USA: Elvis Presley once again is 'King' of the list of top earning dead celebrities

Elvis is still the king when it comes to earning royalties, according to Forbes magazine, but Shakespeare could have given him a run for the money. Forbes' annual list of Ten-Top Earning Dead Celebrities issued on Thursday showed Elvis Presley was top earner for the fifth straight year, generating 45 million U.S. dollars for his estate. The magazine calculated what the Bard's heirs might collect each year if he were still under copyright and estimated it at 15 million U.S. dollars with over 5,000 performances of his plays and hundreds of thousands of books sold in the last year. But Presley, who died in 1977, is still the 'King', and his music is still going strong. "Elvis is number one this year, made about 45 million dollars (USD), that's the most he's ever made although he has been on the list in the past. There's some new faces this year on the list, people who have recently died and now are starting to make money in the afterlife. Ray Charles is on the list for the first time, so is Johnny Cash. Marlon Brando is a little bit of a surprise, he's on the list this year," said Forbes.com media editor Peter Kafka. This year's list also showed the big impact of Hollywood as Cash (7 million U.S. dollars) and Charles (6 million U.S. dollars) broke into the top rankings as the release or planned release of film biographies boosted their royalty statements. Marlon Brando, who died in 2004 of a heart attack, is also a newcomer to the list (9 million U.S. dollars). Forbes.com has been compiling the list since 2001. Marilyn Monroe (8 million U.S. dollars) is never out of fashion, and frequently makes the cut. Kafka was asked it the saying 'worth more dead than alive' is a still a true maxim. "I don't know if dying makes you worth more but there are certainly people who are making more money at least in constant dollars than they were in past years. Elvis in now going to make about 45 million dollars (USD) this year, he never made anything close to that when he was alive. Marilyn Monroe continues to make about eight million dollars (USD) a year. I think they'd rather be alive than dead but at least their estates can at least profit in their legacy," said Kafka. The list is not the sole domain of rock stars and movie icons, as three authors are on the list. Peanuts cartoonist Charles Schulz held his customary spot at No. 2, with 35 million U.S. dollars. Theodor ("Dr. Seuss") Geisel earned 10 million U.S. dollars and J.R.R. Tolkien of Lord of the Rings fame earned 8 million U.S. dollars. The lone painter on the list is American artist Andy Warhol. The artist, who died in 1987 after complications from a gall bladder operation, was fourth on the list, earning 16 million U.S. dollars. Two former Beatles made the list, with John Lennon listed at number 3 with 22 million U.S. dollars and bandmate George Harrison earned 7 million U.S. dollars to come in at number 9 on the list. "You're going to see those folks year in and year out, it's obviously one of the most popular bands ever. They continue to see publishing royalties come in. If they ever start selling their music on the internet digitally through something like I-tunes they could see even greater revenues," explained Kafka. Also among the 13 on the list are songwriter Irving Berlin at number 11 (7 million U.S. dollars), and singer Bob Marley at number 12 (6 million U.S. dollars).

ITN Source | November 5, 2005

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