We can’t forget that although celebrities and musicians die, their legacy and estate lives on.
Every time we hear Billy Jean on the radio, the pennies (well, more like thousands) drop into deceased stars like Michael Jackson’s estate.
Forbes have found that MJ is at the top of their annual ranking of top earning dead celebrities.
The ‘Bad’ superstar’s half of the Sony/ATV music publishing catalog, which famously contains many Beatles tunes, sold for $750 million (£614m) in March.
Jeff Jampol, who manages the estates of Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison as well as Jackson, said:
He was always doing stuff that was the best, the greatest, the biggest. That was a big fight when he wanted to buy that catalog … it turned out to be one of the greatest investments ever.
Cartoonist Charles Schulz, the creator of Peanuts, claims the second spot with $48 million (£39m) in his estate.
Although he died of colon cancer 16 years ago, the franchise lives on, boosted by last year’s 3D Peanuts Movie.
Golf legend Arnold Palmer comes in at number three with earnings of $40 million (£33m).
Recently deceased superstars Prince and David Bowie both rank highly on the list, both having passed at a high in their careers.
Bowie passed just two days after the release of his album Blackstar, and Prince was at the top of his touring game, grossing nearly $2 million (£1.6m) per show.
Last but not least is the King, Elvis Presley.
With thousands visiting Graceland every year and the Rock n’ Roll legend selling more than one million albums last year, he’s doing pretty damn well for someone who died nearly 40 years ago.
And they’re not even here to spend it!
