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Only because Elizabeth Taylor's Estate made US$210 million off the auction of her possessions including a Van Gogh painting 
So woop woop for Michael!
10/24/2012 @ 9:45AM |228 views
Elizabeth Taylor Tops 2012 List Of The Top-Earning Dead Celebrities
When it comes to earnings, it’s hard to beat Michael Jackson. The pop singer, who died in 2009 at the age of 50, raked in more than any living artist in the past 12 months: $145 million.
But this year that wasn’t enough to get him to the top of our list of the Top-Earning Dead Celebrities. Beating him to the No. 1 spot is his old friend Elizabeth Taylor. The estate of the glamorous actress, who was 79 when she passed away last year, earned a staggering $210 million last year.
Most of that money came from the record-breaking Christie’s auctions of the star’s jewelry, costumes and art work, which brought in $184 million. Every one of the 1,800 lots sold. The most expensive item was an 1889 Van Gogh painting that went for $16 million.
Then there’s her perfume, White Diamonds, which is one of the best selling perfumes around bringing in $75 million at retail in 2011, according to Euromonitor.
The rest of the money came from property sales and residuals from Taylor’s movies. After Cleopatra, the star smartly negotiated a 10% ownership stake in each of her films. Her estate also collects money from Around The World in 80 Days, which was produced by her ex-husband, Michael Todd.
The residuals will keep Taylor on our list, but without the money from the one-time auction, it will be tough for her to beat out the King of Pop again: Jackson’s estate has too many steady revenue streams. Not only does it earn from sales of his own music, Jackson owned a 50% stake in Sony‘s ATV catalog, which includes artists like The Beatles, Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga. His estate also collects money from the successful Cirque Du Soleil show The Immortal Tour.
Jackson earned $90 million more than our third-ranked celebrity, Elvis Presley. With $55 million in earnings the king of rock n’ roll pulled in the same amount as he did in 2011. As with Jackson, Cirque Du Soleil launched a whole show around Presley’s music in 2010, Viva Elvis, at MGM’s Aria casino in Las Vegas. But with ticket sales flagging, MGM asked Cirque to bring down the curtains at summer’s end. Luckily for the king, traffic was brisk at Graceland this year, making up for the lost revenue from the show.
Our list looks at earnings between October 2011 and October 2012. We count money coming into the estate and we don’t deduct for how the estate handles it. So for example, some of the proceeds from Elizabeth Taylor’s auction went to her AIDS Foundation, but we did not subtract that contribution from her total earnings.
Peanuts creator Charles Schulz ranks fourth with $37 million. Sixty years after the comic strip debuted, Charlie Brown and the gang are as hot as ever. The Peanuts are the ninth most lucrative entertainment franchise, bringing in $2 billion a year globally at retail. The strip is about to get the big-screen treatment from Fox‘s animation division Blue Sky, which produced the Ice Age movies. That could help boost Shulz’ earnings in coming years.
“The Peanuts have been underrepresented in media,” says Steve Marotta, an analyst at C.L. King & Associates who covers Iconix, the public company that managed Peanuts. “If it’s a good movie it’s only going to enhance the brands image and drive it into other categories.”
The movie is slated for 2015.
Bob Marley rounds out the top five, with $17 million in earnings last year. The reggae star has become a diversified businessman from beyond the grave. There is now a Marley beverage company which sells Marley’s Mellow Mood, a “relaxation” drink. Then there’s the House of Marley which sells headphones, speakers and “lively up” bags.
Full List: Top-Earning Dead Celebrities 2012
http://www.forbes.com/sites/dorothy...-taylor-is-the-new-queen-of-dead-celebrities/
So woop woop for Michael!
10/24/2012 @ 9:45AM |228 views
Elizabeth Taylor Tops 2012 List Of The Top-Earning Dead Celebrities
When it comes to earnings, it’s hard to beat Michael Jackson. The pop singer, who died in 2009 at the age of 50, raked in more than any living artist in the past 12 months: $145 million.
But this year that wasn’t enough to get him to the top of our list of the Top-Earning Dead Celebrities. Beating him to the No. 1 spot is his old friend Elizabeth Taylor. The estate of the glamorous actress, who was 79 when she passed away last year, earned a staggering $210 million last year.
Most of that money came from the record-breaking Christie’s auctions of the star’s jewelry, costumes and art work, which brought in $184 million. Every one of the 1,800 lots sold. The most expensive item was an 1889 Van Gogh painting that went for $16 million.
Then there’s her perfume, White Diamonds, which is one of the best selling perfumes around bringing in $75 million at retail in 2011, according to Euromonitor.
The rest of the money came from property sales and residuals from Taylor’s movies. After Cleopatra, the star smartly negotiated a 10% ownership stake in each of her films. Her estate also collects money from Around The World in 80 Days, which was produced by her ex-husband, Michael Todd.
The residuals will keep Taylor on our list, but without the money from the one-time auction, it will be tough for her to beat out the King of Pop again: Jackson’s estate has too many steady revenue streams. Not only does it earn from sales of his own music, Jackson owned a 50% stake in Sony‘s ATV catalog, which includes artists like The Beatles, Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga. His estate also collects money from the successful Cirque Du Soleil show The Immortal Tour.
Jackson earned $90 million more than our third-ranked celebrity, Elvis Presley. With $55 million in earnings the king of rock n’ roll pulled in the same amount as he did in 2011. As with Jackson, Cirque Du Soleil launched a whole show around Presley’s music in 2010, Viva Elvis, at MGM’s Aria casino in Las Vegas. But with ticket sales flagging, MGM asked Cirque to bring down the curtains at summer’s end. Luckily for the king, traffic was brisk at Graceland this year, making up for the lost revenue from the show.
Our list looks at earnings between October 2011 and October 2012. We count money coming into the estate and we don’t deduct for how the estate handles it. So for example, some of the proceeds from Elizabeth Taylor’s auction went to her AIDS Foundation, but we did not subtract that contribution from her total earnings.
Peanuts creator Charles Schulz ranks fourth with $37 million. Sixty years after the comic strip debuted, Charlie Brown and the gang are as hot as ever. The Peanuts are the ninth most lucrative entertainment franchise, bringing in $2 billion a year globally at retail. The strip is about to get the big-screen treatment from Fox‘s animation division Blue Sky, which produced the Ice Age movies. That could help boost Shulz’ earnings in coming years.
“The Peanuts have been underrepresented in media,” says Steve Marotta, an analyst at C.L. King & Associates who covers Iconix, the public company that managed Peanuts. “If it’s a good movie it’s only going to enhance the brands image and drive it into other categories.”
The movie is slated for 2015.
Bob Marley rounds out the top five, with $17 million in earnings last year. The reggae star has become a diversified businessman from beyond the grave. There is now a Marley beverage company which sells Marley’s Mellow Mood, a “relaxation” drink. Then there’s the House of Marley which sells headphones, speakers and “lively up” bags.
Full List: Top-Earning Dead Celebrities 2012
http://www.forbes.com/sites/dorothy...-taylor-is-the-new-queen-of-dead-celebrities/
