Top Earning Celebrity Next Year

Michael may be the top earning celebrity next year. This prediction comes from the top one thousand licensing and merchandising experts across Europe who are taking part in the trade event, Brand Licensing, in London at the end of this month. It includes owners of celebrity brands and licences as well as those from retail, manufacturing, promotion and advertising industries.

Ciarán Coyle, managing director of The Beanstalk Group, said: “The Michael Jackson estate could earn an estimated £100 to £150 million in royalties from licensing in 2010.

His image and legacy is licensed on anything from coins and clothes, to coffee table books and singing stuffed animals. To put that into context, Elvis’ estate was worth £30 million last year and only a fraction of this was from licensing deals. The reason his estate will do so well as a licensing property is because Jackson had both fame and an emotional connection with potential consumers.”

Top 20 celebrity brands for 2010:
1. Michael Jackson
2. Cristiano Ronaldo
3. Lady GaGa
4. Emma Watson (Hermione Granger in Harry Potter)
5. Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter)
6. David and Victoria Beckham
7. Lewis Hamilton
8. Robert Pattinson
9. Elvis Presley
10. Britney Spears

Source: Telegraph & MJWN