They've tracked the rich, the famous and the almost too wealthy for years. Forbes Magazine has become known for its regular "lists" of the well off, keeping tabs on the biggest billionaires, the most bankable stars, the largest companies and more. And now the magazine obsessed with money has come out with one of its wackiest rankings ever - the annual list of wealthiest fictional characters.
It's likely a lot easier to amass a fortune if you don't really exist, and that explains why the top breadwinner in the not-real world is Walt Disney's Scrooge McDuck. Forbes uses a complicated formula that's part reality and part fiction to come up with its figures. To qualify, a character must be famous for being rich and have his or her perceived assets compared to the real world values of the items that got them to their fictional status in "life."
Using those criteria - and a little imagination - Donald Duck's gold laden uncle ranks at the top of the heap with a value estimated to be $28.8 billion.
Next on the list is Ming the Merciless, Flash Gordon's arch nemesis, who finances his endless universe domination plots with $20.9 billion. But then owning a planet should make you well off.
Richie Rich is still on earth, but he uses it as his own personal play toy. The "poor little rich kid" ranks third and thinks noting of flaunting his money even as his faithful butler Cadbury tries to keep up with his whims. "Often criticized for an extravagant lifestyle, (Rich) remains unrepentant; flew an iceberg from the North Pole to Richville so friends could go skating," Forbes.com comments. His overall value is said to be $16.1 billion, thanks to what the magazine calls keen investments in Cisco Systems and Facebook. Who knew the kid was that smart?
"Mom," the ruthless business tycoon depicted as controlling every industry left in the 30th century in the cartoon show "Futurama," would likely send a killbot after the magazine for listing her as low as fourth place. Her MomCorp is valued at $15.7 billion. But who knows what inflation would make it really worth by the time we get to the era she lives in?
And rounding out the top five is Jed Clampett of The Beverly Hillbillies fame, who one day was shooting at some food when up from the ground come a bubblin' crude. That "Texas tea" makes him worth $11 billion.
The rest of the richest among the unreal:
6. Montgomery Burns ("The Simpsons"): $8.4 billion
7. Carter Pewterschmidt (Lois Griffin's father on "Family Guy"): $7.2 billion
8. Bruce Wayne (aka Batman): $7 billion
9. Thurston Howell III ("Gilligan's Island"): $6.3 billion
10. Tony Stark ("Ironman"): $6 billion
11. "Fake" Steve Jobs (a fictional version of the real Apple computer mogul): $5.7 billion
12. Gomez Addams ("The Addams Family"): $2 billion
13. Willy Wonka (of the Chocolate Factory fame): $1.9 billion
14. Lucius Malfoy ("Harry Potter" novels): $1.6 billion
15. Princess Peach ("Mushroom Kingdom" heiress and Nintendo video game heroine): $1.3 billion
All totaled, the collective value of these unreal moguls is $137 billion, easily topping Microsoft founder Bill Gates' $59 billion fortune. But then not everyone thinks he's real, either.
