Who said going into science wasn’t a lucrative career move? In Forbes’ latest ranking of the highest earning dead celebrities, Albert Einstein beat out the likes of John Lennon, Andy Warhol and Marilyn Monroe to take the fourth spot behind Elvis Presley, Charles Schulz and Heath Ledger. Even though the father of relativity has been dead for 53 years, he remains one of the most recognizable faces in the world. He’s been a consistent appearance on Forbes’ list and raked in $18 million last year.
But where is all this money coming from? And who gets it?
As it turns out, Einstein doesn’t have any living heirs. He bequested all his personal papers, intellectual property rights and the right to use his image to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The university hires the company Greenlight to manage these rights and dole out permission for Einstein paraphernalia. (Greenlight also manages the rights to Steve McQueen and the Wright brothers.)
Greenlight says they receive 400 applications a year to use Einstein’s image, but they only approve about 40 of them. According to Martin Cribbs, director and brand strategy manager of Greenlight, to receive approval a company needs to prove that they are serious about the product, provide three years of sales predictions, and demonstrate a commitment to green issues. Cribbs says they reject proposals for cigarettes, sex toys, and anything of a scatological nature, like toilet paper.
Among products that have made the cut are Einstein calendars, mugs, jigsaw puzzles, action figures and a Japanese brand of coffee made by Nestle. The biggest source of revenue to the Einstein estate, however, comes from parents hoping to raise their very own geniuses. Disney’s line of Baby Einstein products, including educational DVD’s, books, and toys for babies, brings in millions every year. Most recently, Einstein has also been seen hawking Kobe Bryant’s new Nike ZKIII sneakers as part of its Genius campaign.
Earlier this year,
Related Content:
DISCOVER: Einstein Inc.
DISCOVER: 20 Thing You Didn’t Know About… Relativity
DISCOVER: My Three Einsteins
Image: flickr / maveric2003
November 3rd, 2008 at 5:30 pm
Albert Einstein genera mas ganancias que John Lenon después de muerto
De acuerdo a Forbes el científico Albert Einstein (www.forbes.com/2008/10/27/top-dead-celebrity-biz-media-deadcelebs08-czl) genera mas dinero después de muerto que el propio John Lenon. Recordemos que los derechos sobre su propiedad intelectual e ima…
November 3rd, 2008 at 7:21 pm
I think Albert ins most important than Lennon…
November 3rd, 2008 at 7:42 pm
[...] San Einstein es un negocio : se recauda más con él que John Lennon click aquí [...]
November 3rd, 2008 at 9:58 pm
Albert Einstein genera más ganancias que John Lennon después de muerto
De acuerdo a Forbes el científico Albert Einstein (www.forbes.com/2008/10/27/top-dead-celebrity-biz-media-deadcelebs08-czl) genera mas dinero después de muerto que el propio John Lennon. Recordemos que los derechos sobre su propiedad intelectual e im…
November 4th, 2008 at 5:05 pm
[...] Read more. [...]
November 5th, 2008 at 9:24 am
Rarely does a scientist (patent clerk) earn so much.
November 5th, 2008 at 11:59 am
[...] In Death, Einstein Makes More Money than John Lennon | Discoblog | Discover Magazine [...]
November 5th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
[...] In Death, Einstein Makes More Money Than John Lennon – [Discover Magazine] [...]
November 6th, 2008 at 6:30 pm
[...] work. Yet, Santana still has some work to do if he wants to beat out Albert Einstein, who made a whopping $18 million last year from beyond the grave. I’m sure this money was much appreciated by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, who owns the [...]
November 7th, 2008 at 2:00 am
[...] read more | digg story [...]
November 7th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
[...] both stood for peace and freedom, one has ended up making a just a bit more after death. That honor belongs to Einstein, who has an excellent green-loving company managing all his postmortem [...]
November 7th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
[...] it in: Albert Einstein may have been dead for 53 years, but that hasn’t stopped his income flow. Last year alone he made $18 million. He ranked fourth on Forbes’ list of highest earning dead celebrities, beating out John Lennon, [...]
November 10th, 2008 at 7:40 pm
Einstein was truly a genius. I love reading his material, and if it were lucrative enough, i would spend my time continuing his work. I had no idea that he was still raking in that much cash though.
Caleb
http://www.mefinanciallyfree.blogspot.com
November 12th, 2008 at 7:19 am
The article didn’t quite cover on where the money was going to…
November 18th, 2008 at 12:44 am
I can’t believe that Einstein makes more than Marlyn Monroe in death. His income is quite impressive. I guess I won’t be using the likes of Albert Einstein in any future advertising campaigns.
