‘Gone but not forgotten’ is an oft-used refrain when talking about celebrities who have passed away.

Just because they’re not making new music, or movies, or whatever else cast them into the limelight, doesn’t mean their estates aren’t still rolling in the dough.

We’re one day past Halloween, but pretend you read this yesterday if that helps.

Forbes decided to look at the highest-paid dead celebrities of the past year, with nine musicians gracing the list of 13.

Rather than run through each person in detail, we’ll just give you the names of 13 through to six on the list, with more information on each of the top five.

The dollar amount is how much money their estates made between October 2018 and October 2019.

• 13 | GEORGE HARRISON: $9 million
• 12 | WHITNEY HOUSTON: $9.5 million
• 11 | XXXTENTACION: $10 million
• 10 | NIPSEY HUSSLE: $11 million
• 9 | PRINCE: $12 million
• 8 | MARILYN MONROE: $13 million
• 7 | JOHN LENNON: $14 million
• 6 | DR. SEUSS: $19 million

Stoked to see Dr. Seuss featured here. He’s definitely better with the rhymes than XXXTentacion.

Right, back to the list, and number five:

5 | BOB MARLEY: $20 million

Deceased: May 11, 1981

Cause of death: Cancer

With nearly 1 billion streaming spins in the U.S., the ubiquity of Marley’s music keeps his House of Marley products—including headphones, speakers and turntables—from going up in smoke.

4 | ARNOLD PALMER: $30 million

Deceased: September 25, 2016

Cause of death: Heart Disease

The golf legend’s empire remains well above par, thanks to partnerships with MasterCard and Rolex. Then there’s his eponymous Arizona beverage, plus a boozy version launched by MolsonCoors this year.

Not bad at all. Just remember that if you add booze to an Arnold Palmer, it’s called a John Daly.

3 | CHARLES SCHULZ: $38 million

Deceased: February 12, 2000

Cause of death: Cancer

Snoopy’s creator continues to cash in around his Peanuts franchise’s 70th anniversary. A licensing deal with Met Life, expiring this year, also adds double-digit millions to his eternal coffers.

There is a terrible pun in here about paying Peanuts, but we move on.

2 | ELVIS PRESLEY: $39 million

Deceased: August 16, 1977

Cause of death: Heart Attack

For decades, 500,000-plus visitors have made the pilgrimage to Graceland annually, prompting a recent $45 million addition called Elvis Presley’s Memphis. Up next: a biopic directed by Baz Luhrmann, starring Tom Hanks.

Pretty impressive numbers for a bloke who died on the toilet.

Your number one, then…

1 | MICHAEL JACKSON: $60 million

Deceased: June 25, 2009

Cause of death: Overdose/Homicide

The King of Pop’s streaming surged despite recent controversy: 2.1 billion U.S. spins, up from 1.8 billion a year ago. With proceeds flowing from his Mijac Music catalog, a Las Vegas show and a long-term deal with Sony, he retains his postmortem cash crown for the seventh consecutive year.

I know Barack Obama had a bit of a moan about ‘woke call-out culture’, but I feel like Michael’s position atop this list is far from ideal.

We all know why.

Also, in case you were wondering why it’s so important for these celebs to lock in their wills whilst they’re still alive, consider how much is at stake even after they’re gone.

[source:forbes]