Quincy Jones, Dolly Parton and Diane Keaton join the familiar cast of musicians and athletes still making millions from beyond the grave.
Few have assembled a body of creative work as diverse and decorated as Quincy Jones. The legendary superproducer—who died of pancreatic cancer in late 2024, at the age of 91—worked on iconic hits as disparate as Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” and Frank Sinatra’s “Fly Me To The Moon,” and helped shape the music of countless stars including Ray Charles, Donna Summer, Miles Davis, Count Basie and Aretha Franklin. He cofounded Vibe magazine, executive produced the TV smash hit The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, conducted the 1985 single “We Are The World,” and earned a pair of an Oscar nominations for scoring Steven Spielberg’s 1985 movie The Color Purple.
“If God has a jukebox, I know which name is on more of the selections than any other. It starts with Q,” said U2 front man Bono in a 2008 interview with JAZZIZ. “It ends there, too.”
At the very least, Jones is leading in another celestial category. He is the highest-paid dead celebrity of 2026, after his estate sold the vast majority of his interests in the assets above—as well as his personal catalog and publishing rights as an artist to hits including “Soul Bossa Nova”—in March to private equity-backed catalog management firm HarbourView Equity Partners in a deal Forbes estimates was worth around $150 million.
This is the 26th year Forbes has tracked posthumous megaearners, and only the fourth time someone other than Michael Jackson has been No. 1 since his death in 2009, each coming by way of a significant asset sale. (The other three were Elizabeth Taylor in 2012, Roald Dahl in 2021 and J.R.R. Tolkien in 2022.) Ironically, Jones’ 10% producer royalties on the first three Jackson solo albums “Off The Wall,” “Thriller” and “Bad” (accounting for more than two-thirds of Jackson’s annual global streaming total), helped boost the Jones estate’s sale value.
But it was still a banner year for the Jackson estate, which gambled an estimated $25 million of its own money to fund reshoots on the troubled production of the Michael biopic, and then cashed in when the movie went on to gross more than $1 billion at the global box office. Forbes estimates that the estate will eventually earn more than $50 million in profit participation from the movie, spread over the next several years. Having a hit movie in theaters also provided a lift to the entire portfolio of the estate’s businesses, including music streaming, a Cirque du Soleil show in Las Vegas, several productions of MJ: The Musical across the world, and a brand licensing business, all of which added up to $140 million over the past 12 months.
That kind of ecosystem of symbiotic businesses is what’s powered the money behind several of the legends on this list, including mainstay Elvis Presley and newcomer Dolly Parton, each of whom have physical destinations in Graceland and Dollywood that serve as central hubs for their estate’s empire, and plenty of other brand extensions.
Still, the closure of the late Bob Marley’s Las Vegas show at Mandalay Bay in January and the box office failure of Bruce Springsteen’s movie Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere last October reinforces the lesson many producers have learned in recent years—that success is no sure thing, even for the biggest of stars. A raft of new projects will test that, from Dr Seuss’ latest The Cat In The Hat movie debuting next weekend, to Parton’s Broadway show coming in December. Presley has a hologram concert show in the works for 2027, and the anticipation is already building for four Beatles films due out in 2028.
What’s clear is that in an increasingly competitive and difficult marketplace for content, the best thing someone can have right now is valuable IP. And for these 13 deceased legends, their personal brands have proven eternal.
Here are 2026’s highest-earning dead celebrities:
#1. $150 Million
Quincy Jones
November 3, 2024 (91) • Cause Of Death: Cancer
Industry insiders believe Jones’ estate was able to fetch a premium price for the music and other rights it sold to HarbourView in March, not only for the money they generate each year but also the extraordinary reputation that Jones enjoyed in the music industry, which could help HarbourView attract other catalog acquisitions in the future. And for HarbourView, the timing couldn’t have been better. When the Michael biopic turned into a global blockbuster, Jones’ 10% producer royalties on the first three Michael Jackson albums paid out big.
#2. $140 Million
Michael Jackson
June 25, 2009 (50) • Cause Of Death: Overdose/Homicide
Despite its long and tumultuous journey to the big screen, the Michael biopic in April proved the King of Pop’s never-ending popularity once again, grossing more than $1 billion at the global box office. Forbes estimates the estate will earn an estimated 25% of the film’s net profits, totaling more than $50 million across the next several years. Having a hit movie also led to year-long spikes in global music streaming and strong ticket sales for Jackson’s Cirque du Soleil show in Las Vegas and the musical on Broadway, plus residencies in Germany and Australia and a touring show across the U.S.
#3. $80 Million
Dr. Seuss
September 24, 1991 (87) • Cause Of Death: Cancer
More than three decades after the author’s death, Dr. Seuss Enterprises continues to find new ways to monetize his beloved children’s stories. This year, it set up a “Dr. Seuss Travel Agency,” directing would-be travellers to different book titles, and released the first posthumous manuscript from Seuss in over 10 years, Sing The 50 States!, which debuted at No. 1 on the New York Times bestsellers list in the picture book category.
#4. $75 Million
Elvis Presley
August 16, 1977 (42) • Cause Of Death: Heart Attack
The stakeholders in Elvis’ music, including majority owner Authentic Brands Group, filed a lawsuit last Friday against AI giant Anthropic for more than $41 million, claiming copyright infringement and saying it trained its models using Presley’s songs. Even decades after his death, the King’s popularity transcends music, drawing hundreds of thousands to his Graceland mansion each year and selling millions in licensed products. Next up? A hologram concert show that will debut in Las Vegas by the end of 2027.
