Michael Jackson Photo Credit: Getty Images
It’s time for the annual Forbes list of the 13 top-earning DEAD celebrities. And, once again this year, Michael Jackson is #1. He’s topped the list in 10 of the 12 years since his death in 2009.
Here’s this year’s Top 13 along with their estimated earnings over the past 12 months:
1. Michael Jackson, $48 million. Dead since 2009.
2. Theodor “Dr. Seuss” Geisel, $33 million. Dead since 1991. He’s up a little from previous years thanks to a series of TV and movie deals. Not to mention the fact that he’s STILL selling books: nearly six million in the U.S. this year.
3. “Peanuts” creator Charles Schulz, $32.5 million. Dead since 2000.
4. Arnold Palmer, $25 million. Dead since 2016.
5. Elvis Presley, $23 million. Dead since 1977
6. Kobe Bryant, $20 million. Dead since this past January. Nike has sold out of Kobe’s merch, and his autobiography has sold more than 300,000 copies this year.
7. Juice WRLD, $15 million. Dead since last December.
8. Bob Marley, $14 million. Dead since 1981.
9. John Lennon, $13 million. Dead since 1980.
10. Prince, $10 million. Dead since 2016.
11. Freddie Mercury, $9 million. Dead since 1991. His estate got a small portion of the nearly $1 billion that “Bohemian Rhapsody” made at the box office and the movie also led to a spike in Queen’s music and merchandise sales.
12. George Harrison, $8.5 million. Dead since 2001.
13. Marilyn Monroe, $8 million. Dead since 1962.
Three people from last year’s Top 13, didn’t make the cut this year: Nipsey Hussle, XXXTentacion, and Whitney Houston.
