Christie's auctions of the
star's jewelry, costumes and artwork. The multi-day auction brought in $184
million. Every one of the 1,800 lots sold. The most expensive item was an 1889
Van Gogh painting that sold for $16 million.
The rest of that money came from property sales and residuals from Taylor's
movies. After "Cleopatra," the star smartly negotiated a 10% ownership stake in
each of her films. She also collects money from "Around the World in 80 Days"
which was produced by her husband, Michael Todd.
The residuals will help keep Taylor on our list, but without the money from
the one-time auction, it will be tough for her to topple Michael Jackson again.
The singer has too many steady revenue streams. Not only does he earn from sales
on his own music, but Jackson owned a 50% stake in Sony's ATV catalog which
includes artists like the Beatles, Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga. His estate also
collects money from the successful Cirque Du Soleil show "The Immortal
Tour."
Our list looks at earnings between October 2011 and October 2012. We count
money coming into the estate and we don't deduct for how the estate handles the
money once it comes in. So, for example, some of the proceeds from Elizabeth
Taylor's auction went to her AIDS Foundation, but we did not subtract that
contribution from her total earnings.
