The unanimously crowned King of Pop, Michael Jackson, has proved once again that death is just a physical barrier that cannot restrain true influence. The later singer was ranked #1 on the 25th edition of Forbes‘ Highest-Paid Dead Celebrities Of 2025. With estate earnings of $105 million just in 2025, Michael Jackson has come out on top for the third consecutive year according to Forbes data. He is still the highest paid deceased musician on the list for the 13th year running but his status as the wealthiest celebrity was briefly overtaken by J.R.R. Tolkien and Roald Dahl for the years 2021 and 2022.
Now, with a total estate worth of $3.5 billion, he has proven once and for all, who truly runs the music industry even posthumously. Other musicians such as the King of Rock and Roll Elvis Presley, Pink Floyd members Richard Wright and Syd Barrett, The Notorious B.I.G., Miles Davis and Bob Marley have also managed to make it to the list. However, there exists an enormous gap between MJ and the rest which is next to impossible to bridge.
How did Michael Jackson become the richest dead celebrity?
Despite having passed 16 years ago in 2009, Michael Jackson’s posthumous earnings have only skyrocketed in the afterlife and there are a few reasons as to why this happened. The late singer had managed to accumulate monumental assets during his lifetime, apart from owning publishing rights and the rights to his own masters. These assets included the monster of a piggybank that was the ATV catalog which famously included almost all the Beatles hits written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney apart from 4,000 other songs. He had bought it in 1985 for $47.5 million and it caused a fracture in his friendship with Paul McCartney at the time.
Today that catalog alone is worth $1 billion though, it is now owned and managed by Sony who acquired the stake from the Jackson estate in 2017 for a whopping $750 million. Though his publishing and masters recordings were not a part of the 2017 sale, the Jackson estate sold and additional 50% stake in those assets for a record $600 million in 2024, according to Forbes.
Furthermore, Jackson posthumously continued to add to his billion dollar empire with mega-deals and miscellaneous ventures. These ventures ranged from movie deals to Broadway musicals to tribute concert tours. According to Forbes, his 2009 concert film ‘This is it’ reportedly raked in $267 million at the Box Office, while the MJ-themed Cirque du Soleil tour in 2012 grossed $160 million, which were unheard-of numbers at the time and made him more money than any living musician that year.
The success of the tour led to Cirque du Soleil’s residency in Las Vegas with Michael Jackson ONE which it has held since 2013 and a Broadway show, MJ: The Musical which kicked off in 2022. The earnings from both have come to a total of $300 million in ticket sales and given birth to several international productions as well. A Michael Jackson biopic eponymously titled ‘Michael’ starring Jaafar Jackson is also set to hit the big screens in 2026, which will further add to the late star’s net worth.
Who are the richest dead celebrities of 2025 according to Forbes?
With the late King of Pop claiming the top spot on the Forbes list, here are the rest of the highest earning dead celebrities who have continued to mint money long after their time here on Earth. Check it out:
- Michael Jackson – $105 Million
- Dr. Seuss – $85 Million
- Richard Wright – $81 Million
- Syd Barrett – $81 Million
- The Notorious B.I.G. – $80 Million
- Miles Davis – $21 Million
- Elvis Presley – $17 Million
- Jimmy Buffett – $14 Million
- Bob Marley – $13 Million
- John Lennon – $12 Million
