American singer Michael Jackson left a lasting legacy as a prolific philanthropist and humanitarian.Tina Daunt, "Giving in spirit and deed", Los Angeles Times (July 8, 2009), p. D6.Brad Cafarelli, "Superstar's musical career had the classic humble start", Los Angeles Times (November 7, 1988), Section VIII, p. 1, 5.Joseph Vogel, Michael Jackson's Forgotten Humanitarian Legacy, HuffPost (September 24, 2017). Throughout his public life, Jackson dedicated himself to various humanitarian causes, particularly in areas regarding poverty, disease, welfare, and disadvantaged youth. Jackson's early charitable work has been described by The Chronicle of Philanthropy as having "paved the way for the current surge in celebrity philanthropy", and by the Los Angeles Times as having "set the standard for generosity for other entertainers". By some estimates, he donated over $500 million to charity over the course of his life, at one time being recognized in Guinness World Records for the breadth of his philanthropic work.
The actual amount of donations made by Jackson may be even higher, but the exact amount is not known since Jackson often gave anonymously and without fanfare. In addition to supporting a substantial number of charities established by others, in 1992 Jackson established the Heal the World Foundation, to which he donated several million dollars in revenue from his Dangerous World Tour.
Aside from monetary donations, Jackson's philanthropic activities also included performing in benefit concerts and giving away tickets for regular concert performances to groups aiding underprivileged children, making hospital visits to sick children and opening his home for visits, with attention to providing special facilities and nurses if the children needed that level of care. He also donated valuable personal and professional paraphernalia for numerous charity auctions. Jackson received various awards and accolades for his philanthropic work, including two bestowed by presidents of the United States.
History 1970s and 1980s Early activities Born in 1958, Jackson began engaging in philanthropic and humanitarian efforts while still a member of The Jackson 5 and received early recognition by the time he was thirteen. His philanthropic efforts expanded and grew substantially as he stepped out as a solo artist. In December 1978, Jackson "spread Christmas joy among 200 youngsters at the Hollywood Children's Hospital", throwing them a party and giving away autographed posters.Jack Adams, "Happy Holidays - Hic, Hic", The Indianapolis News (December 21, 1978), p. 33. The Telegraph noted of Jackson that "[o]ne of his earliest charitable ventures was in 1979, when he donated books, including Peter Pan, to the Chicago Public Library and promoted reading through a programme he called Boogie to the Book Beat". In July 1981, Jackson led a benefit concert at the Omni Auditorium in Atlanta, Georgia, raised $100,000 for the Atlanta Children's Foundation, to aid the poor children of the city in the wake of a string of child kidnappings and murders there. The Jacksons had originally been scheduled to perform a tour date in Atlanta on that day, but reworked the date into a benefit concert in light of the ongoing crisis."Jackson Show To Benefit Kids", The Palm Beach Post (May 7, 1981), p. B-17.
Later on in the 1980s, Jackson was noted for his support for alcohol and drug abuse charities, and the Ad Council's and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Drunk Driving Prevention campaign. Jackson allowed the campaign to use "Beat It" for its public service announcements. For his efforts in this area, he garnered praise from President Ronald Reagan, and was welcomed at the White House for a ceremony on May 14, 1984 at which Michael was presented with the Presidential Humanitarian Award.
Mid-1980s
The Victory Tour of 1984 headlined the Jacksons as a group, and showcased Michael's new solo material to more than two million Americans. It was the last tour he did with his brothers. Following controversy over the concert's ticket sales, Jackson donated his entire share of the proceeds, an estimated , to charity. Following an incident in 1984 in which Jackson received second and third degree burns to his scalp while filming a commercial for the tour's sponsor, Pepsi, he donated his $1.5 million settlement from Pepsi to the hospital where he had been treated, Brotman Medical Center in Culver City, California; its Michael Jackson Burn Center was named in his honor. Notably, even before this incident, Jackson had made multiple visits to patients in the burn unit and elsewhere in the hospital, stating that "it makes me feel good to cheer up sick and injured patients in the hospital"."Singer Michael Jackson visits patients in burn unit", The Daily Breeze (January 29, 1984), p. 32. Jackson also donated funds from the Victory Tour to several charities, equipping a 19 bed unit at the Mount Sinai New York Medical Center, which is part of the T.J. Martell Foundation for Leukemia and Cancer Research, and enabling Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times to build a year-round camp facility for children living with cancer."Michael Jackson: Three charities to benefit from his 'Victory Tour'", Escondido Times-Advocate (September 27, 1984), p. A2.
His charitable work reached new heights with the release of "We Are the World" (1985), co-written with Lionel Richie, which raised money for the poor in the US and Africa. It earned $63 million, and became one of the best-selling singles of all time, with 20 million copies sold. The project's creators received two special American Music Awards honors: one for the creation of the song and another for the USA for Africa idea. Jackson, producer Quincy Jones, and promoter Ken Kragen received special awards for their roles in the song's creation. In 1988, it was described as "the humanitarian effort Michael considers his greatest personal triumph". Humanitarian themes later became a recurring theme in his lyrics and public persona.
