Though 'only' number 4 on this list due to her earnings of $25 million in 2013, the late actress - who died in 2011 due to heart failure - made $210 million the year before from a series of auctions of Taylor's jewellery and art. Still, $25 million is nothing to sniff at, coming as it does from her line of perfume, White Diamonds, and various stock market and real estate investments. She'll soon be going down a similar route to Marilyn, too, with her name and features being given to various licensing and advertisement deals. Taylor epitomised glamour and Hollywood class, even when her marriage to fellow actor Richard Burton was falling apart, so it's unsurprising that companies want to trade on her image even after she's gone.
3. Charles Schulz
The Peanuts comic strip creator died in 2000 of colon cancer, but the globe-spanning legacy of his much-adored creations still earn him much adulation and cash - $37 million in 2013 from books, movie and TV licensing deals, to be exact - even 14 years after the last cartoon Schulz made was released. Though the characters were fictional and generally used to make readers laugh, the cartoonist filled each edition with much pathos and included parts of his own life and outlook in the stories, making them eminently relateable. A Peanuts reboot is currently in the works at 20th Century Fox featuring beloved characters Charlie Brown and Snoopy, so it looks like Charles Schulz' power to entertain and enthral won't be diminishing any time soon.
2. Elvis Presley
One of popular culture's most enduring and iconic presences, it should hardly comes as a surprise to anyone reading this that the King of Rock'n'Roll still brings in a hefty paycheck from his ubiquitous presence on posters, in books and on the racks at record stores 46 years after suffering a cheeseburger-induced heart attack on the loo. Presley's estate earned around $55 million in 2013 alone, both from his legendary image and massive recording back catalogue and from his ever-popular Graceland home, which still brings in visitors from around the world.
1. Michael Jackson
Another owner of a famous home that was and is open to the public and another musical King, Michael Jackson was 2013's biggest deceased celebrity earner, his estate bringing in an estimated and astonishing $160 million that year. It's blinding but hardly surprising: after all, Jackson spent the last couple of decades of his life acquiring labels and the licenses to recordings by acts like The Beatles, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga and many more, not to mention the earnings he still makes from the artists on his own label, Mijac Music, which obviously includes the King of Pop's own not insignificant recording history. The controversial singer also earned money from Cirque du Soleil shows that he contributed to and his reign of success looks set to continue for decades after his death.
