TOP 10: Earning Dead Celebrities for 2017

For the fifth year in a row, Michael Jackson stands atop Forbes magazine's ranking of the highest-earning dead celebrities -- at $75 million! The Gloved One's lucrative year was boosted by his upcoming Halloween TV special and Scream album, which join his lucrative recording and music publishing assets, as well as the Cirque du Soleil show in Las Vegas fueled by his songs.

  • Golfer Arnold Palmer (who died in 2016) comes in second thanks to licensing deals for apparel, sporting goods and the Arnold Palmer beverages.
  • Peanuts creator Charles Schulz earns the bronze medal.

Then it's a series of music legends:

  • Elvis Presley ranks fourth -- with his revenues leaping from $27 to $35 million thanks to the expansion of his Memphis entertainment complex and the recent opening of the The Guesthouse hotel at Graceland.
  • Bob Marley is fifth. His name is attached to audio products and beverages.
  • Tom Petty's sixth place finish (at $20 million) is due to his lucrative final tour, in which he and his band were pulling in a million dollars a night.
  • Prince, number-seven, benefits from rising music sales and the beginning of revenues from tours at his Paisley Park complex just outside Minneapolis.
  • #8 is Dr. Suess, #9, Beatle Legend John Lennon, and #10 is Albert Einstein

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