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The 14 Richest Superheroes, Ranked By Wealth

Superheroes are the selfless champions of the weak and downtrodden. One of genre's popular tropes is that the heroes are in the same financial straits as those they protect. However, there are many Marvel and DC heroes who are rather wealthy. They use that money both to fund their acts of heroism and to help the poor in more tangible ways.

Some wealthy superheroes were born rich, whether as heirs to a business fortune or as monarchs of a kingdom. Others make their money through their business savvy and incredible abilities. In the end, all the wealthy heroes share a common trait: they fight evil and protect the innocent.

Updated on October 30, 2022 by Scoot Allan: There's no doubt that being a superhero can be a pricey occupation choice. There are a lot of hidden costs, like costume construction or tech development, that can pose a problem for struggling heroes. However, there are quite a few superheroes who have struck it rich or inherited vast amounts of wealth over the years to better facilitate their crime-fighting.

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14/14 Mr. Terrific

Estimated Net Worth: $1 billion

Michael Holt is one of DC's smartest tech-powered heroes. Over a dozen Ph. D.s, several Nobel prizes, and several patents for his inventions have all contributed to his technological empire. He created his own company, which competed with other tech giants like Wayne Enterprises and Queen Industries, all before he began adventuring as Mr. Terrific.

• Chairman of the Justice Society of America
• Invented the T-Spheres
• CEO of Terrific-Tech

Even though the Mr. Terrific character first appeared back in 1942, the mantle passed on to Michael Holt in 1997's Spectre (Vol. 3) #54, John Ostrander, Tom Mandrake, Carla Feeny, and Todd Klein. The hero gained even more wealth when he ultimately sold his company to focus entirely on his time as Mr. Terrific. He continues to use his resources to fund his various inventions, like the powerful T-Spheres.

13/14 The Wasp

Estimated Net Worth: > $1 billion

Wasp first appeared in 1963's Tales to Astonish #44 by Stan Lee, H.E. Huntley, Jack Kirby, Don Heck, and Art Simek. Janet Van Dyne was always one of the richest Avengers, but her fortune paled when compared to teammates like Tony Stark. The Van Dyne family fortune still gave her a leg-up that most heroes didn't have, and her personal wealth continued to grow.

• Successful fashion brand
• Van Dyne Design Studio in SoHo, Manhattan
• Pym Particle-compatible Wasp suit

Wasp's fashion designs made everyone want clothes made by the Avenger, further increasing her wealth. Unlike some other wealthy heroes, her money was never taken from her by an enemy with a grudge or the federal government, allowing her to maintain her status.

12/14 Angel

Estimated Net Worth: >$5 billion

Warren Worthington III/Angel is an X-Men member who has bankrolled various projects and offshoots of the mutant team. He inherited his family's vast fortune and became chairman of Worthington Industries. Angel used his wealth to finance teams like the Champions and even helped Wolverine create the Jean Grey School of Higher Learning.

• Chairman and principal stockholder Worthington Industries
• Private aircrafts
• Inherited family fortune

Angel has lost and regained access to his fortune several times since his debut in 1963's The X-Men #1 (Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Paul Reinman, and Sam Rosen). While he changes back and forth between his natural Angel form and his Archangel form due to Apocalypse's influence, he remains an incredibly wealthy hero.

11/14 Green Arrow

Estimated Net Worth: $7 billion

Oliver Queen/Green Arrow is very similar to Bruce Wayne, having debuted just two years later in More Fun Comics #73's "Case of the Namesake Murders" by Mort Weisinger and George Papp. However, Queen's billionaire playboy image is real and not a cultivated ruse designed to hide his secret identity. Green Arrow inherited his father's entire fortune and control of his company, Queen Industries.

• Heir to Queen Industries
• Countless trick arrows
• Customized compound bow

Green Arrow usually devoted his fortune to helping charitable causes over the years. Oliver's recently taken advantage of his wealth by funding and leading the Justice League after Bruce Wayne lost his resources. Green Arrow's wealth has also provided him with the resources to arm himself with trick arrows, advanced armor and even specialty vehicles.

10/14 Emma Frost

Estimated Net Worth: $11 billion

Emma Frost debuted as a villain in 1980's Uncanny X-Men #129 by Chris Claremont, John Byrne, Terry Austin, Bob Sharen, and Tom Orzechowski. Since joining the X-Men, she has proven herself one of the best. She's one of the team's wealthiest members after acquiring the Frost family fortune. Emma Frost had so much money that she paid for the mutant island of Utopia.

