Kevin Mazur/WireImageMore than seven years after his death, Michael Jackson is still raking in big bucks, and this past year the King of Pop actually earned more money than any other celebrity, living or dead. According to Forbes, Jackson’s estate earned a whopping $825 million between October 2015 and October 2016, thanks mainly to the sale of his 50-percent share of the Sony/ATV music publishing catalog, which accounted for $750 million alone.
Sony/ATV was a joint venture Jackson and Sony entered into in 1995 that includes the rights to hundreds of Beatles songs. Sony purchased the remaining half of Jackson’s stake in the company in March 2016. This marks the fourth straight year, and the sixth time in the last seven years, that MJ has topped the Forbes list of top-earning dead celebrities.
Second among dead music artists who appear on the latest Forbes tally, and fourth overall, is Elvis Presley, whose estate earned $27 million over the last year. The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll’s earnings came in large part from music sales and from his Memphis mansion Graceland, which is a popular tourist attraction. Elvis’ earnings were about 50-percent less this year than last, mainly due to a change in the way Forbes accounted for Graceland ticket sales.
Other deceased music artists who landed on the Forbes list include Prince at #5 with $25 million; Bob Marley at #6 with 21 million; John Lennon at #8 with $12 million; and David Bowie at #11 with $10.5 million.
Here are the top 11 deceased celebrities on Forbes‘ 2016 list, and their estimated earnings:
1. Michael Jackson, $825 million
2. Charles M. Schulz, $48 million (Peanuts creator)
3. Arnold Palmer, $40 million (golfer)
4. Elvis Presley, $27 million
5. Prince, $25 million
6. Bob Marley, $21 million
7. Theodore “Dr. Seuss” Geisel, $20 million (children’s book author)
8. John Lennon, $12 million
9. Albert Einstein, $11.5 million (physicist)
10. Bettie Page, $11 million (model & pinup star)
11. David Bowie, $10.5 million
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