03 January 2025 , 19:01
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The estate of the late George Michael - who died in December 2016 - raked in an astonishing £292,424-a-week in the past two years, accounts show.
Music legend George Michael raked in an astonishing £292,424-a-week over the last two years from beyond the grave.
The Wham! hitmaker’s company Nobby’s Hobbies Holding Limited Account just filed its annual accounts. They showed it turned over £23,777,273 in 2023 and £6,634,840 last year, after a festive number one with Last Christmas.
George passed away on December 25 in 2016. The singer died aged 53 from natural causes, stemming from dilated cardiomyopathy and a fatty liver. But his musical legacy lives on.
The firm holds cash and assets of £29.5m for the year to the end of March 2024. Annual accounts revealed: "The directors are closely monitoring the impact of the uncertainty arising from UK and world events. Whilst the directors appreciate there is significant uncertainty surrounding the future economic climate, at the year end and as the date of signature of the financial statements, the group’s activities remain positive with limited exposure.
“The principal activity of the company continued to be that of a holding company and its subsidiaries undertakings continue to be involved in musical activities. The profit for the year, after taxation, amounted to £1,125,467 (2023 - £16,198,128). Dividends amounting to £1,378,699 (2023 - £3,292,210) were approved and paid within the year by the directors."
Wham! secured the 2024 Christmas Number One last month
The books said £2m of the turnover came from publishing income, £3.5m from royalties and £6,260 from merchandise. The firm, controlled by George’s family, received £91,559 for a Netflix documentary about the late star. The earnings were reported after Wham! scored the Christmas number one with the single Last Christmas in 2023.
The 1984 favourite, penned by George, topped the charts in the past, but never in the last week before Christmas. It was denied the top spot in the year of its release by Band Aid’s barnstorming Do They Know It’s Christmas? Generous George insisted all the royalties from the hit go to Band Aid.
The documentary, by band member Andrew Ridgeley, was released on Netflix in June 2023 to mark their 40th anniversary. Fans said they were left with ’goosebumps’ after watching the ’beautiful’ film which featured a wealth of unseen material. One of its producers, Simon Halfon, says his team spent over two years digging for footage and audio.
After Wham! made number one, Andrew said George would be ’beside himself’ to know that Last Christmas finally got the Christmas number one. Andrew, 61, told how he and his bandmate, nicknamed ’Yog’ by his friends, had always measured their success in Wham! by chart positions and how it had been such a ’disappointment’ to them both when it stalled at number two.