Forbes released a new list today featuring the 15 Top-Earning Dead Celebrities. It should come as no surprise that topping the 2011 list is Michael Jackson, with an amazing $170 million earned for his survivors.
No. 2 some 34 years after his demise, the estate of Elvis Presley pulled in $55 million. The singer and actor died of a heart attack in 1977 at the age of 42.
Still reaping funds at a healthy rate is iconic actress Marilyn Monroe, who died in 1962 of a drug overdose at the age of 36. No. 3 on the list, her estate pulled in $27 million in the past year.
Cartoonist Charles Shultz, who created the Peanuts gang, landed in No. 4 spot with $25 million. He died in 2000 of colon cancer at the age of 77.
Tied for No. 5 spot were the estates of John Lennon and Elizabeth Taylor, both raking in $12 million. The Beatle was murdered in 1980, and the Queen of the Nile passed in March 2011.
Also still reaping significant sums from the grave are: Albert Einstein, $10M, Theodor Geisel aka Dr. Seuss, $9M, Jimi Hendrix, $7M, Stieg Larsson of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo fame, $7M, Steve McQueen, $7M, Richard Rodgers of Rodgers and Hammerstein fame, $7M, Beatle George Harrison, $6M, Bettie Page, a Hollywood pinup girl, $6M, and artist Andy Warhol, $6M.
Photos: WENN