John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix Land on Top-Earning Dead Celebrities List

The estate of John Lennon raked in $12 million in the last year to land at No. 5 (tied with actress Elizabeth Taylor) on the latest installment of Forbes magazine's annual Top-Earning Dead Celebrities list. The late star is joined by Jimi Hendrix (tied for No. 9, $7 million) and his ex-Beatles bandmate George Harrison (tied for No. 13 with $6 million) on the tally, which measures estimated gross earnings from October 2010 through October 2011.

Thanks to help from their long-in-the-works inclusion in the iTunes Store, the Beatles sold 1.6 million albums in 2010, a windfall for both the Lennon and Harrison estates. Add to that profits from the Beatles-themed Cirque du Soleil show 'Love' in Las Vegas, and it's no wonder the late Fab Four members continue to pull in big bucks.

The difference between the two Beatles could have to do with licensing arrangements, as Lennon has extremely profitable deals in place with the likes of Cisco and Mont Blanc. Only the finest licensing deals for Lennon!

Hendrix, for his part, had the tune 'Foxy Lady' featured in a HP campaign, plus released the new 'Winterland' box set and two live DVD sets in the past year. Add in his always lucrative catalog and $9 million makes sense.

If you are wondering, Michael Jackson topped the Dead Celebrities list with more than $170 million in earnings, thanks in part to publishing company, Mijac Music. Jackson, who died in 2009, also held the apex of last year's tally with an astounding $275 in earnings.