The King of Pop reigns in the afterlife once more along with an all-star roster of performers—including Elvis, Whitney Houston and Prince—from the great beyond.
Being dead isn’t the gig it used to be. The 13 deceased musicians, authors and other A-listers on Forbes’ annual ranking of the highest-paid dead celebrities earned some $470 million during the past 12 months—a 70% decrease from the record-breaking $1.6 billion grossed in 2022.
The steep decline is due, in part, to the drop in nine-figure music catalog sales that boosted departed stars’ earnings into the heavens. More than half of last year’s top dead celebrities did so through acquisitions of their intellectual property. This year, only one did: The estate of Ray Manzarek, late keyboardist for the Doors, sold his interest in the band’s work to Primary Wave, alongside guitarist Robby Krieger. The deal, which sources tell Forbes was between $80 million and $100 million for both artists, puts Manzarek at No. 3 this year. But that is a flat world away from the $500 million the estate of J.R.R. Tolkien, the long-deceased author of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, received for his Middle Earth Enterprises in 2022, or the $250 million the estate of David Bowie got last year for his publishing catalog and masters.
Without catalog sales inflating the earnings of deceased stars like Manzarek, the top earners on this year’s list are familiar afterlife performers. Michael Jackson returns to the No. 1 spot for the first time in four years with an estimated $115 million in earnings. He’s followed by his late father-in-law Elvis Presley at No. 2. Two beloved artists round out the top five with Dr. Seuss at No. 4 and Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz at No. 5.
Bernard Resnick, an entertainment lawyer who represents celebrities both living and deceased, sees three causes for the cooling of catalog deals. For one, the investments typically require many years before they produce a meaningful return. “The companies that are out there buying up the catalogs have in some ways exhausted their capital,” Resnick tells Forbes. “It’s also more expensive to borrow money,” Resnick adds, making it harder for companies who are doing so to buy catalogs to “buy as many or pay as much.”
Finally, Resnick sees an issue with supply. “A lot of those legacy artists and writers who were interested in selling their catalogs, their estates have already done that,” he says. “There aren’t that many available.” And certain artists aren’t interested in selling out—but their children are typically more inclined to do so, Resnick says.
The owner of a catalog also has a finite window—they can only maintain the copyright for 70 years after an artist has died. “With dead celebrities, the clock is ticking,” Resnick says, making the works of long-dead stars less desirable than those who are recently deceased.
Further threatening the catalog supply is the growing number of artists who cash in while they’re still alive. Justin Bieber, Katy Perry and Dr. Dre are just some of the musicians who sold their music rights this year—each for upwards of $200 million. “It’s like winning the lottery,” Resnick says of artists who cash in while still young. “Do you want the payout today and you have it for the rest of your life and it can grow for you, or do you want the annuity for 25 years?”
Still, some stars are finding new life after death. While he was too recently departed to make the 2023 list, Jimmy Buffett is expected to salt away big money in 2024. The billionaire “Margaritaville” singer died in September from cancer and had the first No. 1 hit of his career a few weeks later.
#1 | $115 Million
MICHAEL JACKSON
June 25, 2009 (50)†
Overdose/Homicide
The King of Pop returns to the top of the highest-earning dead celebrities list for the first time since 2019 thanks to the Broadway hit MJ: The Musical, which grossed some $85 million in ticket sales over the past year. Jackson also rings up millions from the Cirque du Soleil show, Michael Jackson ONE, in Las Vegas. His earnings should continue to rise—earlier this year the estate signed onto Michael, a biopic to be directed by Antoine Fuqua and starring Jackson’s nephew Jaafar.
#2 | $100 Million
ELVIS PRESLEY
August 16, 1977 (42)†
Heart Attack
Though Elvis left the building nearly 50 years ago, it’s still good to be the King. Graceland, Presley’s home in Memphis, Tennessee, saw some 600,000 visitors in the last 12 months and the estate has multiple sources of income, including tickets and merchandise. After the January death of Elvis’ only daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, from cardiac arrest, his ex-wife, Priscilla, and granddaughter Riley Keough entered into a contentious legal battle for control of the two estates. Keough, a 34-year-old actress who stars in Daisy Jones and the Six, ended up as the sole trustee of both.
#3 | $45 Million
RAY MANZAREK
May 20, 2013 (74)†
Cancer
In one of this year’s few major music catalog deals, the deceased Doors keyboard player and living guitarist Robby Krieger jointly sold their rights to the band’s music to Primary Wave. The acquisition included rights to their recorded music, publishing, trademarks and merchandising, and related income. Drummer John Densmore and the estate of Jim Morrison maintain their stakes in the Doors’ rights.
#4 | $40 Million
DR. SEUSS
September 24, 1991 (87)†
Cancer
Young readers still can’t get enough of the books written an illustrated by Theodor Seuss Geisel and his back catalog sales and new releases—like How the Grinch Lost Christmas—make up a majority of his lucrative annual earnings. The rest of Dr. Seuss’ income comes from licensing his classic characters such as the Grinch, the Cat in the Hat and the Lorax, which increased since last year.
