A tale of rags to riches complicated by $780,000 debt

CONRAD MURRAY became Michael Jackson’s personal physician after treating one of the King of Pop’s children in 2008.

Jackson hired him for his 2009 tour, reportedly for $150,000 (€110,000) a month.

This came at a time when Murray, 58, was in a $780,000 financial hole, with unpaid debts and bill collection lawsuits.

The Houston-based cardiologist came from very humble beginnings.

Born in Grenada, he lived with his poor grandparents, going to school barefoot because they could not afford shoes. His mother spent most of her time in Trinidad and Tobago in search of work.

At the age of seven, he moved to Trinidad and Tobago to live with his mother and stepfather. He did not meet his father, a doctor, until he moved to the US in search of higher education in 1978.

After achieving a medical degree from Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee, he trained at various hospitals and then specialised in interventional cardiology.

In 1999, Murray moved to Las Vegas and opened a storefront medical practice, with a licence to practise in California.

By the time he was hired by Jackson, Murray was deep in debt. He was ordered to pay $3,700 for failure to pay child support in San Diego in December. He also had credit card debts and owed $940 in fines and penalties for driving with an expired licence plate.

Over the last 18 months, his Nevada practice was ordered to pay $400,000 in court judgments: $228,000 to Citicorp Vendor Finance, $71,000 to an education loan company and $135,000 to a leasing company.