#5. $46 Million
Dolly Parton
August 25, 2026 (80) • Cause Of Death: Cancer
According to the Themed Entertainment Association, the Dollywood theme park in the “9 to 5” singer’s hometown of Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, attracted 3.4 million visitors in 2025, up an impressive 8% in a year where most U.S. parks saw slight attendance declines. Given her ownership of her music rights and 50% ownership of Dollywood, its neighboring Splash Country waterpark (which drew 390,000 visitors in 2025), and the attached hotels, it’s quite likely the estate will see significantly increased earnings next year as fans continue to show immense love and appreciation for country music’s all-time best-selling female artist.
#6. $25 Million
Bob Marley
May 11, 1981 (36) • Cause Of Death: Cancer
Just six months after opening, the Bob Marley: Hope Road stage show at Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay casino went on a “brief hiatus” in January and never returned. The show was a collaboration between Marley’s estate and Primary Wave, the private equity backed catalog acquisition firm that purchased a majority stake in Marley’s music catalog and publishing in 2018. The family retained Marley’s name, image and likeness rights, and have turned it into a licensing gold mine, selling a wide variety of Rastafarian-themed products.
#7. $24 Million
Prince
April 21, 2016 (57) • Cause Of Death: Overdose
Nearly a decade after his death in 2016, The Purple One’s estate continues to release new music in partnership with Primary Wave, including in August the album “Timeless,” which reached the top 10 of Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart. Tracks include a 1977 demo Prince recorded as a teenager as well as a 2016 live recording from his final tour. Meanwhile, his Paisley Park estate hosted a five-day festival in June to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of his passing with performances and exhibitions.
#8. $22 Million
Diane Keaton
October 11, 2025 (79) • Cause Of Death: Pneumonia
After a 50-year Hollywood career as both a lovable leading lady, from Annie Hall to Something’s Gotta Give, and an iconic maternal figure in Father of the Bride and The Family Stone, Keaton passed away last October at the age of 79. This year, her estate sold the Brentwood home she spent decades renovating—the subject of her 2017 book The House That Pinterest Built—for $18 million, and partnered with Bonhams to auction off her clothing and memorabilia, including an original script for Annie Hall, bringing in an additional $4.2 million (before fees).
#9. $18 Million
John Lennon
December 8, 1980 (40) • Cause Of Death: Homicide
Sony’s ambitious plan to make and release four Beatles movies in consecutive weeks in 2028 is currently in production, with Triangle of Sadness star Harris Dickinson set to play Lennon. The start of principal photography marked another payday for the Fab Four, who manage their collective businesses through the holding company Apple Corps Ltd., which reported a spike in licensing income this year to nearly $10 million from $6 million a year ago.
#10. $15 Million
George Harrison
November 29, 2001 (15) • Cause Of Death: Cancer
The other late Beatle will be portrayed on the big screen by Stranger Things and The Fantastic Four star Joseph Quinn. While Lennon and McCartney’s vast Beatles songwriting catalog has been passed between different corporate owners across the decades (including Michael Jackson), Harrisongs, the publishing company Harrison set up in 1968 that includes hits like, “Here Comes The Sun,” “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” and “Something,” has remained under family ownership managed by his wife Olivia and son Dhani, adding Harrison’s 12-album solo career to the catalog under his Dark Horse Records label beginning in 1974.
#11. $15 Million
Jimmy Buffett
September 1, 2023 (76) • Cause Of Death: Cancer
A non-jury trial is scheduled for January in Palm Beach County, where the court must decide whether to strip control from Buffett’s $275 million marital trust from either his widow, Jane, or his financial manager, Richard Mozenter, the co-mangers of the estate who have filed suits trying to remove the other. At stake is a 20% interest in the Margaritaville business empire and Buffett’s share of music owned through Mailboat Records.
#12. $14 Million
Kobe Bryant
January 26, 2020 (41) • Cause Of Death: Helicopter Crash
When Jalen Brunson led the New York Knicks to an improbable NBA championship this summer, he did it wearing the “Statue of Liberty” Nike Kobe 6 Protro, rather than his own signature sneaker. The move led to a massive spike in sales for Bryant’s sneakers in both the primary and secondary markets, and Nike continues to drop dozens of new variations each year under a licensing agreement with the Bryant family that was renewed in 2022.
#13. $13 Million
Arnold Palmer
September 25, 2016 (87) • Cause Of Death: Cardiovascular Disease
Sales of the golf legend’s eponymous drink have declined in recent years, but Palmer’s iconic four-colored umbrella logo can be found on apparel from Puma and Smathers & Branson, drinkware, belts, and other golf accessories. Meanwhile, the Arnold Palmer Invitational is one of the biggest tournaments on the PGA Tour calendar.
Methodology
This year’s Dead Celebrity ranking includes pretax earnings from sales, streams, licensing deals and other income sources between October 1, 2025 and September 30, 2026, as well as estate acquisitions made or announced during the same period. Celebrities were each considered as a single entity, and credited for all money they generated, regardless of whether the beneficiaries to the estate still own or control the rights to the performer’s works or name, image and likeness (this is a change from the 2025 list, which estimated the money flowing to estate beneficiaries). Forbes compiles the numbers with the help of data from Luminate and interviews with industry insiders. Fees for agents, managers and lawyers are not deducted.
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