# The Forbes Fictional 15 **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 6, 2005, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-forbes-fictional-15/334385 "2005-12-06T17:58:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2005, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-forbes-fictional-15/334385/1 "2005-12-06T17:58:32Z")
_Forbes_ magazine has released its list of the 15 wealthiest [fictional characters](http://www.forbes.com/2005/12/01/fictional15-rich-methodology-cx_mn_1201method.html): 1. Santa Claus 2. Oliver “Daddy” Warbucks 3. Richie Rich 4. Lex Luthor 5. C. Montgomery Burns 6. Scrooge McDuck 7. Jed Clampett 8. Bruce Wayne 9. Thurston Howell III 10. Willy Wonka 11. Arthur Bach (the Dudley Moore character in the _Arthur_ movies) 12. Ebenezer Scrooge 13. Lara Croft 14. Cruella De Vil 15. Lucius Malfoy I never thought Scrooge was all that rich. I thought he was just “rich” compared to the thousands of desperately poor people in 19th century London. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2005, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-forbes-fictional-15/334385/2 "2005-12-06T18:03:31Z")
Well maybe they are talking in real dollars. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2005, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-forbes-fictional-15/334385/3 "2005-12-06T19:05:26Z")
Where’s Doctor Evil? Isn’t he worth a hundered billion dollars? ---
**Author:** ![pbbth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f9ae1b/32.png) [@pbbth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pbbth)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2005, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-forbes-fictional-15/334385/4 "2005-12-06T21:39:07Z")
How is Santa rich? He doesn’t get paid for his services or anything. Maybe he made himself a gadget that can make money reproduce itself for Christmas? ---
**Author:** ![Bookkeeper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bookkeeper/32/281_2.png) [@Bookkeeper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bookkeeper)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2005, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-forbes-fictional-15/334385/5 "2005-12-07T00:02:02Z")
> [@pbbth](#): > > How is Santa rich? He doesn’t get paid for his services or anything. Maybe he made himself a gadget that can make money reproduce itself for Christmas? You think he can maintain a manufacturing and delivery organization of that size without incredible personal wealth? (Or huge government subsidies? Hmmmm, maybe this explains the deficit?) ---
**Author:** ![Brainiac4](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brainiac4/32/3534_2.png) [@Brainiac4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brainiac4)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2005, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-forbes-fictional-15/334385/6 "2005-12-07T01:03:52Z")
Entertaining, but it loses points with me for the inclusion of Lucius Malfoy. It feels like an obligatory “we gotta get some Harry Potter in there” move. ---
**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2005, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-forbes-fictional-15/334385/7 "2005-12-07T01:16:13Z")
> [@a35362](#): > > I never thought Scrooge was all that rich. I thought he was just “rich” compared to the thousands of desperately poor people in 19th century London. Isn’t a man who keeps the spirit of Christmas in his heart the richest man of all? Isn’t he? 😃 You will be forgiven if you want to smack me. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2005, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-forbes-fictional-15/334385/8 "2005-12-07T01:21:28Z")
> [@Podkayne](#): > > Isn’t a man who keeps the spirit of Christmas in his heart the richest man of all? > > Isn’t he? > > 😃 You will be forgiven if you want to smack me. \ ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2005, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-forbes-fictional-15/334385/9 "2005-12-07T02:19:48Z")
> [@Brainiac4](#): > > Entertaining, but it loses points with me for the inclusion of Lucius Malfoy. It feels like an obligatory “we gotta get some Harry Potter in there” move. You find that objectionable? They’re _all_ fictional characters, for crissakes. ---
**Author:** ![Only\_Mostly\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/f19dbf/32.png) [@Only\_Mostly\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Only_Mostly_Dead)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2005, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-forbes-fictional-15/334385/10 "2005-12-07T03:40:56Z")
> [@Brainiac4](#): > > Entertaining, but it loses points with me for the inclusion of Lucius Malfoy. It feels like an obligatory “we gotta get some Harry Potter in there” move. Then I so choose to be offended by the inclusion of [Casper the Friendly Ghost](http://www.tjaymark.com/current%20coloring/CASPER.gif) before he [shuffled off this mortal coil](http://www.geocities.com/coleen24/HarveyComics/richierich.jpg). 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2005, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-forbes-fictional-15/334385/11 "2005-12-07T05:13:34Z")
I don’t think Cruella is all that rich. I’m sure there are plenty more comic book characters that are really rich. Tony Stark? Was he the original Iron Man? The guy owned Star Labs. And Oliver Queen (Green Arrow) was rich wasn’t he? I bet Wonder Woman is worth a lot. She’ll inherit an Island someday. But of course George Baily is the richest man in town. ---
**Author:** ![Lok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e8c25b/32.png) [@Lok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lok)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2005, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-forbes-fictional-15/334385/12 "2005-12-07T08:35:42Z")
> [@Only Mostly Dead](#): > > Then I so choose to be offended by the inclusion of [Casper the Friendly Ghost](http://www.tjaymark.com/current%20coloring/CASPER.gif) before he [shuffled off this mortal coil](http://www.geocities.com/coleen24/HarveyComics/richierich.jpg). 😉 Sorry, Casper and Richie are 2 different people. They met a few times. I am pretty sure that Richie also met Wendy, the Good Little Witch, but I don’t think he ever met Hot Stuff, the Littlest Devil. And while I do agree that Richie is the richest boy in the world, his dad is even richer. Otherwise he would not be able to afford Richie’s allowance. And I believe that Bruce Wayne is richer than Lex Luthor in current continuity, even before he became an outlaw. And Jed Clampett isn’t even close to Bruce. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2005, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-forbes-fictional-15/334385/13 "2005-12-07T08:42:34Z")
Scrooge McDuck is a quadzillionaire. Are they honestly telling me that _five_ fictional people have more money than that? Burns is super-rich, but I’ve never heard him say he’s anything more than a billionaire. I suppose Santa is #1 because he probably lists himself as a religious organization, a charity, and an endangered species preserve (flying reindeer) for tax purposes, lists all the children of the world as dependants, and doesn’t pay his elves. He must be pulling it in hand over fist. ---
**Author:** ![T\_SQUARE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9de053/32.png) [@T\_SQUARE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/T_SQUARE)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2005, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-forbes-fictional-15/334385/14 "2005-12-07T08:43:51Z")
Ridiculous- McDuck somehow took swims a pile of gold larger than the sum of all the gold ever mined in history. Now that’s rich. What did Warbucks have, a big house? Last time I saw the place it looked like it was made of painted plywood and wasn’t even that structurally sound. The whole “mansion” fit on a stage. And Bruce Wayne could hire Jed to clean his cement pond. In comics, is Lex inarguably wealthier than Bruce? Serious question. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2005, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-forbes-fictional-15/334385/15 "2005-12-07T08:49:17Z")
> [@T\_SQUARE](#): > > And Bruce Wayne could hire Jed to clean his cement pond. And Thurston Howell didn’t even have enough money to book a longer cruise on a sturdier boat, or have a private helicopter get him off that freaking island! No way is he richer than the “billionaire playboy” who just happens to have enough money to buy all of Batman’s stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2005, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-forbes-fictional-15/334385/16 "2005-12-07T23:07:04Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > Tony Stark? Was he the original Iron Man? The guy owned Star Labs. No he **didn’t**! :rolleyes: He owned Stark Enterprises.