#5 | $30 Million
CHARLES M. SCHULZ
February 12, 2000 (77)†
Cancer
Charlie Brown famously got a rock for Halloween, but the Schulz estate has been on a financial roll for more than a decade. The Peanuts gang continued its work with Apple—which now airs its holiday specials—with a line of digital faces for the brand’s watches. Fans of Snoopy, Linus and Lucy can also stock up on branded cookware at Williams Sonoma, sneakers from Cariuma and Igloo Coolers, brand collaborations which were all released this year. It’s almost better than a visit from the Great Pumpkin.
#6 | $30 Million
PRINCE
April 21, 2016 (57)†
Overdose
Prince famously called the afterlife “a world of never-ending happiness.” For his estate—and Primary Wave, which owns a stake in his masters royalties, writer’s share, name and likeness—that means publishing more music. Since Prince’s death in 2016, the Purple One has released three posthumous albums. And later this month, a remastered version of his classic 1991 album Diamonds and Pearls is dropping. The box set features 47 unreleased songs and hours of never-before-seen concert footage.
#7 | $30 Million
WHITNEY HOUSTON
February 11, 2012 (48)†
Drowning
Whitney Houston would have turned 60 in 2023—and her fans will always love her. Her estate is simultaneously celebrating its biggest year yet, thanks to a biopic and several brand collaborations. In December, the film Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody grossed nearly $60 million worldwide. And MAC Cosmetics released a makeup collection with the Houston estate, which is run by her sister-in-law, Pat Houston, and Primary Wave.
#8 | $22 Million
JOHN LENNON
December 8, 1980 (40)†
Homicide
The Beatles may have understood that money can’t buy you love, but just in case they were wrong, the estate of John Lennon has plenty of it. Once again, Lennon earned steady royalties from his individual music catalog as well as his share from Beatles music. That catalog is still growing: this week, the group’s final song together, “Now and Then” will be released, thanks to the help of artificial intelligence. It’s based on one of Lennon’s demos from the 1970s, which didn’t make the cut for the group’s Anthology album.
#9 | $16 Million
BOB MARLEY
May 11, 1981 (36)†
Cancer
More than 40 years after Bob Marley’s death, his music is still in high demand. As are the rights to his name and likeness, which can be found on headphones, speakers, sneakers and, yes, cannabis. Earlier this year, the first Marley-branded dispensary opened in his native Jamaica. And next year, the movie Bob Marley: One Love, starring Kingsley Ben Adir, hits the big screen.
#10 | $14 Million
BING CROSBY
October 14, 1977 (75)†
Heart Attack
Mariah Carey might be the queen of Christmas, but for generations of music fans Bing remains the king. His estate still rakes in royalties from his music catalog and the use of his songs. Earlier this month, the Crosby estate released the posthumous album Bing Crosby’s Christmas Gems, which brought archival material and rare recordings to streaming services just in time for the holiday season. The new release includes the digital debut of Crosby’s duet with David Bowie, “Peace On Earth / Little Drummer Boy” but leaves out his biggest hit, White Christmas.
#11 | $14 Million
GEORGE HARRISON
November 29, 2001 (58)†
Cancer
Like John Lennon, George Harrison earns a steady income from his years with the Beatles and as a solo musician. The Fab Two also take in a portion from the psychedelic Cirque du Soleil show based on the Beatles catalog, LOVE.
#12 (TIE) | $10 Million
ARNOLD PALMER
September 25, 2016 (87)†
Heart Disease
Though he made his fortune playing golf, Arnold Palmer earns royalties from the sale of his signature half-lemonade, half-iced tea beverage enterprise. In 2018, his namesake beverage brand also launched a spiked line of Arnold Palmer drinks, which has expanded its flavor offerings as the hard tea market grows.
#12 (TIE) | $10 Million
MARILYN MONROE
August 5, 1962 (36)†
Overdose
Marilyn Monroe’s iconic image is still setting fashion and design trends more than sixty years after her death. The star raked in millions from licensing and merchandising—including an NFT collection with Zeblocks, false lashes and press-on nails from Kiss, and a lingerie line with Fleur du Mal.
METHODOLOGY
This year’s Dead Celebrity ranking includes pretax earnings from sales, streams, licensing deals and other sources between October 1, 2022 and September 30, 2023, as well as estate acquisitions made or announced during the same period. Forbes compiles the numbers with the help of data from Luminate and interviews with industry insiders. Fees for agents, managers and lawyers are not deducted.
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Photo Credits: Santi Visalli/Getty Images, Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images, Michael Montfort/Getty Images, Aaron Rapoport/Corbis/Getty Images, CBS/Getty Images, Ida Mae Astute/Walt Disney Television/Getty Images, Allan Tannenbaum/Getty Images, Donaldson Collection/Getty Images, Bettmann/Getty Images
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