How Much Money Has Michael Jackson Donated To Charity

Charity works have been a part of celebrity lives for decades. Some of them have done it merely for fame whereas some people have made it the way of their lives. Michel Jackson was one of them. In spite of being one of the most iconic stars, he always kept himself down to earth. Life wasn't very kind to him, constant allegations, cruel controversies never left him alone. Yet MJ was the man who helped the needy. It is that fact about him, which has kept him ever loved in people's hearts. We are presenting a record of MJ's charity works and philanthropy in chronicle manner.

Before we jump into his day by day charities, let's have a look at his Heal the World Foundation and how it helped people.

Heal the World Foundation

Jackson started the foundation in 1992 named after his famous song. It was the first time Jackson institutionalized his humanitarian works.

The mission of the foundation was to fight child abuse, exploitation, and hunger. This target to improve the condition of children across the globe made Heal the World possible.

After the foundation started, Jackson started fundraising through his world tours and concerts. It had significantly helped the cause. Soon after the establishment, Jackson organized his "Dangerous World Tour". Continued for more than a year, all the profits from 69 concerts were donated to the foundation.

The money was used to serve 46 tons of supplies to Sarajevo and also funded a Hungarian child's liver transplant.

Jackson performed in the Super Bowl XXVII half-time to promote Heal the World with $100,000 and TV advertisement slots. Not only that, but he also ran a full-page ad on the USA Today newspaper requesting a donation from the common people.

Jackson never left a single opportunity to fund Heal the World, he requested his viewers in the "Earth Song" music video. MJ sold Prince Jackson's photograph to Newspapers for a $3 million donation.

He also ran a campaign named Heal the Kids for children's welfare. It was a humanitarian initiative for the betterment of parenting and the duties regarding it.

Timeline of Michael Jackson's Humanitarian Work

Michael Jackon supported children around the world — *© AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File*

It all started in the year 1978 when Jackson visited the Hollywood Hospital to celebrate Christmas. He had thrown a party and gifted autographed posters to the children.

In 1979, he made his first charitable donation to the Chicago Public Library. He made a donation of books and promoted a reading program.

July of 1981 was different for Atlanta, Georgia. Jackson conducted a benefit concert to help poor children. It raised $100,000 for the Atlanta Children's Foundation.

MJ started his charity work to stop Alcohol and Drug abuse. Also, he approved the use of "Beat it" for drunk driving campaigns led by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

He was awarded the Presidential Humanitarian Award by the then President Ronald Reagan in 1984, 14th May.

In 1984, the victory tour was announced. Jackson accompanied his brothers on the tour and donated around $3-5 million of his profit share to charity.

While shooting for a Pepsi ad, Jackson accidentally caught on fire causing a second-degree burn. Pepsi compensated for the accident with $1.5 million which he donated to Brotman Medical Centre, the place he had treatment.

The accident took place in 1984, after that he had visited burned patients several times. Also, reports claim that he had even visited them before the accident.

The money from the Victory tour was used in building up medical camps and units in future days.

The 1985 super hit song "We Are The One" made his contribution to the humanitarian grow even stronger. He used millions of dollars to help the poor in the US and Africa.

From 1985 to 1990, he donated a huge amount of money to various charitable works. MJ donated $1.5 million to UNCF (United Negro College Fund) to form "Michael Jackson UNCF Endowed Scholarship Fund".

He conducted a benefit concert and donated another $500,000 to UNCF scholarships.

In September 1987, Jackson was in Japan for his Bad tour. A kid named Yoshiaki was kidnapped and murdered at that time. So, MJ dedicated one of his concerts in Yoshiaki's memory. Though it's not a monetary donation, emotionally it was huge support for the child and the whole Country.

The profit from Bad tour was also donated to Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times.

In November 1987, Jackson gave a surprise visit to Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital. It lifted the spirit of the children's patients, which is very common in MJ.

