Which celebrities make the most money after dying on Halloween?

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Good morning,

Happy Halloween from Forbes! On this scariest holiday, we thought it would be nice to brew something a little different for you in today’s edition of Forbes Daily.

To get in the spirit of the day, we’ve prepared a newsletter with some of our favorite scary stories Forbes. From activities spells on Etsy down the grim – and lucrative – reality of disaster bondsLast year, our journalists touched on several disturbing topics. But like the thrill of watching a horror movie, it’s nice to be scared by the news every now and then.

Tomorrow we’ll return to our usual format, but in the meantime, sit back, grab a handful of fun-sized candy bars, and enjoy yourself very much Forbes-y Halloween.

DAILY COVER STORY

Highest-earning dead stars of 2024

TOP LINE Death comes for us all eventually. But for some people, getting rid of this mortal coil doesn’t necessarily mean the money will stop coming in.

Take rock stars for example. In 2024, several music legends – including Michael Jackson, Freddie Mercury, Bob Marley and Whitney Houston – will once again top the charts highest paid dead stars. Music catalog revenues and real estate transactions remain the primary income generators for deceased recording artists.

Jackson’s estate, for example, took a huge hit in August after a judge ruled that $600 million in catalog sales his publishing and recording rights to Sony were allowed to continue despite the protests of the late artist’s mother.

Outside of the music world, several other artists are raking in money from the afterlife. Belated Friends Matthew Perry became a star a rare TV actor to make this list. (The comedy duo Abbott and Costello – considered primarily movie stars – was the first in 1988, when Forbes launched a list of the highest-earning dead stars.)

Meanwhile, golf legend Arnold Palmer, who died in 2016, turned the homemade drink into a real business success. Palmer’s namesake iced tea and lemonade, produced by AriZona generates approximately $300 million in revenue annuallywhile enhanced versions of Molson Coors attract millions more.

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT “Managing the estates of deceased musicians, actors and other famous public figures is a big industry in the entertainment industry, with billions of dollars at stake,” says senior entertainment reporter Lisette Voytko-Best. “It’s visible how valuable intellectual property remains over time— for several decades with no signs of slowing down.

MORE Highest-Paid TV Showrunners of 2024

MODERN SNAKE OIL

Witchcraft isn’t just about Halloween and Harry Potter – it’s big business on the Internet.

Etsy contains thousands of spells, ForbesCyrus Farivar reported on everything from promising quick wealth to curing depression and disease. We estimate that the e-commerce platform has made it easier millions of dollars from spell salesbased on interviews and approximate mathematics.

Most spells come with a disclaimer that they are offered for entertainment purposes only, which gives them legal protection in most states. But Kenny Biddle, principal investigator of the Center of Inquiry, a science defense organization, describes them as “modern-day snake oil” and a “fraud.”

A DISASTER IS MAKING

This year’s hurricane season has been deadly and destructive, with major storms like Hurricanes Helene and Milton causing billions of dollars in damage. Still appetite for catastrophe bonds remains strong.

These bonds allow insurers to protect themselves against the financial consequences of natural disasters offering investors the chance to earn solid profitsprovided that such disasters do not exceed specified damage thresholds. In 2023 catastrophe bonds yielded a return of 20%.best performance of all alternative asset classes.

Forbes Brandon Kochkodin reported that Dallas-based Brookmont Capital Management filed a prospectus with the SEC for an exchange-traded fund called Catastropic Bond, which resulted in taking advantage of these high-yield bonds is easier than ever. The prospectus outlines typical credit risks as well as specific risks, including earthquakes in California, typhoons in Japan and windstorms in Europe.

OUTBREAK OF A DEADLY EPIDEMIC

As a deadly listeria outbreak rocked America’s largest deli brand, The Boar’s Head was strangely silent.

In fact, the company won’t even confirm who its current CEO or president is, citing a lone spokesman in media reports and signing the outbreak letter on its website simply with “Boar’s Head.” But even in the face of the company’s crisis the warring families that founded Boar’s Head seem more concerned about a dispute over the ownership of a billion-dollar company.

