Shaquille O’Neal is as popular as any superstar in history. His fame far exceeds that of a normal athlete. O’Neal’s success as an NBA superstar shattered any limits to the reach of his name. But, when he was young, he met a man that, in terms of popularity, was on a whole other planet. Michael Jackson, who was nicknamed the King of Pop, visited Shaq’s house in Orlando and wanted to buy it.
Advertisement
Shaquille O’Neal began his career with the Orlando Magic. It is in Orlando that he became a superstar. So, naturally, he bought a sprawling mansion with his humongous paychecks. The 76,000 sq ft ‘house’, if you can even call it that, was an ode to O’Neal’s larger-than-life personality.
The enormous bungalow became an object of desire for the King of Pop when he once visited Shaq.
Michael Jackson wanted Shaquille O’Neal to sell his house
Shaq, while on the Revolt Podcast, revealed how Michael Jackson once just showed up at his door in Orlando. The former Lakers player soon realized that MJ wanted to buy his house but Shaq wasn’t selling.
Shaq: “MJ showed up at my house and tried to buy my house in Orlando. Yeah, he just showed up at the door… So I had this big 70,000 square meter, and I had a bed that fits 50 people. He looked around the house, he said ‘I want to buy the house.’ and I’m like ‘It’s not for sale.’ Then I went to his house, this dude had a real zoo at his house. Not animals, this dude had a real zoo.”
Imagine opening your gate and Michael Jackson is trying to buy your house. Well, we can easily presume that Shaquille O’Neal was shocked out of his 50 people fitting bed.
At the time of his death, MJ was $500 million in debt
Shaq’s story becomes all the more amusing once you realize how big of a spendthrift Michael Jackson was. Being a global phenomenon ensures that you have money. But sadly, Michael blew it all on presumably the animals he filled his zoo with.
This extravaganza not only cost the musician his entire life’s earning but also landed him in a $500 million debt. This is the same man who tried to make Shaq sell his house after just dropping by.
