Who's richer:
September 25, 2002 2:33 PM Subscribe
Who's richer: Montgomery Burns, Cruella De Vil, or Bruce Wayne? On the heels of last month's Top-Earning Dead Celebrities list, Forbes brings us their Fictional Fifteen, the wealthiest made-up people in the world. Anyone see any egregious exclusions?
What was the point of this article? Why was it in Forbes, and not People or its kind?
posted by milnak at 2:45 PM on September 25, 2002
posted by milnak at 2:45 PM on September 25, 2002
wait a sec, are they saying Santa's not real? ; >
It's good to see Cruella hanging in there...but I think they overvalued Thurston Howell III (everyone knows that Lovey was the one with the money!)
posted by amberglow at 2:46 PM on September 25, 2002
It's good to see Cruella hanging in there...but I think they overvalued Thurston Howell III (everyone knows that Lovey was the one with the money!)
posted by amberglow at 2:46 PM on September 25, 2002
Veronica Lodge had a few bucks. I seem to remember closets the size of airplane hangars. Ditto Blair Warner from "Facts of Life." Also the Beverly Hillbillies.
Someone tell Forbes about spellcheck. "Million" is spelled wrong three times at the end of the list.
posted by GaelFC at 2:46 PM on September 25, 2002
Someone tell Forbes about spellcheck. "Million" is spelled wrong three times at the end of the list.
posted by GaelFC at 2:46 PM on September 25, 2002
I swear Forrest Gump said he was a "Go-zillionaire".
posted by mr_crash_davis at 2:47 PM on September 25, 2002
posted by mr_crash_davis at 2:47 PM on September 25, 2002
Hey Owillis!
Before election, Lex perhaps best known for railing in public against Superman and other super-powered beings, which he believes cause normal human beings to become less self-reliant.
Is Luthor no longer capital-E Evil? Having him oppose Superman on the basis that metahumans make regular humans less self-reliant is a really interesting slant on his character (and very much in keeping with the future imagined by Kingdom Come.) Man, I gotta start reading comics again.
How rich did The Jerk get?
posted by Shadowkeeper at 2:50 PM on September 25, 2002
Before election, Lex perhaps best known for railing in public against Superman and other super-powered beings, which he believes cause normal human beings to become less self-reliant.
Is Luthor no longer capital-E Evil? Having him oppose Superman on the basis that metahumans make regular humans less self-reliant is a really interesting slant on his character (and very much in keeping with the future imagined by Kingdom Come.) Man, I gotta start reading comics again.
How rich did The Jerk get?
posted by Shadowkeeper at 2:50 PM on September 25, 2002
It figures that there'd be no mention of John Beresford Tipton
or Bertie Wooster...
posted by Smart Dalek at 2:52 PM on September 25, 2002
or Bertie Wooster...
posted by Smart Dalek at 2:52 PM on September 25, 2002
Hrm. I guess Lara Croft isn't as wealthy as I imagined.
posted by gummi at 2:56 PM on September 25, 2002
posted by gummi at 2:56 PM on September 25, 2002
Someone should put a spoiler warning on their bio of Jay Gatsby.
posted by wanderingmind at 2:57 PM on September 25, 2002
posted by wanderingmind at 2:57 PM on September 25, 2002
the wealthiest made-up people.. hmmmm... George W. Bush ???
posted by adnanbwp at 2:57 PM on September 25, 2002
posted by adnanbwp at 2:57 PM on September 25, 2002
Guy Grand, from Terry Southern's The Magic Christian, was both a billionaire and the richest man in the world, which must count for something.
posted by liam at 2:58 PM on September 25, 2002
posted by liam at 2:58 PM on September 25, 2002
Ming the Merciless would be pretty wealthy, it seems, what with that whole "Emperor of the Universe" gig.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 2:58 PM on September 25, 2002
posted by mr_crash_davis at 2:58 PM on September 25, 2002
They're short-changing Scrooge McDuck, though - he's cited in the comics as having "uncountabatillions" of dollars. I mean, let's face it - three cubic acres of cash has gotta be a lot more than $8.2 billion.
posted by nickmark at 2:59 PM on September 25, 2002
posted by nickmark at 2:59 PM on September 25, 2002
And Scrooge can swim in his gold coins, dive undercoinage, and come up fully decked out in be-oooutiful jewelry! He totally got the shaft. He could buy and sell Santa ten times over. Same with Daddy "I ain't got no pupils or hair" Warbucks.
