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Which Dead Celebrities Made the Most Money in 2020?
Even in death, some famous icons continue to be incredibly financially successful
When a person dies, they may be gone, but that doesn’t mean that they are forgotten. And in the case of some celebrities, it doesn’t mean they stop making money. This is especially true of these deceased well-known figures of American culture, who continued raking in the bucks in 2020 despite passing away years ago.
Madeline Berg of Forbes published a list of the highest-earning dead celebrities in 2020. To compile their rankings, they measured the “pretax income from October 1, 2019 through October 1, 2020.” With some of our most well-known public figures becoming ingrained in the fabric of society, it is little wonder that their image and work remain lucrative in death. This includes these five top earners from last year:
5. Elvis Presley, $23 million: Passing away in 1978 from a heart attack, the King of Rock and Roll remains a veritable money machine more than 40 years later. Not only do his expansive catalogue of songs remain popular and in the mainstream, but his former Graceland home in Memphis takes in approximately $10 million annually. He is such a juggernaut that he will likely remain a veritable cottage industry for the foreseeable future for the many fans who…
