Designer Yves Saint Laurent appears on the catwalk at the end of his fall/winter 1999/2000 haute couture fashion show in Paris in this July 21, 1999 file photo. French fashion king Laurent, hailed for revolutionising the way women dressed, died on June 1, 2008, a close associate told France Info Radio.

Deceased French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent, making 350 million U.S. dollars, has beaten Michael Jackson in the list of top-earning in 2008 dead celebrities compiled by Forbes, according to media reports Wednesday.

The fashion designer was followed by the composers Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein on the 2009 list with 235 million dollars, and the late "King of Pop" Jackson ranked third at 90 million dollars.

Pop star Michael Jackson waves to supporters as he leaves the Santa Barbara County Courthouse after he was found not guilty in Santa Maria, California in this June 13, 2005 file photo. Michael Jackson was nominated on Oct. 13 for five prizes at the 2009 American Music Awards, including artist of the year

But Jackson is predicted to be a big earner for years to come while Saint Laurent, who made the list for the first time this year, may have difficulty repeating the 2009 performance.

"Saint Laurent had a massive estate sale, which brought in 350 million dollars. Michael Jackson has only made 90 million dollars since his death in June," said Forbes Senior Editor Matt Miller, who is also the editor of the dead celebrities list.

"Michael Jackson will make tens of millions of dollars a year because he has lucrative publishing rights, rights to all his memorabilia. There's still profits to be made from the movie which comes out tomorrow."

The Michael Jackson movie "This is it" hits theaters around the world on October 28. It is based on his rehearsals for a series of London concerts.

The other "King," Elvis Presley, was fourth on the list with 55 million dollars.

The ranking assesses the earning power of deceased celebrities, including musicians, authors, actors, and songwriters, among others.

Two names that unexpectedly did not make this year's list were Marilyn Monroe and James Dean.

"Both have similar incomes to last year. In fact Marilyn Monroe made more money this year versus last year," said Miller. "However, because of all the new people on the list like Yves Saint Laurent they weren't able to keep up."