Mumbai, November 3: American singer, songwriter and dancer Michael Jackson has topped the Forbes Highest-Paid Dead Celebrities of 2025 list. Notably, the King of Pop was ranked number one on the 25th edition of Forbes‘ Highest-Paid Dead Celebrities list for this year. According to Forbes estimates, Michael Jackson's estate earned the late singer a whopping USD 3.5 billion since he died in 2009. The data also revealed that Michael Jackson topped this year's highest-paid dead celebrity list with USD 105 million in earnings in the last year. This has made him top the list for the third consecutive year.

Here's How Much Michael Jackson's Estate Earned This Year

According to a report in Forbes, Michael Jackson is still the highest paid deceased musician on the list for the 13th year running; however, his status as the wealthiest celebrity was overtaken for a brief period by J.R.R. Tolkien and Roald Dahl in 2021 and 2022. That said, it's important to understand how Michael Jackson became the richest dead celebrity. As per the report, the King of Pop's biggest paydays came from his monumental assets that Michael Jackson accumulated during his life. These included publishing rights and master recordings, the ATV catalog, which he purchased for USD 47.5 million in 1985 and is worth USD 142 million today. Michael Jackson Birth Anniversary: 5 Lesser-Known Facts About the King of Pop You Probably Didn’t Know!.

The ATV catalog includes almost all Beatles hits written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, apart from 4000 other songs. Notably, that investment Michael Jackson led to the return of USD 750 million in 2016 (around USD 1 billion today) when the estate sold its stake to Sony. Forbes also revealed that the Jackson estate sold a 50 per cent stake in the King of Pop's own publishing and master recordings to Sony in 2024 for another USD 600 million. It is also learnt that Jackson's estate continued to mint money across many different categories - the concert film "This Is It" of 2009 grossed USD 267 million at the box office, while an MJ-themed Cirque du Soleil tour in 2012 grossed USD 160 million.

Who Are the Other Names on the Forbes Highest-Paid Dead Celebrities of 2025 List?

While Michael Jackson has claimed the top spot on the Forbes list of highest-paid dead celebrities, scroll below to know who the other highest-earning dead celebrities are who have been featured on the list. The list is topped by Michael Jackson with USD 105 million, followed by Dr Seuss (USD 85 million), Richard Wright (USD 81 million), Syd Barrett (USD 81 million), and The Notorious B.I.G. (USD 80 million), forming the top five. Michael Jackson Biopic: First Look of Jaafar Jackson as King of Pop from Antoine Fuqua's Biopic Revealed!.

They are followed by Miles Davis (USD 21 million), Elvis Presley (USD 17 million), Jimmy Buffett (USD 14 million), Bob Marley (USD 13 million), John Lennon (USD 12 million), Prince (USD 11 million), Arnold Palmer (USD 11 million), and Kobe Bryant (USD 10 million).

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(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 03, 2025 05:34 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).