Dr. Edge

TUPAC IS NOT DEAD!!!! hahahaha fools.

And Elvis isn't dead either? Yeah, fools! ;-)

OK, I get everybody on there - except Steve McQueen. Explain that. Don't get me wrong - I love Steve McQueen, but how is he making more than James Brown? Is it because he's not in the music business?

How do you define "top earnings"? Gross revenues, net profits? Cumulative? This year? Since they died? Without more definition, the "top category" list doesn't tell us much about these folks, dead or alive - six out of 13 musicians is an interesting ratio; Einstein earning money is a surprise; 12 out of 13 are media-created persona's; they all knew how to work the media and create the buzz about themselves; they are all distinctive in their own right. Whoops, I guess the list does tell you something after all. Fools

this makes me wonder if I'll still be top user even when I die. hahaha.
that's silly! and I'm bringin back "fools" yo!

Tupac proved you can still be top selling artist, even when you're just a dead fool, yo!

Luv it!

The Forbes article seems to say it's the last 12 month's earnings.

The 13 legends in our seventh annual list of the Top-Earning Dead Celebrities grossed a combined $232 million in the past 12 months. Many are instantly recognizable one-name wonders (Elvis, Marilyn, Warhol) who still command attention worldwide, making them marketers' ideal pitchmen.

Indeed, all the members of this year's club are the lynchpins of enormously profitable--and growing--merchandising empires. Albert Einstein's name is used to peddle Baby Einstein DVDs. Theodor "Dr. Seuss" Geisel's books are a staple of every kiddie library on the planet. Hundreds of performances of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown pad the portfolio of Peanuts creator Charles Schulz each year--as well as comic strips that are still syndicated daily in thousands of newspapers worldwide. ...

The article also has links to previous years' lists.

The Forbes article seems to say it's earnings in the last year.

The 13 legends in our seventh annual list of the Top-Earning Dead Celebrities grossed a combined $232 million in the past 12 months. Many are instantly recognizable one-name wonders (Elvis, Marilyn, Warhol) who still command attention worldwide, making them marketers' ideal pitchmen.

Indeed, all the members of this year's club are the lynchpins of enormously profitable--and growing--merchandising empires. Albert Einstein's name is used to peddle Baby Einstein DVDs. Theodor "Dr. Seuss" Geisel's books are a staple of every kiddie library on the planet. Hundreds of performances of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown pad the portfolio of Peanuts creator Charles Schulz each year--as well as comic strips that are still syndicated daily in thousands of newspapers worldwide. ...

Oh and the Fobes link also has links to previous years' lists...