Michael Jackson never graced Forbes annual Celebrity 100 list during his life. In death, the King of Pop earned more in the past year than any star on that list, apart from Oprah Winfrey.

Jackson not only took the No.1 spot on our 10th annual ranking of the Top-Earning Dead Celebrities, with gross earnings of $275 million, he out-earned the other 12 stars on the list combined. Dont stop til you get enough indeed. Still more impressive: His estates 12-month haul was greater than the pooled earnings of this years two biggest living acts, U2 and AC/DC. Jacksons posthumous earnings come from his stake in the lucrative Sony/ATV catalog, the hit Sony ( SNE news people ) film This Is It and renewed fan interest in music, videos and all things Michael Jackson.

The death of Michael Jackson really put a focus onc****ly, quite franklywhat someones worth when theyre deceased, says David Reeder, vice president of Corbis GreenLight, which manages the personality rights for Albert Einstein and Steve McQueen, among other dead celebrities. In a more positive way, it exposed consumers to this idea that there actually is a market for, and an enduring legacy for, these people.

To place on this years list, a deceased celebrity needed to earn at least $5 million between Oct. 1, 2009, and Oct. 1, 2010. For the most part, earnings come from things like music royalties (John Lennon), book sales (Dr. Seuss) or the licensing of ones image and likeness (McQueen). To compile the list, we spoke to agents, lawyers and other sources to estimate a stars gross earnings (before taxes, management fees and other costs).

Coming in at No. 2 is Elvis Presley. The King of Rock n Rolls estate pulled down $60 million in the 12-month period, thanks to Graceland admissions and a heavily hyped Cirque du Soleil show in Las Vegas. The estates portfolio of more than 200 licensing and merchandise deals got a nice boost from the late stars 75th birthday celebration as well.