For the first time in the six-year history of Forbes Dead Celeb Income ranking, Nirvana's deceased lead Singer, Kurt Cobain, topped Elvis Presley from the No. 1 spot of the Forbes chart. The estate of Cobain -- who committed suicide 12 years ago -- pulled in $50 million over the last year.
Forbes attributes the growth in Cobain's estate to the recent sale of 25 percent of Nirvan's catolog of songs by rocker Courtney Love, Cobain's widow.
What I've learned from the Cobain/Love Transactions
1) Passive income is important for the living and the dead.
2) It's important to leave a legacy and property for heirs.
Love's sale of the rights came even though Cobain himself was famously anti-commercial, once wearing a T-shirt on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine that read ``Corporate Magazines Still Suck.''-- Bloomberg.com report on Forbes article.
Frugal Duchess Lesson:
1) Stay flexible
2) Sell shares prudently
3) Read corporate magazines
Meanwhile, the estate of Elvis Presley, pulled in $42 million, down from $45 million in the 2005 Forbes ranking. The source of the drop in revenue: fewer projects.
Frugal Duchess Lesson:
1) Maintain a steady supply of projects
2) Second-place is OK.
Other Money-after-Death Forbes ranking:
Charles Shulz (Peanuts creator) $35 million
John Lennon, (former Beatle) $24 million.
Estate of Ray Charles, $10 million,
Other estates of dead celebrities that earned more than $7 million according to Forbes were physicist Albert Einstein, artist Andy Warhol, children's-book author Dr. Seuss, actress Marilyn Monroe, singer Johnny Cash, author JRR Tolkien, Beatle George Harrison and Jamaican reggae star Bob Marley.--Bloomberg.com
Link to Bloomberg story about Money after Death story
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