Who's Worth More Dead Than Alive?

The dead celebrity industry is a new legal speciality. For years we have heard about the huge earnings of people like Albert Einstein and Elvis Presley since their deaths. Albert Einstein is one of the most recognizable people in the world, and his estate earns millions every year from licensing agreements, much more than he ever earn in his lifetime. Elvis, who made millions while he was alive, continues to be one of the top dead celebrity earners, last year making around $60 million. But the top Deleb(as they are referred to by those in the industry) is Michael Jackson, last year earning $250 million. Other Delebs who earn big for their heirs are J.R. Tolkein, Heath Ledger, Paul Newman, Charles Schultz, Marvin Gaye and Elizabeth Taylor.

Lawyers love the dead celebrity industry. The client is easy to manage, no annoying phone calls or arguments. In fact, I don't think this is really true, because the heirs, who all want a piece of the pie, all have opinions on how estates should be handled, and who to hire to see that they get the most from their deceased relative. We all know that the value of fine art rises when the artist dies. He can produce no more. But music, books and film are reproduced, yet these dead celebrities reap huge profits.

I have a little first hand knowledge about this industry, although it was many years ago. In their early 1950's my uncle, a talent agent in Hollywood died and left 7 year old twins without any parents. (their mom had died of cancer a few years before). My uncle handled alot of Disney stars in the 1950's and one of the properties he owned, was Zorro. He didn't leave his kids much money, but he did leave them the Zorro property. My father, who took care of the estate, was smart enough to hang on to Zorro, and it produced enough income to raise and educate the children, and in recent years was made into several lucrative movies. You just never know what you've got. I don't think my uncle or my father ever could have predicted that 50 years after aquiring the Zorro property, little boys and girls would still be playing with Zorro action figures, or that major movies would be made.

Michael Jackson and Elvis are still at the top of the earnings list, but Elizabeth Taylor is not far behind. Who will be the next big Deleb earner?