11 Top-Earning Dead Celebrities

Feb. 15, 2012 — -- intro: You either have it or you don't. Some celebrities have staying power and some have eternal staying power. As the entertainment world mourns the death of Whitney Houston this week, sales of her music top charts once again. Houston holds Billboard's record for most consecutive No. 1 singles, having won seven from 1985 to 1988.

The soundtrack for "The Bodyguard" stands as the longest-reigning album by a woman in the 56-year history of Billboard's 200 chart list.

Keith Caulfield, Billboard's associate director of charts, said Houston's greatest hits album will re-enter Billboard's Top 10 chart possibly this week. Already 50,000 copies of the album were sold in the first day or two after her death. Yahoo reported a 31600 percent spike in searches for Houston's name after her death.

Houston is expected to earn another $10 million this year posthumously, which will likely lead to her inclusion in Forbes' list of top-earning dead celebrities.

Here's Forbes' current list of celebrity estates that have earned the most.

quicklist:category: $170 milliontitle: Michael Jacksonmedia: 14825800 text:

The King of Pop led Forbes' list of top-earning dead celebrities two years in a row, bringing in $170 million last year. Although he died on June 25, 2009, at the age of 50, from a drug overdose, Jackson still made headlines last year when his doctor, Conrad Murray, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter.

Jackson was the second-highest-earning musical act last year, dead or alive, after U2, according to Forbes.

quicklist:category: $55 milliontitle: Elvis Presley media: 15059405text:

The King of Rock and Roll earned most of his posthumous earnings through his Graceland mansion in Memphis last year. Like Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley also has a Cirque du Soleil show called Viva Elvis. Presley died Aug. 16, 1977, at the age of 42, from a heart attack.

quicklist:category: $27 million title: Marilyn Monroemedia: 15603273 text:

Before the movie "My Week With Marilyn" was released in October, Authentic Brands Group, which manages the estate of Bob Marley, bought the rights to Marilyn Monroe's estate. The actress's image and likeness is to be used for such products as handbags and shoes.

Monroe also co-starred with actress Charlize Theron in an ad for Christian Dior's J'Adore fragrance.

Monroe died on Aug. 5, 1962, at age 36, from a drug overdose.

quicklist:category: $25 million title: Charles Schulzmedia: 15603329 text:

The estate of Charlie Brown's creator, Charles Schulz, received a boost after Iconix purchased an 80 percent stake in his comic brand, creating Peanuts Worldwide, in 2010. Forbes reported that Schulz's characters have about 1,200 licensing agreements for such products as video games and e-books.

Schultz died Feb. 12, 2000, at the age of 77, from colon cancer.

quicklist:category: $12 million title: John Lennonmedia: 15603708text:

After the Beatles' music was finally distributed through iTunes, the band sold 1.6 million albums in 2010, the 10th best of any artist dead or alive, according to Forbes. That has provided royalties for band members like John Lennon, who was killed on Dec. 8, 1980, at age 40. His estate also benefits from Cirque du Soleil's the Beatles Love show.

quicklist:category: $12 milliontitle: Elizabeth Taylor media: 15599541 text:

In addition to Elizabeth Taylor's movie classics like "Cleopatra" and "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" her successful, long-lived perfume line has brought millions of dollars in sales. In December, Christie's auctioned off Elizabeth Taylor's jewelry and clothing, raising $183 million. Taylor died on March 23, 2011, 79, of heart failure.

quicklist:category: $10 milliontitle: Albert Einsteinmedia: 15604345text:

The likeness of renowned scientist Albert Einstein exudes the kind of intelligence marketers seem to love, inspiring Baby Einstein products, Chrysler's Ram truck ads and even glasses, Forbes reported.

The scientist's name has also been used for a Nintendo DS brain game, Forbes' Dorothy Pomerantz reported.

The German-born physicist died on April 18, 1955, at age 76.

quicklist: category: $9 milliontitle: Theodor Seuss Geisel media: 15603262 text:

The estate of Theodor Seuss Geisel, or Dr. Seuss, continues to receive royalties from his children's books, including "The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories," which was published in September by Random House. His books are still licensed for animated and live-action films, including "The Lorax," which will be released on March 2 from Universal Pictures.

Geisel died on Sept. 24, 1991, at age 87.

quicklist:category: $7 million title: Jimi Hendrixmedia: 15603533text:

The music of guitarist Jimi Hendrix continues to live on long after his death. Last year, Amazon offered an exclusive fifth CD to his four-disc concert series, "Winterland." Two live-show DVDs were also released, capturing the young musician's lively performances.

Hendrix died on Sept. 18, 1970, at age 27.

quicklist:category: $7 million title: Stieg Larssonmedia: 15603962text:

Author Stieg Larsson did not live to see the global success of his three-book series that began with "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo." He died Nov. 9, 2004, at age 50, from a heart attack. More than 40 million copies of his books have been sold, and Sony's film version was released in December after a Danish version in 2009.

quicklist:category: $7 million title: Steve McQueenmedia: 15603442 text:

Actor Steve McQueen still exudes cool in ads for luxury brands Dolce & Gabbana and Persol sunglasses, Forbes reports. He also became the face for recent campaigns of designer Tommy Hilfiger and investment bank UBS. McQueen died on Nov. 30, 1980, at the age of 50.