Michael Jackson posthumous windfall tops Forbes list
- By Zhang Rui
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E-mail China.org.cn, October 14, 2016
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Michael Jackson [File photo] |
The late "King of Pop" Michael Jackson has topped the Forbes list of top-earning dead celebrities for the fourth year running with a record-breaking pretax annual income 7 years after he passed away.
Forbes has released its annual list of top-earning dead celebrities, which shows that Jackson raked in a stunning US$825 million last year, including US$750 million made from the sale of his 50 percent of total shares in the Sony/ATV music publishing catalog sold by his estate to Sony earlier this year.
The singer's total pretax payday of US$825 million ranks as the biggest annual haul by any celeb dead or alive, Forbes said.
Back in 1985, Michael Jackson made a US$47.5 million investment in The Beatles catalog that was criticized as an overpriced investment. But the catalog merged with Sony's publishing arm in 1995 and grew into the world’s biggest music publishing enterprise, with song copyrights from megastars like Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, The Beatles, Mariah Carey and many more.
"Peanuts" creator Charles Schulz claimed the second spot with US$48 million. The cartoonist died of colon cancer 16 years ago but lives on through the franchise and its licensing revenue, which was boosted by last year's "The Peanuts Movie." Golf legend Arnold Palmer rounded out the top three with earnings of US$40 million.
Recently deceased music superstars Prince and David Bowie are also ranked on the list. Prince, at No. 5, died when he was still grossing nearly US$2 million per concert and has sold more than 2.5 million albums over the past year. Meanwhile, Bowie released his final album, "Blackstar," just two days before his death; the ensuing sales spike helped him rank at No. 11.
Forbes' estimates are for pretax income from Oct. 1, 2015, through Oct. 1, 2016, before deducting expenses for agents, managers and lawyers. Sources include Nielsen SoundScan, Nielsen BookScan, PollstarPro, IMDB and interviews with estate experts.
Highest earning dead celebs 2016:
1. Michael Jackson – US$825 million
2. Charles Schulz – US$48 million
3. Arnold Palmer – US$40 million
4. Elvis Presley – US$27 million
5. Prince – US$25 million
6. Bob Marley – US$21 million
7. Theador Geiel “Dr. Seuss” – US$20 million
8. John Lennon – US$12 million
9. Albert Einstein – US$11.5 million
10. Bettie Page – US$11 million
11. David Bowie - US$10.5 million
12. Steve McQueen - US$9 million
13. Elizabeth Taylor - US$8 million
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