Eleven years after the death of pop star Michael Jackson, the heirs of the “King of Pop” continue to earn well from his music: the American singer, who died in 2009, brought in 48 million dollars (40.5 million euros) in the past twelve months, Forbes magazine estimates.
Jackson thus tops the list of “deceased big earners” that Forbes publishes every year. In second place follows the children’s book writer Theodor Geisel, who died in 1991, better known as Dr. Seuss (28 million euros). Comics artist Charles M. Schulz, who died in 2000, is known for the “Peanuts” comic series (27.5 million euros) in third place.
The top five is completed by golf champion Arnold Palmer (21 million euros) and singer Elvis Presley (19.5 million euros), who died in 2005. He passed away in 1977. In sixth place follows Kobe Bryant, the basketball star who died in January 2020 in a helicopter accident. The sale of sportswear and his autobiography has already yielded 17 million euros, according to Forbes.
The list of thirteen deceased also includes rapper Juice WRLD, singer Bob Marley, ex-Beatles John Lennon and George Harrison, pop star Prince, Queen singer Freddy Mercury and Hollywood star Marilyn Monroe.
Michael Jackson is the top-earning dead celebrity yet again, with $140 million in earnings: http://t.co/WRz9mKsVwN pic.twitter.com/lcUwMv76M6
— Forbes (@Forbes) October 15, 2014