music Group, Thomas D. Mottola, over the promotion of Mr. Jackson's album "Invincible."

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