Stieg Larsson is really living the high life.

It's the hope of every writer to become rich and famous. And if you can accomplish that while alive, even better.

This brings us to the case of Stieg Larsson.

Stieg wrote a collection of crime novels, most famous of which was all the rage with the inked-up literate set, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

Now Stieg is famous. And apparently filthy rich. As in really rich. As in he should always get the check if you go out to dinner. As in make-sure-you-get-lobster-when-you-go-out-to-dinner-with-him-and-while-you're-at-it-order-a-few-desserts-too kind of rich.

Stieg is also dead.

Forbes Magazine says he's the sixth richest dead celebrity, which is akin to saying you're the sixth fastest comatose athlete. It sounds good and all, but it loses a little in translation.

Dead writers are making a killing. They make up nearly 1/3 of the thirteen on the list. This includes...

3.) J.R.R. Tolkien: Behind only Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley. Tolkien raked in $50 million last year. Just goes to prove that if he could dance he'd have made more money.

4.) Charles Schultz: The creator of Charlie Brown--sure, it's a stretch to say he's a writer. But someone had to write those killer ampersands of angst in those little thought balloons over Linus's head.

7.) Dr. Seuss: Horton hears a sweet retirement check being delivered in his mailbox.

John Lennon was #5 on the list. If Schultz counts as a writer, than I guess Lennon should count, too. Sure, he didn't write anything good after 1968--but, eh, whatever. We'll just consider him the songwriting version of JD Salinger. Plus, he died violently. If Stieg were alive, he'd probably make a novel out of it.