His death prompted a media frenzy, caused widespread hysteria and triggered countless conspiracy theories. But the demise of Elvis Presley on August 17, 1977 at the age of 42 also laid the foundations for an extraordinary financial windfall for his widow Priscilla and their daughter Lisa Marie.

In death, “The King”, who was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, to an impoverished truck driver and a sewing machine operator, began outearning his living self in 1988.

The music legend, who made his name with hits such as Hound Dog, Love Me Tender and Heartbreak Hotel and appeared in numerous movies, was until last year the world’s highest-earning dead celebrity.

The Elvis Presley brand earns $42 million (£21 million) in revenues each year, second only to Kurt Cobain, the lead singer of Nirvana, who raked in $50 million from sales of records and memorabilia last year.

The business of Elvis Presley is today thought to be worth about $600 million; a considerable fortune compared with the $4.9 million value placed on the estate at the time of his death.

Despite selling a billion albums during his lifetime, Elvis suffered from poor business deals and extravagant spending habits, compounded by indifferent financial advice.

The singer owned five lavish residences as well as four aircraft, and he frequently gave away cars and untold sums of money.

The sale of the 700 master recordings he made during his career to RCA for a mere $5.4 million in 1973 is said to be among the most shortsighted deals in the history of the music business. After agents’ costs, the sale netted Elvis just $1.5 million.

CKX, which holds 85 per cent of the Elvis Presley estate, with Lisa Marie in control of the remaining 15 per cent, is expecting to reap further gains from the brand with an Elvis-themed Las Vegas attraction in the pipeline.

The company already benefits from sales of records, which rocketed after the musician’s death, as well as memorabilia, and visits by diehard fans to his home, Graceland, in Memphis.

After the death of Elvis, Priscilla took charge of the effort to save the Elvis Presley estate by turning Graceland into a tourist attraction and creating Elvis Presley Enterprises. Her efforts have paid off, and today Lisa Marie is estimated to be worth about $300 million.

Priscilla remains a director of CKX and acts as a consultant to the brand to maintain public interest in Elvis and continuously upgrade the attractions.

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