Michael Jackson: The Richest Deceased Celebrity

Forbes has named Michael Jackson the richest celebrity who has passed away, because his foundation generated $275 million in income over the past 12 months. During his lifetime, Michael was never Forbes’ #1.

Income from Michael’s music and the film of his rehearsal sessions for the concert that appeared on silver screens under the title This Is It—and was then released as a DVD—surpassed the combined earnings of money-making stars such as Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Madonna, and Jay-Z. Beyond that, it also beat the total earnings of all deceased celebrities.

But how? Through a handful of shrewd work contracts arranged by the foundation’s managers—most notably the biggest music recording deal in history: a $250 million contract with Sony Music.

Alongside this, the following must be added:

Michael’s song publishing rights, which after his death pulled an additional $50 million from radio airplay and sold albums. The $250 million earnings from This Is It, plus the $60 million production rights fee paid to the foundation by Sony. Income from the making of a video game, the re-release of the Moonwalker catalog, and Michael’s own-life biography book—all of which added another $50 million to Michael’s wealth.

The manager of the Tupac Shakur foundation, the late rapper, calls this figure of earnings astonishing for a one-year period. He says that although the slope of this wealth increase will eventually decline, with the passage of time and the accumulation of capital, such a treasure will be obtained that even Michael’s grandchildren will live in complete comfort.

In November, a new Michael album is expected to hit the market—and there is no doubt that more revenue will follow.

Aside from all of Michael’s songs, Sony/ATV’s catalog should not be forgotten. Michael controls the publishing rights to nearly half a million songs by artists including Lady Gaga, Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Eminem, Bob Dylan, Beyoncé, and more. This catalog alone brings in 25 to 50 million per year.

The second richest deceased person after Michael is Elvis Presley, with $60 million—who had always been #1 until now. J.R.R. Tolkien, the author of The Lord of the Rings, is next with $50 million; Charles Schulz, creator of the Peanuts comic strip, with $33 million; and John Lennon with $17 million.

Source: eMJey / MTV