Money from Elvis songs goes to Elvis Presley Enterprises (EPE) for the estate (now primarily benefiting his granddaughter, Riley Keough, as trustee), RCA/Sony (for the pre-1973 catalog sale), original songwriters (like Otis Blackwell) and their heirs, and publishers, with some funds also directed to Colonel Tom Parker's estate due to his past deals, though the estate's share of early recordings is heavily diminished by an infamous 1973 deal.
The Michael Jackson estate finally sold his 50% stake of the catalog back to Sony in 2016 for $750 million. It included publishing rights to music by The Beatles, Elvis Presley, The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, and more.
While most of Presley's estate belongs to the late rock star's daughter, a deal that was made before his death rerouted all of the royalties from his music away from his estate. In 1973, Elvis and his manager, "Colonel Tom" Parker, went to RCA and offered them a deal in return for all future royalties from his music.
EPE also still holds the publishing rights to all of the songs recorded by Elvis, which equals around 700, as they were part owned by Elvis through his various publishing companies. The publisher's royalties to his songs, therefore, are still earned by the EPE, as these were not sold to RCA.
Shaquille O'Neal, also known as Shaq, has a stake in the rights to the names of several famous people, including Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, Muhammad Ali, and Michael Jackson. He is the second largest shareholder of Authentic Brands Group (ABG), which manages the rights to these names.
Despite taking 50 per cent of all the profits from Elvis' career, Parker was no less gullible than the 'rubes' whom he delighted in exploiting in his carnival days. The Colonel himself ended up being the greatest sucker of them all, giving back almost his entire fortune to the Hilton croupiers.
The RCA Records Label was bought by BMG in the 1980s and in 2004 BMG merged with Sony Music Entertainment to become Sony BMG. Sony BMG owns Elvis' recordings and they continue to use the RCA Records label for issuing Elvis releases.
“When it comes to estate earnings… It's MJ, then an enormous canyon, then everybody else.” For comparison, Elvis Presley's estate ranks second with $1.2 billion, despite having a 32-year head start. Rather impressively, Elvis has been on the list every year since Forbes began recording the list.
ABG owns more than 50 consumer brands, as well as the likeness rights or estates of celebrities, including Muhammad Ali, Elvis Presley, and Marilyn Monroe.
Dolly Parton refused to let Elvis Presley record her song, "I Will Always Love You," because his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, demanded half the publishing rights, which Parton would not give up, believing the song was her most important copyright and retirement fund. Although Elvis loved the song and sang it to Priscilla Presley after their divorce, the deal fell through due to Parker's insistence on the publishing cut, a decision Parton later recognized as prescient when Whitney Houston made the song a global phenomenon.
The divorce was finalized on October 9, 1973. Priscilla and Elvis agreed to share custody of Lisa Marie. She received a $725,000 cash settlement, spousal and child support, 5% of Elvis's new publishing companies, and half the proceeds from the sale of their Beverly Hills home.
Fun Fact: Oprah Winfrey and Elvis Presley are distant cousins. Oprah's grandmother's last name is Presley.
Record Sales
It is estimated that more than one billion Elvis Presley records have been sold worldwide. From his early sessions at Sun Records to the end of his career and beyond, Elvis albums and singles enjoyed strong sales across every format–vinyl, cassette, CD and digital.
Paris Jackson has received approximately $65 million in benefits from her late father Michael Jackson's estate, a figure revealed during her ongoing legal dispute with the estate's executors over transparency and management fees. While she's received substantial funds, Paris has challenged the executors, questioning large bonuses paid to law firms and alleging a lack of transparency, leading to court filings where she seeks more open accounting of the vast fortune.
The simple truth is he did not write any. Elvis never claimed to be a songwriter. He knew his gift was his voice, the way he could pour life into words someone else had crafted and make them feel brand new every time he sang.
Shaquille O'Neal invested over $135 Million in Authentic Brands Group to gain ownership of a percentage of the brand management company that controls Elvis Presley, Muhammad Ali, and Marilyn Monroe's intellectual property.
“I'm removing it. It is a negative character, as [Monroe] suffered from personality disorders and was bipolar,” Fox told the news source. “I do not want to attract this kind of negative energy in my life.”
Marilyn Monroe's plan illustrates what can happen when you fail to control who inherits your estate. The famous actress and model passed away in August of 1962, leaving the bulk of her estate to her acting coach, Lee Strasberg.
The richest singer of all time is generally considered to be Jay-Z, with estimated net worths reaching billions, primarily from his music, record labels (Roc-A-Fella), fashion (Rocawear), and significant investments in alcohol brands (D'usse, Ace of Spades) and tech companies like Uber. Other music billionaires include Taylor Swift and Rihanna, while Paul McCartney is the wealthiest British musician, but Jay-Z consistently leads lists of the world's richest musicians due to his diverse business empire.
Michael Jackson's Wikipedia page, People.com article, Reddit post, Tyla article, YouTube video, YouTube video, Facebook post, Michael Jackson's Legacy website Michael Jackson's final words, as reported during his doctor Conrad Murray's trial, were pleas for "milk," which was his nickname for the powerful anesthetic Propofol. He reportedly told Murray, "I'd like to have some milk," and "Please, please give him some milk" because it was the only way he could sleep, leading to the fatal overdose that ended his life in 2009.
The Beatles claim the top spot as the most successful recording artists of all time, with over 600 million claimed sales to date! Other artists like Michael Jackson, Elvis, Madonna and Queen make up the rest of the top five.
Dolly Parton said no to Elvis Presley recording "I Will Always Love You" because his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, demanded half of the publishing rights, which Parton refused to give up, as she wanted to keep ownership and the future earnings for her family. Despite her heartbreak at the missed opportunity, she held firm to her business principle, understanding that retaining the copyright was crucial for her financial security and legacy, a decision that paid off immensely after Whitney Houston's cover became a global phenomenon.
Martin has written or co-written 28 Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles; 26 of which he has produced or co-produced, an all-time record for the chart as of March 2024.