Few people know about Michael Jackson, the uncrowned king of pop singing, that he owned 2,700 acres of land in the American state of California.

The land in Santa Barbara County, California was purchased in 1981 by property developer William Boone, named Sycamore Valley Ranch, and turned into a sprawling private estate, including a stately home, gardens, and a 4-acre lake with a waterfall.

Michael Jackson first saw the property in 1983 when he met Paul McCartney, who was staying there to shoot one of his music videos, and bought it 5 years later.

After he bought the property, he renamed it ‘Neverland Ranch’, and then completely transformed it into a private theme park, mainly because of his childhood of deprivation and helping sick children.

The property included a French-style luxury home, a movie theater, a lake, a train station and a theme park, the New York Times reported.

The property also had a Ferris wheel, carousel, bumper cars, other rides and a petting zoo, the report said.

According to the report, among the property’s most recognizable features was a Catherine station, named after the singer’s mother.

The report states that in 2003, authorities searched the property during an investigation, and then Michael Jackson faced 10 different charges of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old boy, after which he never set foot on the property again.

After the singer’s death in 2009, the theme park built on the property was scrapped and the property was renamed Sycamore Valley Ranch and put up for auction in 2015, which was eventually bought by billionaire businessman Ronald Burkle for $22 million in 2020.