Zombie Dollars

Michael Jackson Is Richest Dead Celebrity

The King of Pop collected $275 million last year.

Thriller, indeed: Forbes magazine calculated that Michael Jackson is the highest grossing celebrity of the afterlife. Jackson tops the magazine’s list of dead celebrities who just can’t stop making money. Sony’s movie This Is It, released after the King of Pop died in June 2009, brought in $250 million, meaning Jackson “earned more in the past year than any living celebrity except Oprah Winfrey.” Other dead celebrities who made the list include Elvis Presley ($60 million), cartoonist Charles Shultz ($33 million), and the author of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson. A Hollywood version of Larson’s book is expected next year, but the author, who passed away from a heart attack in 2004, already made $15 million.