When it comes to earnings, it’s hard to beat Michael
Jackson. The pop singer, who died in 2009 at the age of 50, raked in more than
any living artist in the past 12 months: $145 million.
But this year that wasn’t enough to get him to the top of
Forbes list of the Top-Earning Dead Celebrities. Beating him to the No. 1 spot
is his old friend Elizabeth Taylor. The estate of the glamorous actress, who
was 79 when she passed away last year, earned a staggering $210 million last
year.
The residuals will keep Taylor
on the Forbes list, but without the money from the one-time auction, it will be tough
for her to beat out the King of Pop again: Jackson ’s estate has many steady revenue
streams. Not only does it earn from sales of his own music, Jackson owned a 50%
stake in Sony‘s ATV catalog, which includes artists like The Beatles, Taylor
Swift and Lady Gaga.
Peanuts creator Charles Schulz ranks fourth with $37
million. Sixty years after the comic strip debuted, Charlie Brown and the gang
are as hot as ever. The Peanuts are the ninth most lucrative entertainment
franchise, bringing in $2 billion a year globally at retail. The strip is about
to get the big-screen treatment from Fox’s animation division Blue Sky, which
produced the Ice Age movies. That could help boost Shulz’ earnings in coming
years. The movie is slated for 2015.
Bob Marley rounds out the top five, with $17 million in
earnings last year.
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