Celebrities have been using every technique at their disposal to increase their wealth from large-scale concert tours to lunchboxes with their likenesses plastered on them. However, an overwhelming majority of celebrities make a huge profit for their estate while in the grave. Last month, Forbes released its 2010 list of top-earning deceased celebs.

Michael Jackson holds the No. 1 spot as one of the most recently deceased celebs, earning $275 million after his death in 2009 because of a drug overdose. Musicians, both living and deceased, may be jealous of the pop star’s fame ‘ in the past year he has grossed more money than any other musician has.

Joe Losito, a junior majoring in electrical engineering, thinks such a surge in Jackson’s monetary gain is crazy.

‘I think his songs were amazing, but I don’t believe musicians deserve the amount of money they get these days, especially after death,’ he said.

Elvis Presley, the king of rock ‘n’ roll, has made $60 million since his death in 1977. Most of the money raised on his behalf is from Graceland, the mansion-turned museum in Tennessee.

Forbes’ No. 3, J.R.R. Tolkien, author of the epic ‘Lord of the Rings’ series, has made $50 million after his death in 1973. Movies of his books have boosted his revenue, especially with the anticipated release of ‘The Hobbit.’

Cartoonist Charles Schulz passed away in 2000 because of colon cancer, but his most famous comic, ‘The Peanuts,’ continues to rake in the cash, $33 million to date.

John Lennon, vocalist for The Beatles, takes No. 5 with $17 million since his untimely murder by a crazed fan in 1980. The ‘Beatles Rock Band’ games have been a recent contributing factor to Lennon’s gains.

Author Stieg Larsson, No. 6, died of a heart attack in 2004 before he could even see the success of his best-selling book, ‘The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,’ as well as its sequels. The books have become so popular that after being on the big screen in Europe, they will be in the States, earning his estate $15 million.

Tori Serigano, a junior majoring in English, is a huge fan of these novels.

‘It’s truly a shame that Stieg Larsson was not able to see the success of his book,’ she said. ‘I consider his series as one of my favorites because of its mature content as well as his topic of retaliation.’

Dr. Seuss, author of children’s stories with his witty rhymes, banked $11 million since his death in 1991. His inventive characters and worlds have been adapted into real-life movies, such as ‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas.’

The longest deceased on the list, Albert Einstein, comes in at No. 8. Einstein’s estate has racked up $10 million since his death of natural causes in 1955. Einstein’s genius has been utilized by companies to sell educational products, such as Disney’s ‘Baby Einstein’ products.

George Steinbrenner, sports-franchise owner best known as the boss of the New York Yankees, has earned $8 million since his death because of heart attack in 2010. His profits continue to increase.

Songwriter and composer Richard Rodgers (of Rodgers and Hammerstein) raked in $7 million since his death in 1979. He helped compose scores for many Broadway plays, including ‘The King and I,’ ‘The Sound of Music’ and ‘South Pacific.’

Rocker Jimi Hendrix is tied for the 11th spot with actor Steve McQueen at $6 million. Hendrix overdosed on barbiturates in 1970, but continues to earn with his songs, including the one in ‘Rock Band 3.’ McQueen, also known as ‘The King of Cool,’ died from surgical complications in 1980, but Ford utilized his cool vibe in a 2005 commercial for the Mustang.

Aaron Spelling takes the 12th spot, banking $5 million. His role as one of the founding fathers of modern television led him to the success behind ‘7th Heaven’ and ‘Beverly Hills 90210,’ which has recently been adapted into an updated version.