Beyonce, Jay Z to buy MJ's Neverland ranch?

Pop star Beyonce Knowles and rapper Jay Z toured Neverland Ranch, Michael Jackson's 2,700-acre Southern California estate and are interested in buying it, according to Jackson family sources. Shortly after the rap mogul released his 'Watch the Throne' documentary last year, the superstar couple jetted off to the late King of Pop's abandoned palace, where they toured the property with Colony Capital owner Thomas Barrack Jr, who manages the estate, reported New York Post. "It is something that we want to keep in the family but the estate will do what it wishes," Michael's brother Randy said. Another sibling said that Michael's children, who are heirs to his billion-dollar fortune, get upset each time reports surface of a potential Neverland sale. "It is the home they loved, the home their father loved and where they can still connect with him," the family member said. The estate has been vacant since Michael fled to Bahrain in 2005 after winning acquittal of 13 criminal counts related to child molestation. It was unclear what hurdles any potential buyer would have to overcome because the property is mostly controlled by Tom Barrack's Los Angeles-based private-equity firm, which acquired controlling interest in Neverland after taking over a USD 23.5 million loan on which Michael defaulted in 2008. Court documents show that the late singer's estate still owns an 85 percent stake in Neverland. The singer originally purchased the property in 1988 for USD 17 million after shooting a music video with Paul McCartney on the site. He built an amusement park there, complete with a roller coaster, bumper cars and a Ferris wheel, most of which have been removed or sold at auction. It was also home to a coterie of animals, a state-of-the-art movie theater, a working train to take visitors around the ranch, a two-story game room, tennis courts, swimming pools and its own fire department.