Highest Earning Dead Celebs

Michael Jackson, predictably, made the list—but not at No. 1
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 28, 2009 12:19 PM CDT
Highest Earning Dead Celebs
In this 2002 file photo, French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent announces his retirement from the world of haute couture in Paris.   (AP Photo/Remy de la Mauviniere, File)

The stars on Forbes' annual list of the top-earning dead celebrities number, appropriately, 13. To make the list, a "deleb" must have brought in at least $6 million in the past year. This year's list is notably missing former mainstays Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, and Steve McQueen, and puts a fashion designer in the top spot:

  1. Yves Saint Laurent: $350 million
  2. Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein: $235 million combined
  3. Michael Jackson: $90 million
  4. Elvis Presley: $55 million
  5. JRR Tolkien: $50 million

  1. Charles Schulz: $35 million
  2. John Lennon: $15 million
  3. Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel): $15 million
  4. Albert Einstein: $10 million
  5. Michael Crichton: $9 million
  6. Jimi Hendrix: $8 million
  7. Aaron Spelling: $8 million
  8. Andy Warhol: $6 million
(More Yves Saint Laurent stories.)

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