Insiders say that Jackson revealed that he kept the rights to the song and had no intention of donating the royalties. His idea was to donate only the money, which came from CD sales. FoxNews.com's Roger Friedman said: "Everyone on the CD is supposed to waive their fees too including the musicians, performers and engineers. But rights to the music remain with him, and he would reap the financial rewards."

Jackson supposedly learned this when he recorded "We are the world". This is the only charity song that he actually participated in. The song is registered to Jackson, Lionel Riche and his ex-wife Brenda Richie. So, any time the song is played on the radio, Jackson gets 50 cents and the rest is split by the Richies.