January 28th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
E=mc²/2
2009 is the end of Einstein’s space-jail of time and Fraud symbol E=mc²
Joenahhas1958@yahoo.com
Time is not a structure like space to allow space-to time-back to space jumping claimed by Physicists regardless of what physicists have to say about it because Physics is a business and not necessarily science or scientific and like every business it comes with fraud and fraud is Einstein’s space-time (x, y, z, it) continuum that led to fraud symbol E=mc² and yes I am saying that 109 years of Nobel prize winners physics and physicists are all wrong and space-time physics is based on scientific fraud. When “results” expected and “No” discovery, Physicists rigged Physics for grant money since the start of the industrial revolution. Physics today is at least 51 % fraud!
r ——————>>Exp (ì w t) ———->> S=r Exp (ì wt) Nahhas’ Equation
Orbit——–>> Orbit light sensing——>> Visual Orbit; Exp = Exponential
Particle —->> light sensing of moving objects———— >> Wave
Newton———>>light sensing———->> Quantum
Quantum = Newton x Visual Effects
Quantum – Newton = Relativistic = Optical Illusions
E (Energy by definition) = mv²/2 = mc²/2; if v = c
m = mass; v= speed; c= light speed; w= angular velocity; t= time
S = r Exp (ì w t) = r [cos (wt) + ì sin (wt)] Visual effects
P = visual velocity = change of visual location
P = d S/d t = v Exp (ì w t) + ì w r Exp (ì w t)
= (v + ì w r) Exp (ì w t) = v (1 + ì) Exp (ì w t) = visual speed; v = wr
E (visual energy= what you see in lab) = m p²/2; replace v by p in E = mv²/2
= m p²/2 = m v²/2 (1 + ì) ² Exp (2ì wt)
= mv²/2 (2ì) [cosine (2wt) + ì sine (2wt)]
=ì mv² [1 - 2 sine² (wt) + 2 ì sine (wt) cosine (wt)];v = speed; c = light speed
wt = π/2
E (visual) = ìmv² (1 – 2 + 0)
E (visual) = -ì mc² ≡ mc² (absolute value;-ì = negative complex unit) If v = c
w t = π/4
E (visual) = imv² [1-1 +ỉ] =-mc²; v = c
wt =-π/4+ỉln2/2; 2ỉ wt=-ỉπ/2 – ln2
Exp (2i wt) = Exp [-ỉπ/2] Exp [l n (1/2)] = [-ỉ (1/2)]
E (visual) = imv² (-ỉ/2) =1/2mc² v = c
Conclusion: E = mc² is the visual Illusion of E = mc²/2 joenahhas1958@yahoo.com. All rights reserved.
PS: In case of E=mc² claims to be rest energy claims then
E=1/2m (m v + m’ r) ² = (1/2m) (m’ r) ²; v = 0
E = (1/2m) (mc) ²; m’ r =mc
E=mc²/2
February 8th, 2009 at 2:05 am
Einstein’s Physics Dollar Store on Campus
MIT Harvard Cal-Tech
Sponsored by NASA
Why Relativity theory is not Physics and why Einstein’s “thought” = 0
Walking the walk and talking the talk taking on all space-time confusion of physics by
MIT Harvard and Cal-Tech and all other Physics dollar stores departments
And why LHC burned itself
Visual Effects and the confusions of “Modern” physics
r ——— Light sensing of moving objects ——- S
Actual object—– Light ——— Visual object
r – ——-cosine (wt) + i sine (wt) – S = r [cosine (wt) + i sine (wt)]
Newton– Kepler’s time visual effects — Time dependent Newton
Particle ————– Visual effects ——————– Wave
Line of Sight: r cosine wt
r ——————- r cosine (wt) line of sight light aberrations
A moving object with velocity v will be visualized by
light sensing through an angle (wt);w = constant and t= time
Also, sine wt = v/c; cosine wt = √ [1-sine² (wt) = √ [1-(v/c) ²]
A visual object moving with velocity v will be seen as S
S = r [cosine (wt) + i sine (wt)] = r Exp [i wt]; Exp = Exponential
S = r [√ [1-(v/c) ²] + ỉ (v/c)] = S x + i S y
S x = Visual along the line of sight = r [√ [1-(v/c) ²]
This Equation is special relativity length contraction formula
And it is just the visual effects caused by light aberrations of a
moving object along the line of sight.
In a right angled velocity triangle A B C: Angle A = wt; angle B = 90°; Angle C = 90° -wt
AB = hypotenuse = c; BC = opposite = v; CA= adjacent = √ [1-(v/c) ²]
February 10th, 2009 at 1:26 pm
Crazy people rock!
May 27th, 2009 at 11:20 pm
Yeah man I can see that happening… FOR SURE
July 15th, 2009 at 9:48 pm
If the Beattles put their music up on ITunes when it launched, Lennon would stand a much better chance!
September 3rd, 2009 at 6:43 pm
O impasse com Jonh Lennon
Eu desde criança gostei das músicas de Jonh Lennon, a reação refratária dos universitários me surpreendeu.
…
September 6th, 2009 at 9:39 am
well i didn’t know that using a picture from einstein is so expensive. Well the family members from him will be very happy !!
November 5th, 2009 at 11:28 am
Wow, this is amazing. I seriously didn’t even think that dead people can still make money. Family must be indeed very happy about this, if he has any relatives alive.
January 25th, 2010 at 9:53 am
The “all” of his personal papers he be=quested does that include those in which were” not” in possession at the time of Mr. A. Einsteins’ death?