Michael Jackson continues to reign as the ultimate symbol of posthumous success.
Forbes has once again crowned the King of Pop as 2025’s highest-paid deceased celebrity, with his estate pulling in an estimated $105 million over the past year—far surpassing any other late icon.
Since his passing in 2009, Jackson’s estate has amassed a jaw-dropping $3.5 billion, securing his status not only as a global music legend but also as a posthumous financial powerhouse.
“When it comes to estate earnings, it’s MJ, then an enormous canyon, then everybody else,” an estate attorney told Forbes.
The bulk of Jackson’s recent income came from the 2024 sale of a 50% stake in his master recordings and publishing catalog to Sony Music for $600 million. The deal also included a revised royalty structure that increased the estate’s cut of global profits from his music. Although his mother, Katherine Jackson, opposed the sale—arguing it went against her son’s wishes—the move solidified Jackson’s catalog as one of the most valuable in the world.
It’s hardly the first time Jackson’s business moves have made history. Back in 1985, he purchased the ATV Music catalog—home to most of The Beatles’ Lennon-McCartney songs—for $47.5 million. That investment paid off massively, selling to Sony in 2016 for $750 million, roughly $1 billion in today’s value.
Jackson’s influence extends well beyond his music catalog. His 2009 posthumous concert film This Is It grossed $267 million globally, while Cirque du Soleil’s Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour brought in another $160 million in 2012, becoming that year’s highest-grossing live show.
The Las Vegas residency Michael Jackson ONE at Mandalay Bay recently celebrated over 5,000 performances and has been extended through 2030. Meanwhile, MJ: The Musical continues to dominate Broadway and international stages, earning nearly $300 million since its 2022 debut, with five productions running worldwide in 2025.
And the empire shows no signs of slowing down. The upcoming biopic Michael, starring his nephew Jaafar Jackson, is set to premiere in April 2026 and is expected to spark another surge in interest and revenue.
Other music icons like Prince, John Lennon, and Bob Marley also made Forbes’ annual list of top-earning deceased celebrities, collectively generating $541 million before taxes. But even among legends, Michael Jackson remains in a league entirely his own—both culturally and financially.
