Elvis Presley has come top of a list of the highest-earning dead celebrities, with an annual income of $45m Aus

Fans of The King have continued to snap up merchandise and visit his Graceland home 27 years after his death reports BBC online. Presley's earnings go to Elvis Presley Enterprises, which is owned by his daughter Lisa Marie.

His earnings could increase in the future as a new generation of fans is introduced to him through a new clothing line and a Broadway musical.

US business website Forbes.com. puts Peanuts cartoon creator Charles Schulz in second place on the list, and JRR Tolkien in third, to make the top three unchanged for the second year in a row.

A Forbes.com spokesman said: "The earning power of most deceased people, even famous ones, slows considerably or stops altogether when they die. But for a select few, the pay cheques keep coming and some draw even bigger pay-days than when they were alive."

John Lennon is fourth in the list with an estimated annual income of £11m. He is joined by fellow Beatle George Harrison - who died in 2001 - whose earnings reached £4m. Other top earners include screen icon Marilyn Monroe, James Dean and Freddie Mercury.