Yves Saint Laurent, whose death in June 2008 rocked the fashion world, heads up a rich list charting posthumous earnings, published today by forbes.com.
Designer Yves Saint Laurent has made £214m so far this year, easily beating Michael Jackson into third place on the Dead Celebrity Rich List 2009. The King Of Pop's earnings currently stand at £55m, £43m of which was made posthumously, mainly through selling the rights to upcoming film This Is It. Saint Laurent's money came from a widely-fêted auction of art, among which were works by the likes of Mondrian and Matisse, which he and partner Pierre Berge collected over the course of decades.
Song-writing duo Rodgers & Hammerstein earned £144m, putting them into second place to complete the Top 3. However, Matthew Miller, Forbes' senior editor, warns that it's likely to be all change in 2010.
"Yves Saint Laurent and Rodgers and Hammerstein had massive estate sales that catapulted them to the top of the Top Earning Dead Celebrities list, but while they beat Michael Jackson and Elvis this year, Jackson and Elvis will remain near the top of the list every year because of all of the wonderful music and memorabilia they left behind," he says.
Elvis made a respectable £34m to come fourth on the list, despite being eligible for inclusion for 32 years. Authors JRR Tolkien, Dr Seuss and Michael Crichton were also in the Top 10, along with Albert Einstein, John Lennon and Snoopy creator Charles Schultz.
Picture: Yves Saint Laurent, pictured in 1972.
