Which celebrities are raking it in, even in death

Some celebrities are rolling in their graves, making more after death than most of us earn while alive. Yes, it’s that time of year: released its of the highest-paid dead celebrities, a ranking it’s maintained since 2001. Topping the list.

.. .



.. is King of Pop Michael Jackson, who has earned an estimated $3.

3B since his death in 2009. This year’s $600m earnings were buoyed by . Moving down the list: The Queen front man pulled in $241m more than he did in 2020, largely due to the biopic .

His earnings come thanks to licensing for myriad TV shows, movies, theme park attractions, and merchandise based on his characters. His music and Memphis home still earn considerable revenue, with 600k visitors flocking to Graceland over the past year. In September, Primary Wave acquired the rights to the Cars front man’s name, image, and likeness, accounting for the windfall.

Other celebrities on the list include Prince, Whitney Houston, and creator Charles M. Schulz. New to the list is actor Matthew Perry, who died last October, and whose estate earned $17m+ in “Friends” royalties.

As morbid as it seems...

...

it is interesting to see how a person’s work can enrich their estates for years to come, how the list changes based on what’s happening in entertainment, and the importance of negotiating rights to creative work. For example: Author J.R.

R. Tolkien, who died in 1973, with the $500m sale of Middle-earth Enterprises, which owns the rights to elements of and . The “Friends” cast negotiated of syndication income, which still earns them millions each year.

Yet in the streaming age, “Friends” is an outlier — there’s an oversaturation of TV and fewer deals, and the low residuals paid out by streaming platforms was a key part of the recent Hollywood strikes. George Romero’s (1968) is in the public domain because its copyright statement was from the title screen..