According to
Forbes magazine, the richest person in the world right now is the Mexican telecom giant, Carlos Slim Helu. He currently has a total net worth of $73 billion. Bill Gates is not far behind with $65 billion. But guess who is in third place. Scrooge McDuck. That's right, a fictional character - a hot-headed duck no less - is the third wealthiest person person alive. I guess that speaks magnitudes for the state of our economy.
Every year
Forbes magazine devise a list of the richest fictional characters, whether they be from a book, a film, a television show, or even a video game. It all sounds like a bit of harmless lunacy and fun, but there is a touch - and only a touch - of economic science involved. Net worth is calculated by analysing the source material, and checking it up against real-life shares and industry.
A few characters have been knocked down a peg or two since last year. For example, Scrooge McDuck has overtaken his arch rival, Flintheart Glomgold. Glomgold is a corrupt business tycoon from South Africa; he recently lost second place after cheating in a round-the-world race against McDuck, and was forced to return his winnings. This is based on a story in an
Uncle Scrooge comic book.
So who are the top five for 2013?
1. Scrooge McDuck
Image from tvtropes.org
He was not even in the top five last year, but Scrooge McDuck has had a recent boost (presumably because of the race), and is now worth $65.4 billion. He was created in 1947 as the uncle of his more famous nephew, Donald Duck, and has appeared in numerous comics, starred in Disney's
A Christmas Carol, and has his own television series,
Duck Tales.
2. Smaug
Image from wallalay.com
Yu would have thought that with his appearance in
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, this dragon would have been able to hold onto first place, but Smaug has been knocked off the podium. With a net worth of $54.1 billion. Hoarding all the dwarves treasure doesn't seem to be enough. Maybe if he had kept better tabs on his bank balance instead of sleeping for the last century he would have done better job.
3. Carlisle Cullen
Dracula may have had a big Transylvanian castle, but he did not have a hoard of teenage fan girls boosting his rating. That managed to put the heart throb vampire, Carlisle Cullen from
Twilight in third place with a net worth of $46 billion.
4. Tony Stark
There is a dramatic drop in wealth between third and fourth place. With a net value of $12.4 billion, Tony Stark is a comic book super hero from marvel. He builds himself a powerful suit of armour and becomes Iron Man, protector of the innocent. I guess being a superhero doesn't pay quite as much as owning a business empire.
5. Charles Foster Kane
In fifth place comes Charles Foster Kane from Orson Wells's 1941 film,
Citizen Kane. Born with a humble background, Kane strikes rich when his family is given a mine that happens to be filled with gold. He has a net worth of $11.2 billion, but might have made more had he lived longer.
