What is Michael Jackson's estate worth?

If ever there was a case of hard-to-value estate assets, this is it. Although pinning down a number may be difficult, there's no doubt that there's a lot of value at stake.

The New York Times reports that Jackson Assets Draw the Gaze of Wall Street. The main asset is Jackson's 50% interest in the Sony song catalog that includes everything by The Beatles and lots more good stuff. This alone might be $500 million, according to The Times. Then there's Michael Jackson's own music, owned by Mijac, which could be another $100 million to $200 million. Yes, there's also a mountain of debt to cover, but the net estate could easily be $300 million, which would generate a federal estate tax bill of $135 million.

The estate is so far resisting all offers, saying that no assets are for sale. But I wonder if they have the cash to meet their tax obligations?