12 Highest Earning Dead Celebrities Of 2020
Here are the details of this dead Heroes
According to Forbes has ranked
12 dead celebrities who raked in the most cash in 2020. And King of Pop Michael Jackson once again topped this year’s Forbes list of the highest-paid dead celebrities list, after hauling in $60 million over the past year. In all the 12 dead celebrities pulled in $284.5 million.
The list measured pretax income from
October 1, 2018, through October 1, 2019.
Here are the list of 13 highest Earning dead celebrities
Advertisements
12. WHITNEY HOUSTON: $9.5 million
Deceased: February 11, 2012
Cause of death: Drowning
The $7 million sale this May of half her
estate, along with the success of the Kygo
remix of her “Higher Love” cover—which has
already clocked over 175 million Spotify spins
paved the way for Houston’s debut on our
list.
11. XXXTENTACION: $10 million
Deceased: June 18, 2018
Cause of death: Homicide
Even after a 27% drop in year-over-year
consumption, the polarizing South Florida
rapper remains the most-streamed dead
celebrity in the U.S. with 5.6 billion spins.
10. NIPSEY HUSSLE: $11 million
Deceased: March 31, 2019
Cause of death: Homicide
Business savvy is eternal: Nipsey’s prescient
focus on retaining the rights to his music
monetized his 1.85 billion streams, third-
most of any act on our list, at a greater rate
than most artists dead or alive.
9. PRINCE: $12 million
Deceased: April 21, 2016
Cause of death: Overdose
The Purple One continues to move music,
including a robust 320,000 physical units and
half a billion on-demand streams, an overall
increase of 12% year-over-year.
8. MARILYN MONROE: $13 million
Deceased: August 5, 1962
Cause of death: Overdose
One of the most popular dearly departed stars
when it comes to licensing, Monroe has
added a Zales collection to deals with the
likes of Chanel and Montblanc.
7. JOHN LENNON: $14 million
Deceased: December 8, 1980
Cause of death: Homicide
The 50th anniversary of Abbey Road has
boosted the Beatles across streaming and
digital—moving 2.2 million U.S. album-
equivalents over the past year, more than any
defunct act—with Lennon’s own catalogue
leaping 52%.
6. DR. SEUSS: $19 million
Deceased: September 24, 1991
Cause of death: Cancer
Oh, the places he still goes! Licensing deals
with Hallmark, Universal Studios and others
add to publishing empire that moved more
than 5 million books stateside over the past
12 months.
5. BOB MARLEY: $20 million
Deceased: May 11, 1981
Cause of death: Cancer
With nearly 1 billion streaming spins in the
U.S., the ubiquity of Marley’s music keeps his
House of Marley products—including
headphones, speakers and turntables—from
going up in smoke.
4. ARNOLD PALMER: $30 million
Deceased: September 25, 2016
Cause of death: Heart Disease
The golf legend’s empire remains well above
par, thanks to partnerships with MasterCard
and Rolex. Then there’s his eponymous
Arizona beverage, plus a boozy version
launched by MolsonCoors this year.
3. CHARLES SCHULZ: $38 million
Deceased: February 12, 2000
Cause of death: Cancer
Snoopy’s creator continues to cash in around
his Peanuts franchise’s 70th anniversary. A
licensing deal with Met Life, expiring this year,
also adds double-digit millions to his eternal
coffers.
2. ELVIS PRESLEY: $39 million
Deceased: August 16, 1977
Cause of death: Heart Attack
For decades, 500,000-plus visitors have made
the pilgrimage to Graceland annually,
prompting a recent $45 million addition
called Elvis Presley’s Memphis. Up next: a
biopic directed by Baz Luhrmann, starring
Tom Hanks.
1. MICHAEL JACKSON: $60 million
Deceased: June 25, 2009
Cause of death: Overdose/Homicide
The King of Pop’s streaming surged despite
recent controversy: 2.1 billion U.S. spins, up
from 1.8 billion a year ago. With proceeds
flowing from his Mijac Music catalogue, a Las
Vegas show and a long-term deal with Sony,
he retains his postmortem cash crown for the
seventh consecutive year.
Advertisements
