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Michael Jackson Earns More From Beyond Grave Than He Did Alive - Reports

Court documents have shed light on some details of the King of Pop's post-mortem accounts. Since Jackson passed away in 2009, his legacy has reportedly brought in over $900 million, making him one of the richest dead celebrities.
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Michael Jackson is earning more after his death than he did in life, the Daily Mirror reports, citing court papers.

The newly-released documents, which were filed with an LA court by his executives, contain figures for the 2015 accounts. According to them, Michael's estate acquired 74 million that year, including $18.8 million from merchandising, and shy of $2.5 million from publishing rights.

His gross earnings are understood to have exceeded $900 million since his death in 2009.

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This apparently has helped his family have a care-free life, as the 2015 spending included a $10.8 million house for the children and nearly $1 million in health fees, allowance and expenses for his 88-year old mother, in addition to minor expenditures such as luxurious holidays to destinations like Hawaii for his children and pricy vehicles for his entourage.

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Jackson, who died from an overdose of the anesthetic propofol in 2009 at the age of 50, was said to have had debts of up to $500 million at the time of his death. The court papers claim, however, that his executors have "disposed of most of the creditors' claims."

One of his promoters said during a wrongful death civil trial in 2013 that the King of Pop was in desperate need of cash months before his death, and couldn't even afford a house for him and his children, who were "living like vagabonds."

In 2017, however, Forbes reported that Jackson topped the list of world's highest-paid dead celebrities for the fifth year in a row, with earnings of $75 million.

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