This Year's Top-Earning Dead Celebs Michael Jackson earned $75M in last 12 months: 'Forbes' By Arden Dier, Newser Staff Posted Oct 31, 2017 8:33 AM CDT 10 comments Comments Michael Jackson tops Forbes' list of highest-earning dead celebrities. (AP Photo/Joel Ryan, File) View 1 more image (Newser) – Celebrities aren't any less mortal than the rest of us, but their earning power can be. Forbes takes a look at the highest-paid dead celebrities of the past year, measuring pretax income as of Oct. 15. Among those included is a celeb who died this month—and another who died 40 years ago. Read the next page My Take on This Story Report a story error Show results without voting | 12% Hilarious 34% Intriguing 4% Depressing 16% Brilliant 1% Scary 33% Ridiculous