Richie Rich was a nice surprise tho.
posted by tittergrrl at 3:02 PM on September 25, 2002
Richie Rich was a nice surprise tho.
posted by tittergrrl at 3:02 PM on September 25, 2002
Oops, I stand corrected: "Uncle Scrooge's fortune stands at precisely ... Five billion quintiplitilion unptuplatillion multuplatillion impossibidillion fantasticatrillion dollars. This translates into three cubic acres of money housed in the McDuck Money Bin." - Carl Barks 1994
posted by nickmark at 3:02 PM on September 25, 2002
posted by nickmark at 3:02 PM on September 25, 2002
I'm assuming the list was restricted to characters from the 20th century...otherwise the omission of the Count of Monte Cristo might be rather egregious...what with his Unlimited Credit and all...
posted by ruggles at 3:05 PM on September 25, 2002
posted by ruggles at 3:05 PM on September 25, 2002
I am Ironman. Tony Stark should get a mention, but I guess he lost all his money after his battle with the super-villain alcoholism. I'm guessing Dr. Doom was loaded too, since he owned a whole country.
posted by monkeyman at 3:16 PM on September 25, 2002
posted by monkeyman at 3:16 PM on September 25, 2002
Why no Monty Burns photo? Have Fox's lawyers overtured fair use already?
On preview: you have to divide Victor Von Doom's wealth amongst all the robots and relatives who think they're Doom.
posted by yerfatma at 3:17 PM on September 25, 2002
On preview: you have to divide Victor Von Doom's wealth amongst all the robots and relatives who think they're Doom.
posted by yerfatma at 3:17 PM on September 25, 2002
Ozymmandias of "The Watchmen" was pretty loaded too, as I recall.
posted by Shadowkeeper at 3:21 PM on September 25, 2002
posted by Shadowkeeper at 3:21 PM on September 25, 2002
What about the dad on the Ricky Schroeder show-Silver Spoons?
posted by amberglow at 3:35 PM on September 25, 2002
posted by amberglow at 3:35 PM on September 25, 2002
In creating this list we took certain minor liberties with the stories as presented on the page or on the screen. We hope you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed writing it!
Translation:
We totally made up all figures listed here, and probably didn't even bother to put any math into comparing the wealth of each fictional character to the next. We did it because we are sick and tired of writing about boring, rich people, and we hope you were as sick and tired of reading about them!
P.S. Yeah, gyc, shouldn't Castro be THE richest?
posted by zekinskia at 3:59 PM on September 25, 2002
Translation:
We totally made up all figures listed here, and probably didn't even bother to put any math into comparing the wealth of each fictional character to the next. We did it because we are sick and tired of writing about boring, rich people, and we hope you were as sick and tired of reading about them!
P.S. Yeah, gyc, shouldn't Castro be THE richest?
posted by zekinskia at 3:59 PM on September 25, 2002
If you're adding the Silver Spoons dad, you've gotta have Mr. Drummond.
A man is born...he's a man of means.
posted by GaelFC at 4:20 PM on September 25, 2002
A man is born...he's a man of means.
posted by GaelFC at 4:20 PM on September 25, 2002
This would be a better Mr. Burns shot for the article.
posted by mathowie at 4:21 PM on September 25, 2002
posted by mathowie at 4:21 PM on September 25, 2002
what chu talkin' 'bout Gael?
you're so right! He was always so dull I forgot him....
what about Alexis Carrington Colby etc....?
posted by amberglow at 4:55 PM on September 25, 2002
you're so right! He was always so dull I forgot him....
what about Alexis Carrington Colby etc....?
posted by amberglow at 4:55 PM on September 25, 2002
You'd think with $8 billion, Willy Wonka could hire a decent publicity person that would make sure his name didn't get mispelled ("Willie"??) in stupid lists like this.
(Slight self-link there. Dahl is my magnificent obsession.)
posted by web-goddess at 5:00 PM on September 25, 2002
(Slight self-link there. Dahl is my magnificent obsession.)
posted by web-goddess at 5:00 PM on September 25, 2002
Bruce Wayne owes all his wealth to Lamont Cranston and Don Diego de la Vega.
posted by linux at 5:44 PM on September 25, 2002
posted by linux at 5:44 PM on September 25, 2002
Oooh. Lex Luthor is second to Bruce Wayne. No wonder Lex was trying to frame Bruce for murder.
On the other hand, Lex became President of the United States, so their rivalry is a bit more balanced.
posted by SPrintF at 5:59 PM on September 25, 2002
On the other hand, Lex became President of the United States, so their rivalry is a bit more balanced.
posted by SPrintF at 5:59 PM on September 25, 2002
If we're talking richest in terms of real money, Mickey Mouse wins hands down. Followed closely by Joe Camel. I wonder where Cap'n Crunch would be in that list?
posted by fatbobsmith at 6:28 PM on September 25, 2002
posted by fatbobsmith at 6:28 PM on September 25, 2002
Bruce Wayne - I mean, where else would he have gotten all those wonderful toys?
posted by holycola at 7:29 PM on September 25, 2002
posted by holycola at 7:29 PM on September 25, 2002
quoth fatbobsmith:
If we're talking richest in terms of real money, Mickey Mouse wins hands down. Followed closely by Joe Camel. I wonder where Cap'n Crunch would be in that list?
