Michael Jackson continues to out-earn most of us, even beyond the grave.
According to Forbes’ annual list of the top earning dead celebrities, Michael Jackson has topped the charts—for the fifth year in a row.
Jackson’s estate brought in $75 million this year, helped in no small part by a new greatest hits album. Other high-earning ventures include a Cirque du Soleil show in Las Vegas and a stake in the EMI music publishing catalog, as well as a CBS Halloween special that aired over the weekend. The $75 million total puts Jackson’s earnings on par with Bruce Springsteen, the 17th best-paid living entertainer, according to Forbes.
Nevertheless, the singer’s 2017 earnings fall short compared to last year, when his estate raked in $825 million. The majority of these earnings came from the sale of his half of the Sony/ATV catalogue, and was the highest annual total for any entertainer—dead or alive.
Rounding out the list of the 13 highest paid dead celebrities include Arnold Palmer, with annual earnings of $40 million, Charles Schulz, Elvis Presley, Bob Marley, Tom Petty, Prince, Dr. Seuss, John Lennon, and Albert Einstein.
