Being dead isn’t the gig it used to be. The 13 deceased musicians, authors and other A-listers on Forbes’ annual ranking of the highest-paid dead celebrities earned some $470 million during the past 12 months—a 70% decrease from the record-breaking $1.6 billion grossed in 2022.
The steep decline is due, in part, to the drop in nine-figure music catalog sales that boosted departed stars' earnings into the heavens. More than half of last year’s top dead celebrities did so through acquisitions of their intellectual property. This year, only one did: The estate of Ray Manzarek, late keyboardist for the Doors, sold his interest in the band’s work to Primary Wave, alongside guitarist Robby Krieger. The deal, which sources tell Forbes was between $80 million and $100 million for both artists, puts Manzarek at No. 3 this year. But that is a flat world away from the $500 million the estate of J.R.R. Tolkien, the long-deceased author of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, received for his Middle Earth Enterprises in 2022, or the $250 million the estate of David Bowie got last year for his publishing catalog and masters.
Here are the 7 highest-paid celebrities of 2023.
The steep decline is due, in part, to the drop in nine-figure music catalog sales that boosted departed stars' earnings into the heavens. More than half of last year’s top dead celebrities did so through acquisitions of their intellectual property. This year, only one did: The estate of Ray Manzarek, late keyboardist for the Doors, sold his interest in the band’s work to Primary Wave, alongside guitarist Robby Krieger. The deal, which sources tell Forbes was between $80 million and $100 million for both artists, puts Manzarek at No. 3 this year. But that is a flat world away from the $500 million the estate of J.R.R. Tolkien, the long-deceased author of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, received for his Middle Earth Enterprises in 2022, or the $250 million the estate of David Bowie got last year for his publishing catalog and masters.
Here are the 7 highest-paid celebrities of 2023.
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PeopleTranscript
00:00 With fewer music catalogs being snatched up for large sums, this year's list of the highest-paid
00:05 dead celebrities features a wide range of artists and authors. Here are the seven celebrities who
00:11 have made the most from Beyond the Grave in 2023. #7. Whitney Houston
00:18 Houston would have turned 60 years old in 2023. Her estate is simultaneously celebrating its
00:24 biggest year yet, thanks to a movie deal and several brand collaborations. In December,
00:30 the film Whitney Houston, I Wanna Dance With Somebody hit the big screens, grossing nearly
00:35 $60 million worldwide. MAC Cosmetics released a makeup collection with the Houston estate,
00:40 which is helmed by her sister-in-law and primary wave. In February, the W Hotel in Los Angeles was
00:47 briefly made over as the Whitney Hotel. #6. Prince
00:52 Prince famously called the afterworld, quote, "a world of never-ending happiness." For his estate
00:58 and primary wave, which owns a stake in his master's royalties, writer's share, name,
01:03 and likeness, that means releasing more music. Since Prince's untimely demise, he's released
01:09 three posthumous albums. This month, a remastered version of his 1991 album Diamonds and Pearls is
01:16 dropping. The box set features 47 unreleased songs and hours of never-before-seen concert footage.
01:23 #5. Charles M. Schultz Charlie Brown famously got rocks for Halloween,
01:28 but the Schultz estate is reaping in the dough. The Peanuts gang continued its work with Apple,
01:33 which now airs its holiday specials, with a line of digital faces for the brand's watches.
01:38 Fans of Snoopy, Linus, and Lucy can stock up on branded cookware at Williams-Sonoma,
01:43 sneakers from Kariuma, and igloo coolers. It's almost better than a visit from the Great Pumpkin.
01:50 #4. Dr. Seuss Young readers still can't get enough of the
01:54 colorful books written and illustrated by Dr. Theodor Seuss Geisel. Sales of the books make
01:59 up a majority of his annual earnings. The rest comes from licensing of his classic characters
02:04 like the Grinch, the Cat in the Hat, and the Lorax, and more.
02:08 #3. Rayman Zarek In one of this year's few major catalog deals,
02:14 the deceased Doors keyboard player and living guitarist Robbie Krieger jointly sold their
02:19 rights to the band's music to Primary Wave. The acquisition included rights to their recorded
02:24 music, publishing, trademarks and merchandising, and related income. John Densmore and the estate
02:30 of Jim Morrison maintain their stakes in the group's rights.
02:33 #2. Elvis Presley Though Elvis left the building nearly 50 years
02:39 ago, it's still good to be the king. Graceland, Presley's home in Memphis, Tennessee, saw some
02:45 600,000 visitors in the last 12 months, and the estate has multiple sources of income,
02:50 including tickets and merchandise. After the January death of Elvis' only daughter,
02:55 Lisa Marie Presley, his ex-wife, Priscilla, and granddaughter, Riley Keough, entered into
03:00 a contentious legal battle for control of the two estates. Keough, a 34-year-old actress who
03:06 stars in Daisy Jones and The Six, ended up as the sole trustee of both.
03:11 #1. Michael Jackson The king of pop returns to the top of this
03:16 list for the first time since 2019, thanks to the Broadway hit MJ the Musical, which grossed some
03:22 $85 million in ticket sales over the last year. Jackson also takes in cash from the Cirque du
03:28 Soleil show Michael Jackson won in Las Vegas. His earnings should continue to rise. Earlier this
03:34 year, the estate signed on to Michael, a biopic about the performer starring Jackson's nephew,
03:39 Jafar.
03:43 #2. The King of Pop Returns to the top of this list for the first time since 2019, thanks to the
03:46 Broadway hit MJ the Musical, which grossed some $85 million in ticket sales over the last year. Jackson