Lawyers say the company could face hundreds of millions in civil and criminal claims after at least 10 people were killed and nearly 60 hospitalized in about 19 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

“This was all completely preventable,” says attorney Bill Marler, whose law firm specializes in claims for food recall victims and filed the lawsuit against Boar’s Head on behalf of the survivor. “They were better at growing listeria than at producing food for human consumption.”

HOLLYWOOD HORROR MOVIES

Hollywood continues to struggle with ticket sales challenges, one of the best bet for movie studios remains the horror genre. These films are often relatively cheap to make and have a dedicated audience that continues to flock to theaters.

There’s been a lot this year famous scary moviesincluding hit of the summer Long legged, which grossed over $109 million at the box office on a budget of less than $10 million. This month alone, the horror film produced two #1 films in the US with incredibly gory storylines Creepy 3 it grossed almost $27 million in the first week and Smile 2 after a $31 million debut own.

ForbesLisette Voytko-Best wrote about one of the greatest successes of horror cinema, The Blair Witch Project. Namely, she focused on the original cast of the film claims that she owes them millions of dollars in profits filmed in 1999 on such a shoestring budget grossed $248 million at the box office and spawned numerous sequels. Forbes conservatively estimates that since the film’s release, the three main actors have received just $375,000 each, most of which came from settlements.

TERRIBLE TOURISM

Halloween enthusiasts travel across the country on ghost tourshaunted houses, pumpkin patches and more holidays are the main driver of tourism for some cities and towns. Salem, Massachusetts, site of the infamous Salem Witch Trials, is arguably the Halloween capital of the USA, while Savannah, Georgia is one of the most haunted cities in the country. One of the oldest and largest Halloween parades takes place in the small town of Anoka, Minnesota.

Terrible scams

On the Internet scams that target people aged 60 and over—often called “elder scam”—explode, causing over $3.4 billion in losses in 2023according to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, up from $1.7 billion in 2021. To protect your loved ones and yourself from falling victim to fraud, Forbes Kelly Phillips Erb says so watch out for red flags for example, asking you to transfer money, send bitcoins, or purchase gift cards; don’t give in to pressure to act quickly; and if you get a call from what appears to be a legitimate organization, such as the IRS or your bank, tell them you will call back and then dial a trusted, direct number.

FACTS + COMMENTS

If you’ve been stocking up on trick-or-treaters this year, you may already know this chocolate prices reached their highest level in 47 yearssince February. His vehicle manufacturers such as Hershey for more gummy and sour treats, NPR reported:

45%: Increase in cocoa prices from January to September this year, according to the Producer Price Index

Three years: Poor weather conditions in West Africa for three consecutive years have led to cocoa harvest failures in the world’s highest-producing regions

“We will see a lot of new works.”: Non-chocolate products expected to become more popular on candy shelves, David Branch, Wells Fargo commodity analyst he said Washington Post Office

STRATEGY + SUCCESS

There are few things more terrifying than mismanaged personal finances. Down avoid terrible mistakes that can harm you in the long runtake some time create your own financial planthat guides you through spending, saving and investing to help you achieve your goals. Avoid overspending and impulse purchases, try not to rely too much on credit cards, and start building an emergency fund.

SUGAR COUNTER

There is candy one of the most complicated products to define when it comes to sales tax. Forbes Kelly Phillips Erb describes how the Simplified Sales and Use Tax Agreement defines candy and which treats, surprisingly, do not meet that definition.

QUIZ

The Bureau of Land Management launched the animal beauty contest last week, tallying the public’s votes before announcing the winner today. Which animals are adjacent to Halloween are they judged in the competition?

A. Bats

B. Cats

C. Spiders

D. Wolves

Check your answer.

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Thank you for reading! This issue of Forbes Daily is edited by Sarah Whitmire and Caroline Howard.