(Reuters) – A smart and savvy dragon, an aged vampire and a Beverly Hillbilly are among the richest
fictional characters, according to a new ranking.
Smaug, a hyper-intelligent, short-tempered dragon and the star of the upcoming “Lord of the Rings”
prequel whose estimated worth is a hefty $62 billion, headed the list of Forbes’ “Fictional 15” wealthiest imaginary
characters, it said on Monday.
The rich dragon distrusts banks, Wall Street and “swears by ‘plunder and hoard’
investment style,” according to Michael Noer and David Ewalt, the editors who compiled the annual list.
But for all
his fire-breathing showmanship, Smaug was still not as rich as Carlos Slim Helu, the real-life Mexican magnate and chairman
and CEO of Telmex and América Móvil and the world’s richest man with a net worth estimated at $69 billion.
Flintheart
Glomgold, the Scottish-South African diamond mining magnate and nemesis of misery Scrooge McDuck, wasn’t far behind on the
list with a $51.9 billion fortune, built through “mining and theft,” Forbes said.
Glomgold deposed Scrooge McDuck, who
was among last year’s top earners, after the two engaged in a winner-takes-all, round-the-world race.
With
vampire-themed franchises showing no signs mortality, Carlisle Cullen, the 371-year-old vampire from the “Twilight” books and
films who has been accruing interest on a small savings account since 1670, placed third with $36.3 billion, up $100 million
since last year.
Jed Clampett, the patriarch of the oil-rich “Beverly Hillbillies” clan in the popular 1960s
television show was fourth with a fortune estimated at $9.8 billion.
Newcomers included Tony Stark, the engineering
whiz and part-time superhero from the “Iron Man” franchise, who rounded out the top five with a $9.3 billion
fortune.
Another first-timer was Lisbeth Salandar from the Stieg Larsson novels and hit film “The Girl with the Dragon
Tattoo,” with a reported wealth of $2.4 billion. She placed eleventh.
To qualify for the list the characters must be
known in their fictional stories and by their audiences for being rich.
Forbes based the net worth estimates on an
analysis of the character’s source material and valued it against known real-world commodity and share price
movements.
Forbes editors have compiled the list since 2005, using methods similar to those used to calculate real
billionaires like Bill Gates.
The full list can be found at www.forbes.com/fictional15
(Reporting by Chris
Michaud; editing by Patricia
Reaney)