On the 25th anniversary of the Forbes ranking, The Notorious B.I.G., Miles Davis and Jimmy Buffett join a heavenly lineup of musicians as the greatest earners in the great beyond. Plus: How Michael Jackson earned $3.5 billion in the afterlife.
IN 2001, Elvis Presley topped Forbes’ first list tracking the highest-earning celebrity estates, and The King has appeared on every edition of the rankings in the 25 years since, earning over $1.2 billion during that span. Yet it’s another member of music royalty who has truly broken the paradigm for posthumous earnings—Elvis’ onetime son-in-law, Michael Jackson.
The King of Pop’s estate has earned an astonishing $3.5 billion since his death in 2009, according to Forbes estimates, topping this year’s list once again with $105 million in earnings over the past 12 months. “When it comes to estate earnings,” one high-profile estate lawyer tells Forbes, “It’s MJ, then an enormous canyon, then everybody else.”
The biggest paydays came from unwinding assets that Jackson accumulated during his life. In addition to owning his own publishing rights and master recordings, Jackson also purchased the ATV catalog for $47.5 million in 1985—about $142 million today—which included among its nearly 4,000 songs almost every hit written together by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. That investment eventually returned $750 million in 2016 (around $1 billion today) when the estate sold its stake to Sony. Not included in that sale was Jackson’s own publishing and master recordings, but in 2024 his estate sold a 50% stake in those assets to Sony for another $600 million—much to the dismay of Jackson’s mother, Katherine, who said the sale would be against Jackson’s wishes and tried to block the deal in court.
In all the years between megadeals, Jackson’s brand has continued to mint money across many different categories—almost entirely unaffected by the sexual abuse allegations that hung over the final years of his life, or the 2019 Finding Neverland documentary detailing them. His posthumous 2009 concert film, This Is It, grossed $267 million at the box office, and an MJ-themed Cirque du Soleil tour in 2012 grossed $160 million, making it the most successful concert tour of that year and earning Jackson more money than any living musician. That success gave rise to Cirque du Soleil’s Michael Jackson ONE, which has held a residency in Las Vegas since 2013, and a Broadway show, MJ: The Musical, which debuted in 2022, totaling almost $300 million in total ticket sales and spawning several international productions.
Because of the global appeal of pop music, and the likelihood that star recording artists receive a higher percentage of residual profits than, say, actors from their catalog of movies or TV shows, musicians once again dominate this year’s list, making up 10 of the top 13, who earned a total of $541 million combined before taxes and fees. Master recordings and publishing rights continue to print millions each year for icons such as Prince, John Lennon and Bob Marley.
A handful of newcomers found their way onto the list this year by selling the rights to that residual income to eager third parties, many of whom are backed by private equity. While the market for music assets has cooled from its pandemic-era insanity—when dealmakers reported valuations of 20-times revenue, and artists like Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen cashed out for hundreds of millions of dollars—but musicians like The Notorious B.I.G., Miles Davis and two deceased members of Pink Floyd all found big paydays on the open market this past year.
Other celebrities’ estates still receive royalties for the branded physical products they made famous. Arnold Palmer’s eponymous drink, for instance, sells an estimated $200 million worth of product each year, and Kobe Bryant’s sneakers continue to fly off the shelves for Nike. For Jimmy Buffett, the Margaritaville brand has yet to find a product it couldn’t attach its name to and sell to an army of Parrotheads—from apparel to hotels to several Buffett-inspired retirement communities.
Rare is the celebrity whose appeal does not diminish in the years after their death, and rarer still is one whose family still controls the rights to his or her works and name, image and likeness—not the case for former listees, including Marilyn Monroe, Albert Einstein, and Muhammad Ali.
Still, for these lucky 13, the roads of the afterlife remain paved with gold.
#1. $105 Million
Michael Jackson
June 25, 2009 (50) • Cause Of Death: Overdose/Homicide
As part of the deal to sell half of The King of Pop’s master recording catalog and publishing rights to Sony in 2024 for $600 million, the Jackson estate negotiated to receive a larger share of worldwide royalties on the remaining music rights, ensuring he maintains one of the highest-earning music catalogs in the world. While music remains Jackson’s biggest business, MJ: The Musical had five productions up and running on stages around the world in the past year, his Cirque du Soleil show, Michael Jackson ONE, surpassed 5,000 performances at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas and was extended through 2030. And the long-awaited movie biopic Michael starring Jackson’s nephew Jaafar is set to premiere in April 2026.
#2. $85 Million
Dr. Seuss
September 24, 1991 (87) • Cause Of Death: Cancer
The beloved author, born Theodor Seuss Geisel, was the top-selling children and young adult author in the U.S. last year, beating out billionaire Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling with 4.8 million books sold in 2024, according to Circana. And classic Seuss characters like The Cat In The Hat and the Grinch remain licensing gold for physical products, and the estate has expanded its partnership with Netflix to include three separate series in the past year. Next up is a Warner Bros. animated adaptation of The Cat In The Hat coming in 2026 and a newly discovered manuscript that will be published next summer to celebrate America’s 250th birthday in July—Sing the 50 United States.
#3. $81 Million, #4. $81 Million
Richard Wright, Syd Barrett
September 15, 2008 (65), July 7, 2006 (60)
Cause Of Death: Cancer, Cancer
All in all, the two late cofounders of Pink Floyd added some gold bricks to that wall last year. Insiders tell Forbes that the legendary rock band shopped its catalog and NIL rights for years, initially seeking as much as $600 million. In October 2024, Sony Music Publishing landed the rights for $400 million, split evenly between the band’s three surviving members and the estates of Wright, the founding keyboardist, and Barrett, the original frontman, who is credited for coming up with the band’s name in 1965. Both Wright and Barrett have songwriting credits on more than a dozen of the band’s songs, which produced additional income.