While visiting Rome in 1988, he stopped for a visit at the Bambino Gesu Hospital to meet children, cancer victims. He also donated 100,000 pounds to the Hospital.

In the same year, MJ visited Prince Charles and Princess Diana with a donation of $450,000 to the princess's trust for a children's hospital. Jackson was very excited about it.

Michale visited the Cleveland Elementary School, where a mass shooting took place in February 1989. He met some injured children and spent some time with them.

Then in 1992, Michael Jackson founded the Heal the World foundation. To start with, he donated $1.25 million to children who had suffered the earlier Los Angeles riot.

Collaborating with Elizabeth Taylor, Michael dragged worldwide attention towards the destructiveness of AIDS. His friend Ryan White died because of this and he didn't want to let the disease go unnoticed.

In 1994, MJ opened his Neverland Ranch for 100 children who excelled in schools on the occasion of Martin Luthar King's birthday.

In 1995, Jackson compensated a family with an unknown amount of money due to the loss of their 22-month-old child. Strikingly Jackson came to know about the incident in the newspaper but couldn't ignore the situation.

In 1997, MJ actively supported a Gay and Lesbian Cultural festival and donated his HIStory tour jacket for auction.

Jackson visited a 7-year old girl, a victim of Rottweilers. He promised the girl on the telephone to visit and went after some days.

To fund the Nelson Mandela child fund, he organized various concerts in 1999. The show started from Seoul, South Korea, and went on to many cities like Munich.

In the Christmas of 1999, a massive storm took down France's 'Château de Versailles' park. The loss of 10,000 trees and the whole park was estimated to be $20M. Many celebrities offered their help, according to the authority, Michael Jackson was in the list of the donators.

In 2000, the UNCF organized "Evening of Stars" took place. The fundraiser accumulated $15 million in total. MJ performed amongst other notable names that evening.

In October, Michael Painted a picture "Carousel of Hope Ball" to be auctioned. The money was later used to fund childhood diabetes research.

To help raise money for childhood AIDS research and institutions, MJ donated one of his fedoras and a limited edition poster in the same month.

In November 2000, the G&P Cancer Foundation honored Bill Clinton, Michael Jackson, and Queen Noor of Jordan for their service to cancer patients. In a black-tie dinner, the foundation raised another 4 million dollars.

Michael donated a black hat, a birthday phone call and a jacket used in the Monaco Music Award to the Movie Auction for Children conducted by UNICEF to raise money for the prevention of mother to child HIV transmission.

Jackson conducted another fundraiser in 2002 to help the process of voter registration. It took place for the Democratic National Committee at the Apollo Theatre. It raised around $3 million for the cause.

Michel Jackson's charity works are one of the most notable ones. The King of Pop had never hesitated on any opportunity that would strengthen the faith of humanity. Jackson's charity works have never been made public by him or his team, the ones that we know off were made publicly. But this is certain that he has donated way more than this privately.

The estimated aggregation of the known charity works is over $300 million but it will exceed the amount if we add the unknown donations.

Rewards of Michael Jackson's Humanitarian works

Jackson was rewarded with the Presidential Award for helping the Government's Drunk Driving Awareness campaign in 1984.
He got the 'National Urban Coalition Artist/Humanitarian Of the Year' award for his active participation in the 'Say Yes To A Youngster's Future' program.
In 1989 Michael received the 'Black Radio Exclusive Humanitarian Award' in the Universal Amphitheatre in Universal City, California.
In 1992, President George Bush Senior awarded Michael with the 'Point of Light' for his support to deprived children.
In the same year, he was presented with the 'One on One' for his commitment to deprived children.

Michael's works have been recognized by the world though, for a man of such caliber, no award is enough to appreciate his works.

Credits:
The philanthropy of Michael Jackson | Wikipedia
His Humanitarian Work | Michael Jacksons Legacy
You Won'T Believe How Much Money Michael Jackson Gave To Charity! |
Michael Jackson's Donation History | Borgen Magazine