Kobe Bryant lands on Forbes Top-earning Dead celebrities list
Basketball
By
Odero Charles
| Nov 14, 2020
It's been nine months since Kobe Bryant died at the age of 41 in a helicopter crash that also claimed the lives of his 13-year-old daughter Gianna 'Gigi' and seven others but the NBA legend's earning power shows no sign of waning.
According to Web site Forbes.com, the late Kobe Bryant came in at number six on Forbes' "Highest-Paid Dead Celebrities of 2020" list.
This is after he generated Sh 2.2 billion {$20 million} in earnings since his death from shoes and apparel - with Nike reportedly raking in millions of dollars from selling out its Mamba merchandise.
In addition to sneakers, Kobe's 2018 autobiography, "The Mamba Mentality: How I Play" sold more than 300,000 copies in 2020, ten times the number of copies it did in 2019.
Also after the Lakers won the NBA championship in October, Kobe’s jersey was the second-best seller for the Lakers organization, coming only behind LeBron James.
Bryant was reportedly worth $600 million at the time of his death.
He won five championships in 20 seasons with the Lakers and is considered one of the sport's all-time greats.
Michael Jackson topped the Forbes' list of highest earning dead celebrities for the eighth year in a row with $48 million in earnings in 2020.
View Forbes' 13 highest-paid dead celebrities of 2020
1. Michael Jackson - Musician (overdose/homicide): $48 million
2. Dr. Seuss / Theodor Seuss "Ted" Geisel - American author (cancer): $33 million
3. Charles Schulz - American cartoonist (cancer): $32.5 million
4. Arnold Palmer - American professional golfer (heart disease) $25million
5. Elvis Presley - Entertainer (heart attack) $23million
6 Kobe Bryant - American basketball player (helicopter crash) $20million
7. Juice WRLD - Rapper (overdose) $15million
8. Bob Marley - Musician (cancer) $14million
9. John Lennon - Musician (homicide) $13million
10. Prince - Musician (overdose) $10million
11. Freddie Mercury - Musician (AIDS-related illness) $9million
12. George Harrison - Musician (cancer) $8.5million
13. Marilyn Monroe - Film star (overdose) $8million