Who would have thought that Forbes Magazine, that indispensable prop carried around by business students hoping to impress girls (I was that girl and distinctly unimpressed), had a sense of humour? But they obviously do, since they published this list of the 15 richest fictional characters.
Unsurprisingly, Scrooge McDuck is at number 1, followed – to my surprise – by Carlisle Cullen and Artemis Fowl. Because while it is very clear that the Cullens are wealthy, I personally would not have expected the Cullen family to come in second behind Scrooge McDuck himself. We also learn that Tony Stark at No. 6 is richer than Bruce Wayne at No. 8. Smaug the dragon resides in seventh place.
What stunned me a bit was that there were several characters I have never heard of, all from TV shows I do not watch, namely from The Beverly Hillbillies, The Office (the US version apparently) and Gossip Girl. And while I have very faint memories of watching Arthur in a dollar theater in Lexington, Kentucky, he looked like Dudley Moore back then and not like Russel Brand. Still an odd choice, which probably wouldn’t have shown up at all, if there hadn’t been a new movie. For the matter, isn’t there anything they won’t remake? I mean, Arthur, really?
Who is missing from the list? Lex Luthor is an obvious omission – surely he can go head to head with the likes of Bruce Wayne and Tony Stark. Rourke from the In Death books is also missing, which is odd considering he is richer than god and owns half the known universe. If Carlisle Cullen is on 2, then how can Rourke be missing? Probably because whoever compiled the list is unfamiliar with the In Death series, but couldn’t escape the influence of Twilight.
Also notable by their absence are the various billionaire ranchers, Greek tycoons, sheikhs, Italian counts and princes of made-up countries that dominate the Harlequin Presents line. But then, I suspect that no one can tell those various filthily rich romance heroes apart.
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