Why Dead Celebrities Are Still Making Serious Money: 2025's Highest-Earning Estates Revealed

For 25 years, Forbes has tracked one of entertainment’s most unusual rankings: who’s earning the most after they’ve passed away. The list reads like a who’s who of music and entertainment royalty—and if you’re wondering just how much is Jimmy Buffett worth now, or what Michael Jackson has earned since 2009, the numbers might shock you.

The simple answer? Dead celebrities are absolutely crushing it. In fact, for many of them, death was just the beginning of their most profitable era.

The King of Pop Rewrote the Playbook

Michael Jackson didn’t just top this year’s list with $105 million in earnings over the past 12 months—he fundamentally changed how we think about celebrity estates. Since his death in 2009, Jackson’s estate has accumulated a staggering $3.5 billion, according to Forbes estimates.

That’s not a typo.

One high-profile estate lawyer summed it up perfectly: “When it comes to estate earnings, it’s MJ, then an enormous canyon, then everybody else.”

How did Jackson pull this off? Smart investments during his lifetime. He purchased the ATV catalog back in 1985 for $47.5 million—which in today’s dollars would be around $142 million. That single move gave him control of nearly 4,000 songs, including most of the hits written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. When his estate sold its stake in that catalog to Sony in 2016, it netted $750 million (roughly $1 billion in today’s money).

But Jackson’s income streams didn’t stop there. In 2024, his estate sold a 50% stake in his personal publishing and master recordings to Sony for another $600 million. Beyond the mega-deals, his brand continues to print money through entertainment vehicles: his 2009 concert film This Is It grossed $267 million, while a Cirque du Soleil production generated $160 million in a single tour—more than most living musicians earn in a year.

Today, Michael Jackson ONE has been performing in Las Vegas since 2013, and MJ: The Musical debuted on Broadway in 2022, accumulating nearly $300 million in ticket sales with multiple international productions still running.

The Music Royalty Dominance

Musicians dominate this year’s rankings, claiming 10 of the top 13 spots and earning $541 million combined before taxes and fees. This shouldn’t be surprising—music catalogs are the gift that keeps giving, with master recordings and publishing rights generating residual income year after year.

The past 12 months saw several notable estates cash in on the market for music assets. Artists like The Notorious B.I.G., Miles Davis, and two former members of Pink Floyd all found major paydays by selling portions of their rights to investors eager to own a piece of their legacy.

The Notorious B.I.G. moved from underground rap legend to #5 on the list, earning $80 million after Primary Wave Music acquired 50% of his catalog, publishing, and name/image/likeness rights in March. The East Coast rapper, who was murdered at just 24 years old, continues to generate massive merchandise sales and cultural relevance decades after his death.

Miles Davis, the jazz innovator, landed at #6 with $21 million in earnings. Reservoir Media snapped up 90% of his estate ahead of what would have been his 100th birthday this year, with centennial concert performances planned across major venues and a biopic in the works.

Pink Floyd’s Richard Wright and Syd Barrett—the founding keyboardist and original frontman—tied at #3 and #4 with $81 million each after Sony Music Publishing acquired the band’s entire catalog and NIL rights for $400 million in October 2024. The legendary rock band had shopped these assets for years, initially asking for as much as $600 million before settling with Sony.

The Non-Music Money Machine

Not everyone on the list built their fortune through music. Dr. Seuss (the pen name of Theodor Seuss Geisel) claimed the #2 spot with $85 million—making him the top-selling children’s author in the U.S. last year, outselling even J.K. Rowling with 4.8 million books sold in 2024. The estate’s expanded Netflix partnership brought three new series, with a Warner Bros. animated adaptation of The Cat In The Hat coming in 2026.

Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville brand demonstrates how brand extension can outlive its creator. The late musician—worth an estimated $1 billion after his 2023 death—built an empire that extends far beyond music: restaurants, apparel, resorts, a cruise line, and even retirement communities for devoted Parrotheads. Understanding how much is Jimmy Buffett worth requires looking beyond music royalties to this sprawling commercial empire, which earned $14 million for his estate this past year.

Arnold Palmer, another non-musician entry, continues to generate serious income through his signature drink—a collaboration with AriZona Beverages that rakes in an estimated $200 million annually. Meanwhile, Kobe Bryant’s Nike sneakers nearly quadrupled their revenue year-over-year, proving that athletic royalty can be just as lucrative as musical talent.

The Catalog Selling Boom (And Cooling)

The market for music and entertainment assets has cooled significantly from pandemic-era insanity, when dealmakers were valuing catalogs at 20 times their annual revenue. Artists like Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen cashed out for hundreds of millions during that peak period.

But the buying continues. Bob Marley (#9, $13 million) benefits from the Las Vegas Bob Marley Hope Road production, which stages 29 shows weekly, alongside extensive licensing deals for his name on everything from coffee to cannabis to fragrances.

Elvis Presley, who topped the original Forbes list 25 years ago and has appeared on every edition since, earned $17 million this year. The King has accumulated over $1.2 billion during those 25 years, though his current earnings are more modest than Jackson’s—partly because his family controls only 15% of Elvis Presley Enterprises, with the rest managed by Authentic Brands Group.

Prince (#11, $11 million) and John Lennon (#10, $12 million) round out the music elite, both benefiting from ongoing royalties and special projects. An upcoming HBO documentary about Lennon’s 1972 Madison Square Garden concert could boost his streaming numbers further.

Why This Keeps Working

The key to long-term posthumous earnings is simple: strong brand appeal that doesn’t fade, combined with strategic asset ownership. Estates that maintain control over their creator’s works—publishing rights, master recordings, name/image/likeness—are the ones raking in nine figures.

The rarest and most valuable celebrities are those whose families still control their legacy, rather than having it parceled out to multiple parties. That’s why Michael Jackson, Jimmy Buffett, and Dr. Seuss remain such powerhouses—their estates maintain tight control over licensing, production, and merchandising.

For those who lose control—like Marilyn Monroe, Muhammad Ali, and Albert Einstein—the earning potential shrinks considerably, even if the brand remains iconic.

The bottom line: in the entertainment afterlife, strategic planning during your lifetime determines whether you’ll be earning millions for decades to come or fading into licensing obscurity.