Michael Jackson tops Forbes’ list of highest-earning dead celebrities

PHOENIX — These celebrities may not be around anymore, but that does not mean they are not still earning money.

That’s right, Forbes released its list of top-earning dead celebrities of 2017 and, perhaps unsurprisingly, Michael Jackson — also known as the King of Pop — came out on top.

Jackson has topped the list for the last five years, earning approximately $75 million to his name.

The pop star died of a cardiac arrest in 2009, but he still continues to grace his fan’s screens nearly a decade later.

This past weekend, CBS aired an hour-long special called “Michael Jackson’s Halloween,” in which animated characters danced around to his music.

Mark Dippé, the program’s director, told Forbes that Jackson’s music still influences — and interests — people today.

“Michael’s songs are very important to people,” he said. “We just wanted to sort of tell a story that was based around the world that Michael had created with his music, and his dancing, and his performances.”

But that isn’t the only venture Jackson still has his name on: The pop star released a compilation album titled “Scream” last month and has a Cirque du Soleil show in Las Vegas, adding to the two albums released after his death: “Michael” and “Xscape.”

Arnold Palmer, the golf legend and drink connoisseur, came in second place, earning $40 million in death — largely in part thanks to the 400 million cans of Arnold Palmer produced by AriZona Beverages each year.

“Peanuts” creator Charles Schulz fell just behind Palmer — but just barely — earning $38 million.

Forbes created its list off of pretax income from Oct. 15, 2016 until Oct. 15, 2017, before deducting cuts for agents, managers and lawyers, the publication said.

It received the income numbers from sources like Nielsen SoundScan, IMDB and Pollstar Pro.

Check out the rest of the highest-earning dead celebrities below.

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