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Who’s The Richest Dead Celebrity?

It’s time for the annual Forbes.com list of the 13 top-earning DEAD celebrities.  And once again this year, Michael Jackson is #1.  He’s topped the list in 10 of the 12 years since his death in 2009.   Here’s the top 5:

  1. Michael Jackson, $48 million. Dead since 2009.  Even the documentary “Leaving Neverland” couldn’t stop Michael’s estate from raking in the dough.
  2. Theodor “Dr. Seuss” Geisel, $33 million. Dead since 1991.  He’s up a little from previous years thanks to a series of TV and movie deals.  Not to mention the fact that he’s STILL selling books . . . nearly six million in the U.S. this year.
  3. “Peanuts” creator Charles Schulz, $32.5 million. Dead since 2000.
  4. Arnold Palmer, $25 million. Dead since 2016.
  5. Elvis Presley, $23 million. Dead since 1977 . . . or so some people would have you believe.  (???)  Elvis is down a little this year thanks to the coronavirus.  Graceland was closed for two months, and it’s now operating at reduced capacity.