Wednesday, October 25, 2006

A lot less conversation. Kurt earns more than Elvis

Kurt Cobain, the former lead singer of Nirvana, has joined the illustrious ranks of celebrities who find that death is no bar to making a fortune. The singer, who committed suicide 12 years ago, has replaced Elvis Presley at the top of the list of stars who continue to rake in millions even though they are no longer able to enjoy the benefits themselves.

The grunge rockstar, who achieved global fame with the anthemic singles Smells Like Teen Spirit and Come as You Are, earned more than £26m last year.

His lucrative posthumous success pushed Elvis, several of whose songs including A Little Less Conversation have been remixed and rereleased in recent years, to No 2 in the chart.

The King made just over £22m between October 2005 and October 2006, 29 years after his death at his Graceland mansion, in Memphis, Tennessee. Until he was ousted by Cobain, who had battled with depression before he took his own life at the age of 27, Elvis had held the No 1 spot for the past four years.

The top 10 dead rich are:

1. Kurt Cobain £26.3m
2. Elvis Presley £22.1m
3. Charles Schulz £18.4m
4. John Lennon £12.6m
5. Albert Einstein £10.5m
6. Andy Warhol £10m
7. Dr Seuss/ Theodor Geisel £5.3m
8. Ray Charles £5.3m
9. Marilyn Monroe £4.2m
10. Johnny Cash £4.2m

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