From 1985 to 1990, Jackson made substantial donations to the United Negro College Fund (UNCF), endowing $1.5 million to that organization in 1986 to set up the "Michael Jackson UNCF Endowed Scholarship Fund", aimed toward assisting students majoring in performance arts and communications, with money given each year to students attending a UNCF member college or university. Another benefit concert held by Jackson later in the decade brought an estimated $500,000 more for UNCF scholarships.Marco R. della Cava, "Jackson's action benefits education", Wausau Daily Herald (March 2, 1988), p. 5C.
Bad tour Yoshiaki Ogiwara, a five-year-old boy from Takasaki, Gunma, Japan, was kidnapped and murdered in September 1987; Jackson was undertaking his "Bad" tour in Japan at the time, and dedicated concerts in Osaka and Yokohama to Yoshiaki's memory,Related by Casey Kasem on "American Top 40", week of February 27, 1988. and the single sleeve for "Man in the Mirror", released in February 1988, contains a dedication to Yoshaiki. All profits from that single, the fourth consecutive number one single from Jackson's album, Bad, also went to the charity Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times, of which Jackson had previously been one of the "Founding Fathers".
While on tour in November 1987, Jackson made a surprise visit to the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne, Australia, "armed with handfuls of autographed programs and T-shirts", a visit described by hospital staff as "an incredible tonic" for the many terminally ill young patients.Daniel Moore, "Michael's back - but only the dogs get close", The Sydney Morning Herald (November 16, 1987), p. 6. Jackson's vocal coach Seth Riggs noted that Jackson would arrange to have sick children brought to his concerts, stating: "Every night the kids would come in on stretchers, so sick they could hardly hold their heads up. Michael would kneel down at the stretchers and put his face right down beside theirs so that he could have his picture taken with them, and then give them a copy to remember the moment". At a number of tour stops, Jackson would also visit with patients at a local children's hospital, and make a substantial donation to the facility. In May 1988, while touring in Rome, Jackson visited children suffering from cancer in the Bambino Gesù Hospital,"Jackson Roaming in Rome", The York Dispatch (May 25, 1988), p. 49. also donating 100,000 pounds sterling to the hospital. Later that year, following another tour appearance at Wembley Stadium in England, Jackson presented Prince Charles and Princess Diana with a donation of $450,000 for The Prince's Trust, designated for the Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital, described as "a favorite charity of Jackson's". He also visited two wards of that hospital while on that trip.Sherrie Levy, "From Munich to Melbourne, frenzied crowds greet Michael Jackson's tour", Los Angeles Times (November 7, 1988), Section VIII, p. 3.
In February 1989, a few weeks after a mass shooting at the Cleveland Elementary School in Stockton, California, resulted in the deaths of five children and the wounding of dozens more, Jackson visited the school and met with some of the children affected by the event."Rocker visits Stockton school", Santa Cruz Sentinel (February 8, 1989), p. 8.
1990s and the Heal the World Foundation
In 1992, Jackson established the Heal the World Foundation as a charitable organization, inspired by his single of the same name. Jackson also continued to make charitable donations and participate in causes outside of the foundation. Following the 1992 Los Angeles riots, "Jackson donated $1.25 million to start a health counseling service for inner-city kids".Jeff Kramer, "Eco-Chic", The Boston Globe (October 3, 1993), p. 12, 28.
In 1993, following the death of HIV/AIDS spokesperson and friend Ryan White three years earlier in 1990, Jackson used his celebrity to bring global attention to the AIDS epidemic, notably through his friendship with Ryan and his charitable efforts with Elizabeth Taylor. Michael also pleaded with the Clinton administration at Bill Clinton's inaugural gala to give more money to HIV/AIDS charities and research, and performed "Gone Too Soon", a song dedicated to White, and "Heal the World" at the gala. In January 1994, Jackson "opened his Neverland Ranch in a Martin Luther King's Birthday celebration for 100 inner-city children who excelled in school"."Jackson's back - first a party, then a TV special", The Philadelphia Inquirer (January 17, 1994), p. 30. In 1995, after reading newspaper accounts of the death of a 22-month-old boy, Jackson was moved to donate an undisclosed amount to a fund for the family set up under the auspices of the St. Mary Medical Center in Long Beach, California."Service held for boy drowned in river", The San Bernardino County Sun (March 4, 1995), p. 3. In February 1997, Jackson donated a HIStory Tour jacket and an autographed souvenir book "to raise funds for Hawaii's first Gay and Lesbian Cultural Festival"."Jackson, Taylor items will be auctioned", The Honolulu Advertiser (January 23, 1997), p. C4.
In the 1990s, Jackson continued to visit children's hospitals and similar institutions, and sometimes individual sick or injured children. For example, in May 1992, Jackson visited a 7-year-old girl who had been mauled by Rottweilers two months before, having telephoned to promise this visit while she was still in the hospital."News Makers: Michael Jackson", The Hanover Evening Sun (May 4, 1992), p. B-3. While touring in 1996, Jackson visited orphanages in Tokyo and Prague, the latter during his HIStory World Tour."Jackson visits orphanage in Japan", The Boston Globe (May 29, 2006), p. D#."Michael Jackson statue is erected where Stalin's was", The Baltimore Sun (September 7, 1996), p. 2D.