DuckTales' Scrooge McDuck Is Much Richer Than You Think (In Disney Lore)

While Forbes may have calculated that Disney's miser, McDuck, is the second richest fictional character (by net worth), some comics reveal more details.

Iconic Disney character Scrooge McDuck is the richest duck in Duckburg, a city made popular by the animated series DuckTales. However, according to Disney comics, he might just be the wealthiest of all fictional characters. Several magazine issues mention his fortune, and it's not an easy fortune to replicate—even in fiction.

In 2010, Forbes published an article estimating Scrooge's net worth at $33.5 billion, lower than Carlyle Cullen's net worth of $34.1 billion, and higher than Rich Rich's estimated net worth of $11.5 billion. However, Scrooge's net worth doesn't reveal just how rich he really is - especially by comic book standards. One panel, which has been a meme to make fun of the rich, illustrates how long it will take Scrooge to lose his fortune relative to the passage of time.

In the story "The Magic Hourglass", Scrooge's nephews - Huey, Dewey, and Louie - are sharing one of their uncle's many adventures with a group of campers. They describe what the titular hourglass has done to Scrooge and their own fortunes. After Scrooge throws the hourglass, he starts losing money. this is attributed to the hourglass Really amazing, its sand needs to be replaced. Donald and his three nephews set off on their own adventure, with Scrooge not far behind. The old duck was eventually filmed crying on a rock that he "can't go on like this - losing a billion dollars a minute! I'll be broke in 600 years!" This Disney comic story by Carl Barks, S. Rockwell and G. Leach in The Adventures of Donald Duck #16, published in 1989. Later republished in Uncle Scrooge #341 (2005). Completing this calculation would give Duckburg's richest duck a fortune between $315 trillion and $315 trillion.

Scrooge McDuck Makes Bruce Wayne Look Poor By Comparison

It was a ridiculous amount of money, but according to later comics featuring the Disney character, his wealth has no real value by readers' standards. The opening pages of The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck rate his total monetary assets at 5 multiplujillion, 9 impossible trillion dollars, 7 fantastic trillion dollars, and 16 cents. Published in the U.S. in 1994, comic book creator Don Rosa redefined Scrooge's fortune, but it's really no less than Backus' rough estimate. Whether or not that number is accurate — and even higher than Forbes originally thought and calculated — Scrooge McDuck's fortune is mind-boggling.

Considering Batman's loss of fortune in recent stories and the net worth of characters like Ricky Richie and Carlisle Cullen, Scrooge seems to beat everyone else by a lot of miles. According to events in Uncle Scrooge #216, even though he was trying to lose money, his finances were so diverse that he would end up paying himself unintentionally. Scrooge McDuck is definitely the richest duck in Duckburg, but the Disney adventurer seen in DuckTales may be the richest character ever.

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