Batman at the bank

Posted By Mark I. Levenstein Wednesday, November 22, 2006 - 10:09 AM Share

batman Ever wonder who has more money: billionaire playboy-by-day, caped-crusader-by-night Bruce Wayne or Beverly Hillbilly Jed Clampett? Well, check out the Forbes Fictional 15, listing fiction's wealthiest individuals who (would) have done especially well for themselves this year thanks to a few real-world headlines.

Forbes calculated the characters' wealth using known (or comparable) share price movements and added in some current geopolitics. For instance, Oliver "Daddy" Warbucks, net worth $36.2 billion, took first place this year, raking in dough from "successful" defense contracts and a $59.2 billion contract for oil well maintenance in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. His bumper year was marred, however, by the Internet release of adopted daughter Annie's sex tape. No.2 is Springfield-based energy magnate C. Montgomery Burns, whose "technology exchange" with Kim Jong Il this year doubled his riches to $16.8 billion.

Clampett, at $8.8 billion, beat out Batman, worth $6.8 billion, by two slots and Santa Claus lost his perennial No.1 ranking after a debate over his status as "fictional" (although there is a great piece on Kris Kringle's sub-standard workshop conditions). Personally, I think this blurring of fantasy and reality is great. My favorite addition to the list this year: Prince Abakaliki, spam royalty of Nigeria. You've probably gotten an email from him. Forbes put his worth at $2.8 billion.

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