Michael Jackson tops Forbes list of highest-earning dead celebrities | Reuters

Michael Jackson tops Forbes list of highest-earning dead celebrities | Reuters

He earned more than twice as much as
singer Elvis Presley, who died in 1977 and came in second with $55 million, and
three times more than cartoonist and Peanuts comic strip creator Charles
Schulz, who took third place with $40 million.

"Few celebrities prove the point that
there is (financial) life after death better than Michael Jackson," according
to Forbes.

It is Jackson's second straight year atop the list.
He regained the title in 2013, a year after being pushed into second place by
actress Elizabeth Taylor.

Jackson's second album released after his death,
"Xscape" debuted at No. 2 on the pop charts in the past year and the
singer also appeared as a hologram at the Billboard Music Awards. Two Cirque du
Soleil shows, "Immortal" and "One," account for much of Jackson'searnings along
with his music catalogue and publishing empire.

Taylor, who died in 2011, came in at No. 4
with $25 million and reggae singer Bob Marley completed the top five with $20
million in earnings in
the year to October 2014. Marley died of cancer at the age of 36 in 1981.

Singer John Lennon, the former Beatle who
was gunned down in New York
in 1980, was No. 7 with $12 million.

The 13 deceased celebrities included on
Forbes list earned a total of $363.5 million.

Forbes compiled the list by talking to
estate managers, lawyers and licensor and analysing estimated posthumous
earnings between October 2013-14.