The Forbes Fictional 15

I think this is one of the most creative concepts I’ve seen in a long time. Some people at Forbes decided to rank a couple fictional characters to see who had the most wealth. Needless to say I was rooting for Scrooge McDuck (Ducktales was one of my all time favorite Disney cartoons), and he’s definately on the list.

The following Methodology comes from Forbes:

Special Report
The Forbes Fictional 15
Edited By Michael Noer and David M. Ewalt, 12.01.05, 6:00 PM ET

NEW YORK – Collectively, we are fascinated by the super-rich. We devour their biographies. We hang on their advice. Maybe we even hope for their downfall. But in our attempts to explain the ultra-rich–and their super-inflated bank accounts–we are often guilty of reducing real people to mere caricatures. There is the monopolist. The oracle. The genius. The thief.

With the Forbes Fictional 15, we have taken the opposite approach–fiction’s caricatures are elevated to the status of real people.

To qualify for the Fictional 15, we insisted that members be both fictional (in the sense that we excluded mythological and folkloric figures) and characters (meaning they are part of a narrative story or series of stories). Great wealth was required to be one of the primary attributes of the characters on this list–in other words, we looked for characters that were known, within their universes, for being rich.

Of course, there is one notable exception to all these rules: Santa Claus, who is mythological and not really known for his great wealth. Our excuse? We just couldn’t resist. What’s the point of doing a list about fictional characters if you can’t break the rules, at least just a little?

This list is an updated version of an earlier Fictional 15, which we published three years ago. After all, the passage of time affects even the timeless.

And now for the breakdown also from Forbes:

The Fictional 15

Rank Name Net Worth ($mil) Age Residence Source

1 Claus, Santa ∞ 1,651 North Pole Toys, Candy

2 Warbucks, Oliver “Daddy” $27.3 billion 52 New York, N.Y. Defense Industries

3 Rich, Richie $17 billion 10 Richville, U.S.A. Inheritance, Conglomerates

4 Luthor, Lex $10.1 billion 36 Metropolis, U.S.A. Defense, Software, Real Estate

5 Burns, Charles Montgomery $8.4 billion 104 Springfield, U.S.A. Energy

6 McDuck, Scrooge $8.2 billion 80 Duckburg, U.S.A. Mining

7 Clampett, Jed $6.6 billion 51 Beverly Hills, Calif. Oil & Gas, Banking

8 Wayne, Bruce $6.5 billion 32 Gotham City, U.S.A Inheritance; Defense

9 Howell, Thurston III $5.7 billion 60 Private Island, Pacific Ocean Howell Industries

10 Wonka, Willy $2.3 billion 57 Kent, England Candy

11 Bach, Arthur $2 billion 50 New York, N.Y. Inheritance

12 Scrooge, Ebenezer $1.7 billion 63 London, England Banking, Investments

13 Croft, Lara $1 billion 37 Wimbledon, England Inheritance, Antiques

14 De Vil, Cruella $1 billion 65 London, England Inheritance

15 Malfoy, Lucius $900 million 51 Wiltshire, England Inheritance

Interesting breakdown, I’m shocked that Lex Luthor makes more than Bruce Wayne, but then again, Luthor was the president of the United States for a term (at least in the comic books) I don’t think Bruce Wayne could do that, not that he’s not capable but he’s a Billionare Playboy, come on…then again, Luthor is a villian, how the hell did he do it? He must have cheated! That bastard…what do I care, I don’t read comics anymore, I’m just ranting about what I read in the Forbes article…

One big shock is the Ebenezer Scrooge is worth 1.7 billion, I highly doubt that, because if he was, there would be more than just ghost trying to break into his home, and it would also rationalize why he was so closed to the world. I wouldn’t want people stealing my money.

If you’d like to read on some of the bio’s click this link: http://www.forbes.com/home/lists/2005/11/29/forbes-fictional-rich_cx_mn_de_05fict15land.html because at least on of them (Arthur Bach) I didn’t recall.

Enjoy.

–Socram

4 thoughts on “The Forbes Fictional 15

  1. socramforever says:

    I think its Dudley Moore from some movie, but the character isn’t as popular as some of the other ones, I’m sure we’re not the only ones confused.

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