Elizabeth Taylor surpassed Michael Jackson as the highest-earning dead celebrity in the past year, with her estate pulling in $210 million (€162 million), much of it from the auction of her jewels, costumes and artwork, Forbes said yesterday.
Jackson, who died in 2009, dropped into second place with earnings of $145 million, followed by Elvis Presley with $55 million.
In addition to the Taylor auction, which totalled $184 million, the actress, who died in 2011 at the age of 79, also earned $75 million from sales of her top selling perfume White Diamonds.
“The rest of the money came from property sales and residuals from Taylor’s movies,” according to Forbes.
After Cleopatra, Taylor negotiated a 10 per cent ownership in each film.
Cartoonist Charles Schulz, who created the Peanuts comic strip, came in at No 4 with earnings of $37 million, followed by reggae star Bob Marley with $17 million.
Forbes compiled the ranking by analysing the dead celebrities’ earnings between October 2011-2012. – (Reuters)