#5. $80 Million
The Notorious B.I.G.
March 9, 1997 (24) • Cause Of Death: Homicide
As with many celebrities who die young, merchandise for the East Coast rap legend known as The Notorious B.I.G. (born Christopher Wallace) continues to sell well since his murder at 24, juicing the valuation of the estate in a sale of 50% of Biggie’s catalog, publishing and NIL rights to Primary Wave Music in March. The deal was concluded just before the death of his mother, Voletta Wallace, who oversaw a pair of posthumous albums and a 2009 biopic.
#6. $21 Million
Miles Davis
September 8, 1991 (65) • Cause Of Death: Stroke
Ahead of the jazz legend’s 100th birthday next year, publicly traded catalog acquirer Reservoir Media snapped up 90% of Davis’ estate and plans to kick its business into high gear. Live centennial performances have been announced across the country at venues such as New York’s Lincoln Center, and in May, F1‘s Damson Idris signed on to play the iconic trumpeter in a forthcoming biopic.
#7. $17 Million
Elvis Presley
August 16, 1977 (42) • Cause Of Death: Heart Attack
Last summer, a bizarre identity theft plot threatened to sell Elvis’ Graceland estate in Memphis to the highest bidder, but was snuffed out in time for the property to remain fully owned by Presley’s estate, now controlled by his granddaughter, actress Riley Keough. The family owns just 15% of Elvis Presley Enterprises, the company that operates the tourism operation at Graceland and the surrounding shopping mall, as well as the extensive Elvis licensing effort and what remains of The King’s publishing rights, while the rest of EPE is controlled and managed by Authentic Brands Group, which also manages the estates of Muhammad Ali and Marilyn Monroe.
#8. $14 Million
Jimmy Buffett
September 1, 2023 (76) • Cause Of Death: Skin Cancer
Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville brand extended to restaurants, apparel, resorts, and a cruise line, enough to earn Buffett billionaire status after his death in 2023. He left his family with two trusts, one for his children and another for his widow, Jane. The latter, valued at $275 million, is the source of dueling probate lawsuits between Jane Buffett and Richard Mozenter, the estate’s co-executor, over how much money she will receive annually from her late husband’s empire.
#9. $13 Million
Bob Marley
May 11, 1981 (36) • Cause Of Death: Cancer
In June, Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas launched Bob Marley Hope Road, which stages 29 live shows per week and is expected to return millions to the estate over the next few years alongside show investor Primary Wave, which bought a portion of Marley’s publishing catalog in 2018. Though the majority of the reggae legend’s masters are owned by Universal Music Group, Marley’s estate has built an extensive business out of licensing his name, image and likeness to a myriad of products, including audio equipment, coffee, fragrances, pillows, tote bags and posters—and of course, cannabis.
#10. $12 Million
John Lennon
December 8, 1980 (40) • Cause Of Death: Homicide
A new HBO documentary set to premiere in November will focus on Lennon’s only full-length concert after leaving The Beatles, a 1972 benefit at New York’s Madison Square Garden performed with Yoko Ono. If it follows the pattern of other projects celebrating late musicians, the movie could boost streaming numbers for Lennon’s solo music, of which Ono still owns the rights. Even though the Beatles’ catalog is owned by Sony and its branded Las Vegas Cirque du Soleil show closed in 2024, each member of The Fab Four still receives nearly $6 million per year in name, image and likeness earnings.
#11. $11 Million
Prince
April 21, 2016 (57) • Cause Of Death: Overdose
In the near decade since his death, Prince’s reputation for fiercely maintaining control over his career and image can still be felt in the estate’s fight with Oscar-winning documentarian Ezra Edelman, who spent five years making a nine-hour documentary for Netflix on The Purple One that may never be released. Because Prince died without leaving a will, family members and lawyers have been locked in unending legal battles over control of his $156 million fortune for years, including a fresh lawsuit filed last summer.
#12. $11 Million
Arnold Palmer
September 25, 2016 (87) • Cause Of Death: Cardiovacular Disease
Sales of Palmer’s signature drink—iced tea and lemonade—in collaboration with AriZona Beverages, have fallen slightly in each of the past two years, but continue to fill the coffers of Arnie’s Army handsomely. His family also owns the Bay Hill Club in Florida and Latrobe Country Club in Pennsylvania, where he grew up and first learned to play golf.
#13. $10 Million
Kobe Bryant
January 26, 2020 (41) • Cause Of Death: Helicopter Crash
Nike CFO Matt Friend said on the company’s first quarter earnings call this year that Bryant’s performance footwear had nearly quadrupled its revenue in the past year, proof that the Black Mamba’s popularity has continued to grow in the years after his untimely death. In 2022, Nike reached a new long term-agreement with Bryant’s family for new footwear and apparel releases under his sub-brand, including more than a dozen new products in 2025.
Methoology
This year’s Dead Celebrity ranking includes those pretax earnings from sales, streams, licensing deals and other sources between October 1, 2024 and September 30, 2025, as well as estate acquisitions made or announced during the same period, which are distributed to family members and other beneficiaries. Forbes compiles the numbers with the help of data from Luminate and interviews with industry insiders. Fees for agents, managers and lawyers are not deducted.
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Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattcraig/2025/10/31/the-highest-paid-dead-celebrities-of-2025/