Then where is Ronald McDonald, or Mayor McCheese? I'm sure that at least the Hamburgler is in the top-50. I would bet that Ronald McDonald is really on the top of the list.
posted by plemeljr at 7:31 PM on September 25, 2002
If we're talking richest in terms of real money, Mickey Mouse wins hands down. Followed closely by Joe Camel. I wonder where Cap'n Crunch would be in that list?
Then where is Ronald McDonald, or Mayor McCheese? I'm sure that at least the Hamburgler is in the top-50. I would bet that Ronald McDonald is really on the top of the list.
posted by plemeljr at 7:31 PM on September 25, 2002
XQUZYPHYR, I don't think SPrintF ruined anything for you - the links are from March 2002 and earlier. But whoa, when did DC start doing e-comics? And who's the chick - okay, young woman - that's Robin, but not Robin?!?
Clearly, I have not been keeping up properly with the Batman.
posted by yhbc at 7:47 PM on September 25, 2002
Clearly, I have not been keeping up properly with the Batman.
posted by yhbc at 7:47 PM on September 25, 2002
plemeljr: I unconsciously omitted Ronald McDonald from my list of potential candidates due to deep-seated emotional and psychological issues related to burger-peddling clowns. However, I have no idea how Mayor McCheese passed under my radar.
Mayor McCheese really should've cracked down on the burger and fry snatching problems they had in McDonaldland. The Hamburglar and Fry Guys always seemed to get off the hook without even so much as a slap on the wrist. That always upset me as a kid. All in all though, I'd vote for Mayor McCheese well before I voted for GW.
posted by fatbobsmith at 8:40 PM on September 25, 2002
Mayor McCheese really should've cracked down on the burger and fry snatching problems they had in McDonaldland. The Hamburglar and Fry Guys always seemed to get off the hook without even so much as a slap on the wrist. That always upset me as a kid. All in all though, I'd vote for Mayor McCheese well before I voted for GW.
posted by fatbobsmith at 8:40 PM on September 25, 2002
Bruce Wayne had enough money to spare to build and launch the new Justice League watch tower in space, along with their mode of transportation. Anyway doesn't Bruce Wayne have his company run by Lucius Fox? So Lucius should get some credit too. Also what about Powers? The guy from Batman Beyond who was obviously rich enough to manage a successful hostile take over Wayne Industries.
posted by riffola at 10:47 PM on September 25, 2002
posted by riffola at 10:47 PM on September 25, 2002
I feel kinda silly not knowing who many of these fictional characters are, oh well.
*pulls out suitcase full of $100 bills, scatters them on floor and rolls in them.*
posted by elwoodwiles at 11:43 PM on September 25, 2002
*pulls out suitcase full of $100 bills, scatters them on floor and rolls in them.*
posted by elwoodwiles at 11:43 PM on September 25, 2002
What I don't get is why Bruce Wayne showed up on the list. Sure, he is a good businessman, but he always came off as a bit of a playboy to me. He never takes anything seriously. I never really got why he was in the comic book in the first place.
posted by Hildago at 12:05 AM on September 26, 2002
posted by Hildago at 12:05 AM on September 26, 2002
Forbes can't spell "million"? What kind of upper-crust financial magazine is THAT?
posted by Vidiot at 4:04 AM on September 26, 2002
posted by Vidiot at 4:04 AM on September 26, 2002
Not quite up in the leagues of Monty Burns and Scrooge McDuck but with the 'Paper Street Soap Company' doing so well Tyler Durden is quite well off for a fictional fictional character.
posted by bhell13 at 4:07 AM on September 26, 2002
posted by bhell13 at 4:07 AM on September 26, 2002
They forgot Elmer J. Fudd, Millionaire. He owns a mansion and a yacht!
posted by briank at 6:35 AM on September 26, 2002
posted by briank at 6:35 AM on September 26, 2002
You guys missed a key point: Scrooge McDuck's fortune occupies three cubic acres. Since "acre" is a measure of area, this means that McDuck requires storage in 6 dimensions to hold his money (and maybe Buckaroo Banzai to count it).
posted by joaquim at 10:53 AM on September 26, 2002
posted by joaquim at 10:53 AM on September 26, 2002
Some friends pointed out to me that Bruce Wayne's Wayne Industries was probably the biggest employer of people in Gotham City. As such, if poverty is the biggest reason for crime, couldn't Bruce, instead of wearing a costume and spending money on gadgets, just hire more people to work for his company. Hell, maybe hire people to fight crime?
posted by drezdn at 11:47 AM on September 26, 2002
posted by drezdn at 11:47 AM on September 26, 2002
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Well, me for one!
Wait, is that fictional characters, or fictional wealth?
posted by mikrophon at 2:39 PM on September 25, 2002