Quincy Jones tops Forbes’ 2026 highest-paid deceased celebrities list at $150 million

Quincy JonesPhoto: Wikimedia Commons Quincy Jones spent more than seven decades shaping American music, film and television, and his influence is still generating extraordinary value after his death. Jones died of pancreatic cancer in November 2024 at the age of 91, yet Forbes has named his estate the highest-earning dead celebrity of 2026, with an estimated $150 million in earnings. The figure was driven largely by the sale of much of his music catalogue and related rights to HarbourView Equity Partners in March.The result is a reminder that creative ownership can become a lasting financial asset. Jones’s estate did not simply earn royalties from old recordings. It sold a portfolio that included his personal catalogue, publishing rights and interests in a career that touched Michael Jackson, Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, television and film. Forbes estimates that the HarbourView transaction was worth around $150 million, placing Jones ahead of Michael Jackson’s estate, which earned an estimated $140 million. Read more details about it here:Why Jones topped the listJones’s career was unusually broad. He worked on Michael Jackson’s Thriller, Frank Sinatra’s 'Fly Me to...