Elvis: Top-earning dead celeb
2008-10-29 08:03
New York - Elvis Presley may have
left the building several decades ago, but his earning power is
far from diminished with Forbes.com ranking him the top-earning
dead celebrity for the second year in a row.
Presley pulled in $52m in the past year, helped by
increased visitors to his Graceland estate to commemorate the
30th anniversary of his death and new ventures like the Elvis
Sirius Satellite Radio show, according to the website.
"While things might be topsy-turvy in the financial markets
above ground, it's still a bull market in the boneyard,"
Forbes.com said.
Presley earned more between October 2007 and October 2008
than some of the music industry's biggest living pop stars like
Justin Timberlake ($44m) and Madonna ($40m),
Forbes.com said.
Coming in at No 2 with $33m in earnings was
cartoonist Charles Schulz, who died in 2000 and is best known
for his Peanuts comic strip, while Australian actor Heath
Ledger nabbed third spot.
Albert Einstein
Ledger, 28, died from an accidental prescription drug
overdose in January and his last film role was as the Joker in
The Dark Knight.
"With the The Dark Knight grossing $991m in box
office revenue worldwide, we estimate his earnings at $20m," the website said.
Forbes.com said it spoke to experts and sources inside the
dead celebrities' estates and researched gross earnings, before
taxes, management fees and other costs, from the period of
October 2007 to October 2008 to come up with the rankings.
German-born physicist Albert Einstein comes in at No 4 with
$18m in earnings, mainly from Baby Einstein, the majority
Disney owned videos and toys for children, while TV producer
Aaron Spelling - whose shows include Beverly Hills 90210 and Charlie's Angels - was ranked No 5 with $15m in earnings.
The full list can be found at www.forbes.com.