John McClain, a co-executor of Michael Jackson‘s $2.5 billion estate, died on Tuesday at the age of 71 in Malibu, California.
The Los Angeles native had been dealing with ill health in recent years, his representative told TMZ, though his specific cause of death has not yet been announced.
The late McClain had worked at the top of the music industry in multiple positions, also as a producer and A&R executive at different stages in his career, most recently as a co-executor with John Branca.
‘I am profoundly grieved at the loss of my partner and “brother” John McClain,’ Branca told the Daily Mail Wednesday in a statement. ‘One of the great innovators in the world of music and music marketing, John was a visionary, seeing past the mundane and into the future.
‘He brought a passion and sense of conviction to all that he did and was the most generous of friends. It is difficult to imagine a world without him.’
McClain – who collaborated with artists including Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, Kirk Franklin and Teddy Riley – was dubbed ‘as one of the most talented and respected figures in the world of Black music’ by the Los Angeles Times in 1998.
McClain was an exec with A&M Records at the time of Janet Jackson’s star-making 1986 album Control. He also pointed the label to sign early 90s sensations such as Mark Wahlberg‘s ensemble Marky Mark & The Funky Bunch; and Rico Suave singer Gerardo.
He was appointed with co-executor John Branca to commandeer the estate of the late Michael Jackson after the Thriller artist died at the age of 50 on June 25, 2009.
Among the high-profile projects the executors oversaw, in turning the estate’s finances around, included a Cirque du Soleil show themed after the late vocalist; the 2009 concert film This Is It; and this year’s hit biopic Michael.
McClain had also produced a number of related film projects including Michael Jackson’s Halloween in 2017, 2014’s Michael Jackson: Slave to the Rhythm, and 2012’s Bad 25.
‘When we were named in Michael’s will,’ Branca told the Daily Mail on Wednesday, ‘I knew that he would bring great insight into Michael’s music and that his friendship and dedication to Michael would underscore all the great projects that we could bring to the world.’
For more information see Adam Levy “Michael Jackson estate co-executor John McClain dead at 71 after privately battling illness… amid court war with singer’s daughter Paris” Daily Mail, May 27, 2026.