Kurt Basks In Riches 6 Feet Under

25 October 2006

Kurt Cobain was today announced the world's richest dead celebrity, according to the 13 Top-Earning Dead Celebrities list put together by money magazine Forbes. Hip shaker Elvis Presley gave up his crown as No. 1 dead earner to the Smells Like Teen Spirit singer, who netted AUS$66.2 million between October 2005 and October 2006!

Presley didn't go home empty handed though, coming in second with earnings of AUS$55.6 million, down by 4 million on last years tally.

The earnings are calculated based on licensing deals for using the deceased celebrities' work or image in advertising or elsewhere.

This was the first time Kurt, of grunge rock band Nirvana, had appeared in the list since Forbes started is 6 years ago. This was attributed to his wife Courtney Love selling a 25 per cent stake in Nirvana's song catalogue to New York music publishing company PrimeWave.

To rate a mention in this years top 13, the deceased needed to earn at least AUS$9.3 million dollars in the past year.

The Lucky 13:
Kurt Cobain
Elvis Presley
Charles M. Schulz (Peanuts cartoon creator)
John Lennon
Albert Einstein
Andy Warhol
Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel)
Ray Charles
Marilyn Monroe
Johnny Cash
J.R.R. Tolkien
George Harrison
Bob Marley