According to Forbes, late King of Pop Michael Jackson is the highest paid and tops the list of dead celebrities earnings for 2018, making over $400million. This earnings are said to be from sales from his music, catalogue, Sony record deal, and projects.
See the ranking as released a few hours ago by Forbes, which has Michael Jackson as number one:
1. Michael Jackson
$400 million
Musician
Died: June 25, 2009
Age: 50
Cause: Overdose/Homicide
Jackson’s posthumous roll continues, bringing in $287 million recently from the sale of his estate’s stake in EMI Music Publishing to Sony.
2. Elvis Presley
$40 million
Musician, Actor
Died: August 16, 1977
Age: 42
Cause: Heart Attack
He still moves more than 1 million albums every year, but the bulk of the King’s coin comes from tickets to Graceland and a new $45 million entertainment complex called Elvis Presley’s Memphis.
3. Arnold Palmer
$35 million
Athlete
Died: September 25, 2016
Age: 87
Cause: Heart disease
Mmm! There’s a new addition to the Arnold Palmer beverage line: an alcoholic version made in conjunction with MolsonCoors.
4. Charles Schulz
$34 million
Cartoonist
Died: February 12, 2000
Age: 77
Cause: Colon Cancer
Snoopy sure is one pedigreed beagle: DHX Media paid $345 million in 2017 to get 80% of the Peanuts business previously owned by Iconix.

5. Bob Marley
$23 million
Musician
Died: May 11, 1981
Age: 36
Cause: Cancer
Products include headphones and Marley Natural cannabis and smoking accessories.
6. Dr. Seuss
$16 million
Author
Died: September 24, 1991
Age: 87
Cause: Cancer
The good doctor sold 4.8 million books last year.
7. Hugh Hefner
$15 million
Media Mogul
Died: September 27, 2017
Age: 91
Cause: Cardiac arrest
The Playboy founder got lucky one last time when his heirs sold the remaining portion of his estate for an estimated $35 million last year, getting more than a third up front.
8. Marilyn Monroe
$14 million
Actor
Died: August 5, 1962
Age: 36
Cause: Overdose
Marilyn is back on the list this year thanks to new licensing deals, including Montblanc pens.
9. Prince
$13 million
Musician, Actor
Died: April 21, 2016
Age: 57
Cause: Overdose
The Purple One is rolling in green, having sold a quarter-million physical albums over the past 12 months.
10. John Lennon
$12 million
Musician
Died: December 8, 1980
Age: 40
Cause: Homicide
Between his solo work and his Beatles oeuvre, Lennon continues to sell nearly 2 million albums annually.
11. XXXTentacion
$11 million
Musician
Died: June 18, 2018
Age: 20
Cause: Homicide
No dead musician—and few living ones—clocked more streaming spins than XXXTentacion last year. The rapper, who had domestic-violence charges pending when he died, racked up 4 billion streams.
12. Muhammad Ali
$8 million
Athlete
Died: June 3, 2016
Age: 74
Cause: Septic shock
A Tag Heuer deal and a settlement with Fox Broadcasting over a Super Bowl ad that used Ali’s image lands the Greatest of All Time on our list for the first time.
13. Bettie Page
$7 million
Model
Died: December 11, 2008
Age: 85
Cause: Natural causes
The classic pinup’s allure has been turned into clothing, shoes, handbags, lingerie, wigs and even a fitness DVD.
source: Forbes