You Won’t Believe How Much Money Michael Jackson Has Made Since Passing Away
Michael Jackson has topped Forbes’ highest-paid deceased celebrity list more often than anyone else since he died in 2009. In 2025 alone, his estate pulled in an estimated $105 million! This placed him far ahead of other late cultural icons and extended a streak that spans most of the past decade and a half.
Since 2009, total estate earnings have exceeded $3.5 billion, a figure that keeps rising. But the most surprising part about all of this is how little of that income depends on traditional album sales alone.
The Deal That Changed Everything Again
Image via Canva/Truecreatives
One deal reshaped the estate’s finances more than any recent release. In 2024, the estate sold a 50 percent stake in Michael’s master recordings and publishing catalog to Sony Music for about $600 million. The agreement also revised royalty terms, giving the estate a larger share of global revenue. Streaming income rose soon after, and licensing deals became more profitable within months.
The move followed a strategy Michael set in motion decades earlier. In 1985, he bought the ATV Music catalog, which included much of the Lennon-McCartney songbook, for $47.5 million. When the estate sold that stake to Sony in 2016, the deal brought in $750 million, close to $1 billion in inflation-adjusted terms. That year still stands as the estate’s most profitable.
Live Shows That Never Left The Stage
Image via Wikimedia Commons/Abi Skipp from London, England
Music sales tell only part of the story. Live entertainment tied to Michael’s catalog continues to draw crowds that rival current chart-toppers. Cirque du Soleil’s “Michael Jackson ONE” has passed 5,000 performances at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas and now runs through 2030. The show sells tickets year-round and feeds merchandise, licensing, and tourism revenue tied directly to the brand.
“MJ: The Musical” adds another steady stream. Since its 2022 debut, the production has grossed nearly $300 million worldwide. Five productions ran globally during 2025 alone, proving that Broadway-style adaptations can out-earn many traditional tours.
Films, Screens, And Global Reach
Image via Wikimedia Commons/Sigismund von Dobschütz
The concert film This Is It, released months after Michael’s death, earned $267 million at the global box office. That success set a template for future projects that treat the catalog as cinematic property rather than archive material.
Another surge may arrive soon. A biopic titled Michael, starring his nephew Jaafar Jackson, is scheduled for release in April 2026. These films often drive renewed streaming spikes, soundtrack sales, and licensing interest across multiple platforms simultaneously.
Why The Numbers Stay So Far Ahead
Other late musicians appear on Forbes’ annual lists, yet none approach this level of consistency. The difference comes down to ownership, timing, and scale. The estate controls assets that remain essential to radio playlists, film soundtracks, advertising campaigns, and live productions across continents.
While many artists rely on a single primary revenue stream, this operation runs several at once. Streaming royalties, catalog sales, theater tickets, Vegas residencies, and film projects all feed into the same engine, and each new deal strengthens the next.