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AFP
Published
Sep 6, 2009
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Keys to Jackson's home handed over in two weeks: Audigier

By
AFP
Published
Sep 6, 2009

PARIS, Sept 3, 2009 (AFP) - Christian Audigier, the self-made French fashion mogul close to Michael Jackson who plans to purchase his last home, on Thursday 3 September said he expects to have the keys to the Los Angeles mansion in two weeks time.


Photo: AFP/Getty Images/File/Ringo H.W. Chiu

Audigier however said he had been unable to obtain authorisation to turn the vast house into a museum as hoped, so would instead open it every June on the anniversary of Jackson's death at 50, and organise exhibits and shows.

"I can have the house in one month now," Audigier, who said he is worth 250 million dollars, told AFP in an interview. "I get the keys two weeks from today."

The vast Holmby Hills neighborhood home, believed worth over 30 million dollars, currently belongs to Audigier's associate and the boss of his fashion company Hubert Guez.

Jackson had been "in great shape" in the weeks before his death, added the 51-year-old multi-millionaire.

"He was very skinny but he was a dancer too," he said. "He was very involved with the London concert. What happened was very sad.

"The guy was very happy to come back on stage."

Audigier, in Paris on the day of Jackson's funeral for the French launch of his Los Angeles-based celebrity clothing brands, expressed regrets over missing the burial.

"I miss him," he said. "God bless him."

Few in France would recognise Audigier, but in the United States the designer has become one of the country's hottest exports after his creations turned him into almost an overnight darling of Hollywood's biggest stars.

Madonna, Mariah Carey, Sylvester Stallone, Britney Spears, Puff Daddy and Kanye West are among fans of his flamboyant tattoo-inspired street-wear.

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