Michael Jackson is still the champion in earning ability

After his death, the King of Pop Michael Jackson still generated an estimated fortune of $140 million in the past year alone.

Forbes magazine said Michael Jackson earned twice as much as the late singer Elvis Presley, who is currently ranked second with an income of 55 million USD, and three times as much as the late painter Charles Schulz, who is ranked third with 40 million USD.

Michael Jackson's life-like image

His two albums, Immortal and One, which featured Michael Jackson's songs remixed for stage music by Cirque du Soleil, made up the bulk of his income. Jackson also made money through merchandise sales. His second posthumous album, Xscape, reached No. 2 on the pop charts last year. He also appeared as a hologram at the Billboard Music Awards.

This is the second consecutive year that Jackson has topped the list of highest-earning dead artists. Previously, he was pushed down to second place by actress Elizabeth Taylor. Taylor, who died in 2011, is now fourth with an income of $25 million. Meanwhile, singer Bob Marley rounds out the top five with $20 million in revenue. Marley died of cancer at the age of 36 in 1981.

Singer John Lennon, a former member of The Beatle who was shot dead in New York in 1980, ranked 7th with 12 million USD.

The 13 deceased celebrities on Forbes' list earned a combined $363.5 million over the past year. The magazine compiled the list by talking to estate managers, attorneys and individuals licensed to manage the assets of deceased celebrities, combined with an analysis of the estimated earnings from their estates. The period considered for calculating earnings spanned from October 2013 to October 2014.

According to TT&VH