From Entertainment Weekly:
Michael Jackson has been dead for more than 28 months, but thanks to the ugly ongoing trial of Dr. Conrad Murray and the steady stream of tributes in MJ’s memory, his passing still feels quite fresh. Time certainly hasn’t slowed the stream of posthumous income for Jackson, who according to Forbes is the most successful dead celebrity and is the number two money-maker among all musicians.
Between October 2010 and October 2011, Jackson pulled in $170 million thanks to music sales and licensing. That’s down from the $275 million he made the previous year, but his album sales remain pretty steady, and the income from the just-launched Cirque Du Soleil production Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour could keep him at the top of the list for a while.
It’s not surprising that Jackson earns so much more than other dead celebrities, but it’s a little shocking that he takes in more than almost any other living musician. Over the past year, only U2 made more money than Jackson, and they had to go on a lengthy, health-threatening tour that ended up being the most lucrative of all time.
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