The Highest-Paid Dead Celebrities Of 2024
Forbes ranks the posthumous success of deceased actors, authors, athletes, and other celebrities whose estates continued to generate massive earnings in 2024.
www.forbes.com
The King of Pop’s estate scored a huge win in August, after a judge ruled that the $600 million catalog sale of his publishing and recorded masters’ rights to Sony could proceed, despite protestations from the late artist’s mother, Katharine Jackson. Meanwhile, multiple revenue streams keep the dollars moonwalking in, including MJ’s Broadway musical and touring productions. All told, Forbes estimates that Jackson has earned more than $3.3 billion since his death in 2009.
The King of Pop still reigns in Germany, thanks to the international touring version of MJ: The Michael Jackson Musical. Jackson’s longtime estate attorney, John Branca, claims that tickets for the Hamburg opening in 2025 are selling out, with the potential to be the show’s largest market. Additional productions in London, Las Vegas, and the U.S. tour—separate from the Broadway show—pull in $6 million weekly.
Here the top 10 of Forbes List:
1. Michael Jackson – $600 Million
2. Freddie Mercury – $250 Million
3. Dr. Seuss – $75 Million
4. Elvis Presley – $50 Million
5. Ric Ocasek – $45 Million
6. Prince – $35 Million
7. Bob Marley – $34 Million
8. Charles M. Schulz – $30 Million
9. Matthew Perry – $18 Million
10. John Lennon – $17 Million
