Deceased: November 29, 2001
Cause of death: Cancer
Like bandmate Lennon, Harrison has benefited from Beatles’ reissues—as well as the Fab Four’s Cirque du Soleil show in Las Vegas—vaulting him back into our rankings for the first time since 2011. 12 | WHITNEY HOUSTON: $9.5 millionDeceased: 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 millionDeceased: 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 millionDeceased: 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 millionDeceased: 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 millionDeceased: 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 millionDeceased: 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 millionDeceased: 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 millionDeceased: 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 millionDeceased: 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 millionDeceased: 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 millionDeceased: 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 millionDeceased: 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 catalog, a Las Vegas show and a long-term deal with Sony, he retains his postmortem cash crown for the seventh consecutive year. Methodology Our annual list of the top-earning dead celebrities measures pretax income from October 1, 2018 through October 1, 2019. We compile our numbers with the help of data from Nielsen Music, IMDBPro and interviews with industry insiders. Fees for agents, managers and lawyers are not deducted.DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
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