10 Of The Most Absurdly Rich Characters In Comics

One’s a genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, and another is a vigilante who spends his time dishing out his personal form of justice. One is a professor who uses his vast resources to give those who are different a sanctuary to live, while another uses his to best the world’s most renowned superheroes. No matter who they are, they all have one thing in common…each possesses wealth beyond imagination.

Comic books are littered with individuals who could single-handedly wipe out worldwide poverty with the press of a button. The question is, who are they? Which of them will never have to appear on a game show trying to earn some money?

In no particular order, I present to you the 10 Of The Most Absurdly Rich Characters in Comics.

1. Tony Stark

Ok, I’ve already said it. Tony Stark likes to remind the world that he is a genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist and that’s because, well, he is. He is the owner of Stark Industries, the worldwide leader in weapons, technology, and pretty much everything else we crave. In short, Tony has strategically positioned himself to never run out of style.

If you’re not convinced, think about this. He operates a suit that has an estimated manufacturing cost of $100 million dollars, chauffeurs the Avengers around in his plane, the Quinjet, and has a building built for housing and training one of the most feared and efficient superhero groups on the planet.

Tony Stark is to money, what Hugh Hefner was to Playboy.

2. Bruce Wayne

Was there any doubt that Bruce Wayne would make the list of absurdly rich characters in comics? At this point, his story is pretty well known. Bruce and his parents go out for an evening of enjoyment. Horrifically, Bruce watches as his mother and father are senselessly gunned down. This act leaves Bruce to inherit his family’s fortune and begins his war against crime in Gotham.

Pretty much-controlling everything there is to control at Wayne Enterprises, Bruce Wayne is the epitome of rich. His house, cars, computers, weaponry, tech, and gadgets perfectly exemplify this. While he does live a pretty lavish lifestyle, he makes sure to siphon most of his resources into his crime-fighting exploits.

3. Lex Luthor

Not only is Luthor one of the most powerful characters in all of DC, he is also one of the richest.

Unlike some of the others on this list, Lex Luthor is a self-made billionaire. Lexcorp (his company) has stakes in oil, media, communications, real estates, and security. While his methods to achieve his fortune were less than admirable (bribery and murder), he still deserves to be here.

Parts of his vast fortune are used to fund numerous charities, foundations and city improvements. Others…well…are used for his own benefit. Over the years, he has put his money into turning Kryptonite into a weapon and creating various custom fit, personal battle suits. All this so that he can go toe-to-toe with an alien night in and night out. Simply put, Lex Luthor belongs on the list of rich characters in comics.

4. Charles Xavier

Charles Xavier has one hope for the world…that humans and mutants can live together in peace and harmony. He uses his family’s fortune and vast resources to see to it that his hope comes to fruition.

Not only does his fortune allow him near endless monies, it also has given him his family’s building. The building functions as a school to the outside world, but inside, he harbors, instructs, and teaches his mutant students all that must be done to see his dream come true. Remarkably, he does so without any sort of government aid, help, or grants. Nope. None. Just his personal and nearly infinite supply of cash.

It gets better. Inside the school, he has his own private plane, a state of the art training ground, and a custom machine that helps him find any person in the world. Yeah, Charles has done ok for himself.

5. Danny Rand

Danny owns and operates Rand Industries. Rand Industries was created by his father Wendell Rand and Wendell’s business partner, Harold Meachum. Intelligently, the two set it up so that Rand Industries has their hands in just about everything known to man. When Danny’s parents died on the side of a mountain, he inherited a fortune that is usually reserved for the dreams that you don’t want to wake up from.

What separates Danny Rand from the majority of other rich characters in comics is that he prefers to live a simplified life. Simple clothes, simple housing…a simplified life. This, of course, is due to the time he spent training in K’un-Lun. Because of his “helping” and simple nature, Danny is a charitable guy who also uses his resources to help those less fortunate.

6. Ra’s Al Ghul

If you have lived for 700 years, would you be rich? Do you think you could have amassed a fortune worth bragging about?

Through his extraordinarily long life and various ventures, Ra’s Al Ghul has gathered together a sizable wealth. He uses it not only for political gain but to support and finance his criminal organization known as the League of Shadows. Ra’s does everything in his power to see it that humans don’t do any further destruction to the environments they live in. Unfortunately, as good as his intentions are, he attempts to enforce them in less than kind ways.

Oh, and it probably doesn’t hurt that he is also the Grandfather to Batman’s son, Damian.

7. Black Panther

If it seems strange to have T’Challa on the list of absurdly rich characters in comics, remember this…his country is the most technologically advanced place in the world and it houses the Earth’s rarest metal, Vibranium.

Not only is Vibranium the rarest of all the metals, it’s one of the most useful.

• Weapons
• Infrastructure
• Medical equipment
• An ingredient to Adamantium
• Battlesuits

There isn’t too much it can’t-do. Tell me. What would your fortune look like if you controlled both a country like this and this metal?

8. Ozymandias

I guess being the worlds smartest guy takes a man a long way to becoming rich. For that reason alone, I include Ozymandias on the list of absurdly rich characters in comics.

Ozymandias (Adrian Veidt) has used his immense intelligence to not only build a massive business but also a criminal empire. Think Lex Luthor or the Kingpin but worse. What separates him from the others is that through his endeavors, he crippled the world, ended an imposing nuclear threat and did it going unnoticed.

His empire is impressive and it would see the Gods of the past bow in front of him. It’s just a shame he’s kind of an asshole.

9. Norman Osborn

Sure, what he stands for may not be perfect and sure, he uses what he has for the deterioration of mankind but to Norman, what does that matter? He is a self-made man and deserves to be on the list of absurdly rich characters in comics.

Norman Osborn heads a chemical company that also dabbles in military weaponry. More impressively, he’s held a position as the leader of the premier homeland defense company on the planet (S.H.I.E.L.D.) and the Head of Hammer. Although mentally he’s unstable, and like many other comic book characters, has died, Norman Osborn continues to be a force in the Marvel Universe. His influence, power, and wealth cannot be understated.

10. Green Arrow

His story is the thing of legends…Oliver Queen was an orphan, playboy, and millionaire (sound familiar?), who, while traveling the world, fell from his yacht. Using his smarts and as a mechanism for survival, he crafted a bow and arrow from wood, stone, and nearby vines. This resulted in the birth of Green Arrow.

An anomaly on the list, Oliver Queen inherited his wealth from his father, Robert Queen. Unlike the others on this list, he has given it all away and/or sold it a few times. Now back involved at Queen Industries, Oliver heads the branch called Q-Core. Q-Core produces everyday, normal electronic items, which as you well know, are always in high demand. Above that, he has also successfully run for and became the Mayor of Star City.

And why?

So that he may help the less fortunate all the while keeping his streets on the up and up.

I turn it to you. Who do you think belongs on this list?

Cheers,

Joel