Among world's highest-paid celebs, this singer has made Rs 20,000 crore in last 10 years, despite being dead for years

The highest-paid celebrities in the world rake in hundreds of millions of dollars each year and are worth several billion. The key to their earnings is churning out work regularly and maintaining a public figure according to their stature. It should come as a surprise then tha there are people in the list of highest-paid celebrities, who have been dead for years, some even for decades. And yet, they dwarf the net worth and earnings of most living celebs.

The world’s highest-paid dead celebrities

Forbes magazine has been releasing a list of deceased celebrities who still earn money after their deaths through royalties or sale of their creations from when they were alive. Over the last two decades, the lists have largely been dominated by musicians, writers, and the odd athlete. A few people have had constant presence in the top 10 such as Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, and John Lennon. One name, however, has been constant in the top 2 or 3, each year since their death. And that is Michael Jackson.

Michael Jackson’s earnings after his death

Michael Jackson, often called the King of Pop, was an influential singer and performer, who died in 2009 at the age of 50. The enduring popularity of his songs, release of unreleased tracks, and the sale of his catalogue after his death has meant that Jackson’s estate and heirs continue to make money from his works. As per Forbes, Jackson made $90 million in 2009, the year of his death. He topped the list the following year with earnings of $275 million, and topped it nine more times over the next ten years. In 2016, he earned $825 million, the highest in a single year by any dead celebrity. In the last 10 years, Jackson has earned over $2.4 billion (Rs 20,000 crore), more than most alive celebrities.