LOS ANGELES — Dr. Tohme Tohme vividly remembers the first time he met with Michael Jackson to discuss the pop star's finances. It's not the money talk that stays with him now, but his enchantment at entering Jackson's world of love.
"I saw how kind he was and what a wonderful human being," Tohme said in an interview. "I saw him with his children and I had never seen a better father. . . . I decided to do what I could to help him."
Tohme, a financier with a murky past, had been contacted by Jackson's brother, Jermaine, who asked if Tohme could help to save Jackson's beloved Neverland ranch from foreclosure. Tohme said he traveled with Jermaine to Las Vegas, where Jackson was living after years of wandering the world following his acquittal on child-molestation charges.
They bonded instantly. "For the last year and a half I was the closest person to Michael Jackson," Tohme said. He contacted Tom Barrack, the chairman of Colony Capital and a close personal friend. "He was hesitant to get involved, but I said, 'Let's go see Michael,' " Tohme recalled.
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After the meeting he said Barrack, who was impressed with Jackson's "intelligence and focus," bought the note for Neverland. But that was just the beginning of a business relationship that culminated in the London concerts that were to have begun next week.
Wearing a suit with no tie, Tohme, Jackson's last business manager and spokesman, granted his first interview Friday to The Associated Press in the office of a lawyer friend.
Tohme, listed in public records as being in his late 50s, has been portrayed as something of a mystery man in the Jackson brain trust.
"I hate the words 'mystery man,' " he said. "I'm a private man. A lot of people like the media and I don't. I respect the privacy of other people, but lately nobody respects mine."
He has been stung by allegations that he was involved with the Nation of Islam, which he said was untrue.
It is known that he is of Lebanese descent. His double name — pronounced toh-MAY — is not uncommon in the Middle East. But he declined to go into detail about his own life and career other than to say he is a U.S. citizen who was raised in Los Angeles and, "I'm a self-made man. I'm in the world of finance.
"I don't want to talk about me," he said. "I'm a nobody. I'm not important. I want to talk about Michael Jackson."
At times he appeared on the verge of tears as he discussed Jackson's death, saying, "It's unbelievable . . . I'm devastated . . . God bless his soul."
He said that by talking about Jackson, he was fulfilling one of the star's wishes.
"He always said to me, 'I want people to really know who I am after I'm gone.' "
He would only briefly discuss Jackson's finances. During his time with the superstar, Tohme said, he was paid nothing but was able to negotiate lucrative business deals that would secure the future of Jackson's children. He followed a long line of business managers and spokesmen who had come and gone from Jackson over the years. In the final year, he said he played a pivotal role in turning things around.
"I built a fence around Michael to keep people out," he said, acknowledging that he cut costs by firing many members of the Jackson staff.
Tohme said he abandoned everything he was doing in his own life to concentrate his time and effort on Jackson's affairs. He points with pride to the crown jewel of his and the new Jackson team's efforts: the contract with AEG for concerts at the 02 arena in London.
He said Jackson was looking forward to the concerts because he wanted his children to see him perform.
