For many years now, Forbes has been publishing the highest-paid celebrities of the year and their own rich lists. But they have another list that not as many people are aware of, probably because it’s a little bit morbid. They release a list of the highest-paid dead celebrities. These are the celebrities who are continuing to make a lot of money despite passing away. So which famous personalities have been raking it from beyond the other side?

How do celebrities make money after death?

Celebs don’t make money after death by receiving income in their name. The money that is owed to them gets passed to people who have inherited the celebrity’s wealth. Most stars who make a lot of money after dying come from the arts industry, either musicians, artists, or novelists. They receive money from royalties as companies continue to use their music – such as film production companies – or continue to sell more art and books. Ever heard the expression that the richest artist is a dead male?

You can use a cool feature from PartyCasino that allows you to enter your annual salary and see how many hours it would take celebrities who passed away to earn the same amount. Click the link to see how many hours it will take a deceased Michael Jackson, Roald Dahl, or Elvis Presley to make your annual salary.

Dead celebrities that keep getting richer

1: Roald Dahl

Roald Dahl was the non-living celebrity who made the most money last year, earning more than $500 million. Much of this wealth was due to Netflix paying a considerable fee to be able to make a series of Roald Dahl books into Netflix-exclusive films. The Roald Dahl Story Company was sold to the streaming giant with a reported 75% of the company still in the hands of Dahl’s estate beneficiaries.

2: Prince

During 2020, Prince was able to earn close to $120 million, which shot him up the leaderboard from his 10th place in 2019. The reason for the super climb up the table was due to three of Prince’s beneficiaries deciding to sell their stake in royalties for a combined total of around $108 million.

3: Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson earned a figure close to $75 million during 2020. Unlike the two above, the Jackson family did not sell anything to make the top three. The singer’s company Mijac Music managed to accumulate this wealth through further investments and over one billion streams of his music.

Other high earners from the grave

The rest of the list is made up by Charlie Shultz due to a deal with Apple TV, as well as author Dr. Seuss, Bing Crosby, Elvis Presley, golf great Arnold Palmer, and Gerry Goffin. How did they all fare against the highest-paid footballers of the year? Find out by clicking here.