2017 marked the 5th consecutive year that “King of Pop” Michael Jackson topped the list of celebrities with the highest income after his death.
2017 marked the 5th consecutive year that “King of Pop” Michael Jackson topped the list of celebrities with the highest income after his death.
According to Forbes magazine, even though he passed away 8 years ago, Michael Jackson continued to earn $75 million in the 12 months until October 15.
This amount of money was mainly obtained from ticket sales of Cirque du Soleil’s performance of “Michael Jackson One” in Las Vegas, USA, and the compilation album of his most popular songs titled ” Scream,” along with some other projects.
Ranked 2nd on this list is golf legend Arnold Palmer, with an income of 40 million USD from sales of beverage and apparel products associated with his name.
Meanwhile, the author of the comic series “Peanuts,” Charles Schulz, ranked third with an income of $38 million. The money was raised through the profitable MetLife campaign and book sales at retail stores.
Two other singers in the top 5 on this year’s list are “King of Rock” Elvis Presley, ranked 4th with income of 35 million USD, and Bob Marley, ranked 5th with 23 million USD.
The money Presley earned mainly from the opening of two new projects in Graceland, including the Guesthouse hotel and the Memphis Entertainment Complex.
Meanwhile, reggae music superstar Marley earned $23 million from House of Marley audio equipment and Marley beverage company.
Three recently deceased singers also made the Forbes list. Rock star Tom Petty, who passed away on October 3, ranked 6th on the list with $20 million in earnings from his spring and summer tour, which ended on September 25.
Legendary Prince, who died in April 2016 from a painkiller overdose, ranked 7th on the list with an income of $18 million, while David Bowie, the British rock star, passed away in January. 2016 due to liver cancer, ranked 11th with income reaching 9.5 million USD.
Former legendary band member John Lennon ranked 9th with an income of 12 million USD, mainly from publishing contracts, album sales and a number of other projects.
Ranked next is physicist Albert Einstein, with an income of 10 million USD. This is the money earned from his name and many products bearing his image.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth Taylor ranked 12th with income of 8 million USD. The income of this “purple-eyed” movie legend is mainly earned from her perfume “empire”, including the popular perfume lines White Diamonds and Passion.
Finally, famous model Bettie Paige ranked 13th with an income of 7.5 million USD.
The list of famous deceased figures is compiled by Forbes magazine based on pre-tax income from October 15, 2016 to October 15, 2017.
