Michael Jackson tops 2025 list of highest-paid ‘dead' celebrities with $105 million

Michael Jackson continues to be the undisputed King of Pop in the afterlife, leading Forbes’ 2025 ranking of the highest earning deceased celebrities with $105 million in pre-tax earnings.

The annual list was dominated by musicians with The Notorious B.I.G (died March 9, 1997) and Miles Davis (died September 28, 1991) creating their space in the list for the first time following major catalog sales.

But Jackson’s financial dominance remains unparalleled. 

Michael Jackson died on June 25, 2009, from acute propofol intoxication, a drug administered by his personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray. 

The coroner’s office also cited other contributing drugs like benzodiazepines and ruled his death a homicide.

Since his death, his estate earned an astonishing $3.5 billion. 

His continuous reign is attributed to his landmark $600 million deal with Sony for a 50% stake in his master recordings and publishing rights, negotiated alongside a higher royalty share on the remaining assets.

In addition to the revenue generated by publishing rights, his Broadway show, MJ: The musical, and the long running Cirque du Soleil residency in Las Vegas continue to generate massive revenue.

In the words of a high profile estate lawyer as reported by Forbes, “When it comes to estate earnings, it’s MJ, then an enormous canyon, then everybody else.”

The list tracked earnings of dead celebrities from October 2023 to October 2024 saw several new entries driven by a robust market for music catalogs.

On number 2, there is author Dr. Seuss whose earnings were around $85 million, driven by massive book sales and expanding licensing deals with Netflix.

The list further revealed that the estates of Pink Floyd co-founders Richard Wright Syed Barrett jointly earned $81 million each after Sony acquired the band’s catalog for $400 million.

The Notorious B.I.G secured #5 spot with $80 million, and jazz legends Miles Davis earned no.6 spot with $21 million, following major rights sales to Primary Wave Music and Reservoir Media, respectively.

The list also included perennial earners whose empire thrives continuously like Elvis Presley ($17 million) and Jimmy Buffet ($14 million).