According to recent reports in the foreign press, Jamaica’s biggest superstar, Bob Marley, is poised to become the world’s richest dead celebrity by 2012. It has been reported that the king of reggae who would have turned 65 yesterday (Saturday, February 6) had he had not succumbed to cancer 29 years ago, is about to challenge Elvis Presley and the king of pop Michael Jackson for the title of the richest dead celebrity.

The report by Erik Heinrich in the Toronto Fortune stated that the Toronto-based private-equity firm Hilco Consumer Capital has struck a management deal with the Marley estate, which is expected to generate world-wide annual sales in excess of $1 billion by 2012. That seems like a huge amount, but by some estimates the Marley name, sound, and image already generate as much as $600 million in pirated merchandise.

“Marley is a strong global brand. He enjoys a high level of awareness, and people feel positive about his music,” Mickey Goodman, a professional marketer and professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business was quoted as saying.

The report went on to state that the major licensing agreements for the Marley brand are about to be launched in two key areas: consumer electronics and health cares. Also in the works, according to Hilco, are deals for a Marley-branded calming beverage, a video game similar to Guitar Hero featuring Marley’s songs, and a chain of restaurants celebrating the music superstar.

And since we are celebrating Reggae and Black History at the same time, it is important to note that last year, streets in the West African Country, Nigeria, were renamed after Bob Marley, Marcus Garvey, Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, Malcolm X and Nigeria’s music legends Fela Anikulapo-Kuti.

Names of some 80 streets in Nigeria’s administrative capital were slated to be rebranded, some of them stripping off names of former military governors.

Marley for Education

A little known fact is that the Bob Marley legacy goes beyond music and accolades that have heaped on Jamaica’s best known artiste. It stretches into the philantrophy and charitable cause. For example, as the 2009-2010 school year kicked into full gear here in Jamaica, the Bob Marley Foundation continues to support the educational needs of inner city and rural youths.

Marley for Education, the educational project funded by the Bob Marley Foundation has spent over JM$1,000,000 for the 2009 back-to-school season.

The money paid out included grants for selected graduates of Bob’s alma mater, Stepney Primary and Junior High School, in St Ann, who are now attending various high schools in the parish. In addition, full and partial scholarships have been awarded to other students from inner-city communities in Kingston.

The Foundation also provided Matthew 25:40, a home for children with HIV, with educational supplies. The children who live at Mathew 25:40 attend various traditional and non-traditional schools in the Corporate Area and are in need of assistance to ensure their attendance at school.

The Bob Marley Foundation’s main mandate is to keep the name, image and legacy of Robert Nesta Marley alive and to continue the caring, loving and giving spirit of this great Jamaican Reggae music legend.