Paying Shakespeare his Dues–Impossible Question

Every year, Forbes puts out a list of the top-earning deceased celebrities. Names that appear on the list include Michael Jackson, Elvis and Curt Kobain. One name that will never appear? William Shakespeare. Sadly, he died too long ago for his estate to reap the benefits. Experts say that if Shakespeare were alive today, he'd conservatively earn $15 million a year on royalties, movie deals and book sales. Think of the countless stage productions of plays like Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet. The movie versions of Shakespeare's works, or movies loosely based on them. It's another example of how popular and wide reaching his works continue to be.