Indeed, all the members of this year's club are the linchhpins of enormously profitable -- and growing -- merchandising empires. Albert Einstein's name is used to peddle Baby Einstein DVDs. Theodor "Dr. Seuss" Geisel's books are a staple of every kiddie library on the planet. Hundreds of performances of "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" pad the portfolio of "Peanuts" creator Charles Schulz each year -- as do comic strips that are still syndicated daily in thousands of newspapers worldwide.

But even in death, there can only be one King. Reclaiming his top spot on the list is Elvis Presley, whose estate generated $49 million in the past year. CKX (CKXE, news, msgs), the publicly traded firm that presides over the bulk of the Elvis empire (daughter Lisa Marie Presley retains a 15% stake) announced a massive overhaul of Graceland this summer. Additions will include a hotel convention center, a state-of-the-art multimedia museum and a spiffier visitors center.

Revenues from Graceland were up 15% this year -- the 30th anniversary of Presley's death -- to $35 million. And that doesn't include royalties generated from Elvis music, DVDs and licensing deals like the one struck with Cirque du Soleil for an Elvis-themed revue in Las Vegas.

Cobain off the list

This year's newcomers

Estimating income for celebrities is no small feat. But for dead celebrities, it can prove daunting. Such was the case when attempting to value the income of recently departed mega-producer Aaron Spelling, whose estate still collects royalties for every "Love Boat" or "Melrose Place" rerun that airs anywhere on the planet.

Who gets the dough?

Anna Strasberg, widow of famed acting coach Lee Strasberg, inherited the bulk of the Marilyn Monroe estate from her late husband. Two years ago, she sued two photo agencies run by heirs of Monroe photographers for licensing images without her permission. (One, Sam Shaw, shot the iconic picture of Monroe over a subway grate for "The Seven Year Itch.") Strasberg claimed that the images were part of Monroe's intellectual property and therefore only her heirs should profit.

But in May, both a California and New York court ruled against her, claiming that the concept of a post-mortem right of publicity did not exist until legislation to that effect passed in 1984, so Monroe could not have bequeathed them at the time of her death. (That law, dubbed The Dead Celebrities Act, grants posthumous rights for 70 years.) Those decisions pave the way for other firms to license Monroe images without cooperation from her estate.