• CEO of Frost International
• A high-ranking member of the Hellfire Trading Company
• The White Palace, located in Krakoa

Frost was able to buy her people a safe home and still be one of the wealthiest mutants around. She's also one of the heads of the profitable Hellfire Trading Corp. In the X-Men's Krakoan society, Frost is working to enrich her people while turning a good profit for herself.

9/14 Reed Richards

Estimated Net Worth: > $12 Billion

Ever since his 1961 debut in Fantastic Four #1 — by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, George Klein, Christopher Rule, Stan Goldberg, and Artie Simek — Mr. Fantastic has been a wealthy man. Reed Richards is one of the smartest people on the planet and he's put that intelligence to good work. He owns all kinds of patents, including the lucrative unstable molecules, which made Richards vast amounts of money.

• Patents in the fields of synthetic polymers, space travel, and biochemistry
• A full wardrobe of clothes and costumes made from unstable molecules
• ~18 Doctorate decrees

Mr. Fantastic cares more about science than he does about wealth, but he has leveraged his inventions into a lucrative series of business ventures. Richards is so wealthy that he could bankroll several superhero teams all on his own, outfit a new high-tech headquarters, and build a new world-saving invention all at the same time.

8/14 Iron Man

Estimated Net Worth: $80 billion

Iron Man was born into the Stark family, and he inherited the family business before expanding it. After he became Iron Man, he abandoned the weapons business that increased his wealth. Stark bankrolled the Avengers after joining the team and generally tried to do as much good with his money as possible.

• Dozens of Iron Man suits
• CEO or former CEO of Stark Industries and Stark Unlimited
• Founding member of The Avengers

Unfortunately, While Tony Stark was a great engineer, he could be a lousy businessman. He has lost his fortune many times since his debut in Tales of Suspense #39, written in 1959 by Stan Lee and Larry Lieber with art by Gene Colan, Don Heck, and Steve Ditko. Stark has always succeeded in rebuilding his wealth and bouncing back with a new version of his powerful Iron Man armor.

7/14 Batman

Estimated Net Worth: $100 billion

Batman is another hero who inherited a lot of wealth. There's always been an argument over who is richer, Batman or Iron Man. Wayne Enterprises is way more diversified than any of Stark's companies, so even when he's not actively in charge of the company, Bruce Wayne is still making a massive profit.

• CEO Wayne Enterprises
• Batcave full of customized equipment
• High-ranking connections at every level of society

Bruce Wayne has taken a few long breaks away from Wayne Enterprises since his debut in1939's Detective Comics #27, written by Bill Finger and illustrated by Bob Kane. Even when he's not at the center of things, Batman's enormous family fortune is enough to keep him near the top and his Batcave stocked with wonderful, expensive toys.

6/14 Nightwing

Estimated Net Worth: >$100 billion

Dick Grayson's alter ego Nightwing is one of the greatest street-level heroes in the DC Universe, but he's now also one of its richest heroes. Alfred's death was a tragedy for the Bat Family. However, Alfred was secretly a billionaire, and he left all of his money to Nightwing, making Dick Grayson richer than his mentor overnight.

• Inherited fortune
• Connections within Wayne Enterprises
• Specialized equipment

Nightwing has come a long way since his debut as Robin in 1963's Detective Comics #38, written by Bill Finger with art by Bob Kane and Jerry Robinson. He dedicated himself to making his adopted city of Blüdhaven a better place, with the help of Barbara Gordon and his billions. While there's a chance this wealth won't last, Nightwing is currently one of the richest DC heroes around.

5/14 Professor X

Estimated Net Worth: ~$125 billion

Charles Xavier was born into a privileged life of wealth, which he eventually used for a good cause. Professor X has been funding the X-Men and giving a home to mutants since X-Men #1 by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Paul Reinman, and Sam Rosen. While he wasn't always the best for the team, his wealth kept them going.

• Family fortune
• Inventor of dozens of devices, including Cerebro
• Leader of the X-Men

Recently, that same wealth enabled mutants to gain some power in the world. Secretly investing in pharmaceutical companies and using drugs synthesized from Krakoan flowers, Professor X leveraged a massive increase in wealth to create a new homeland for mutants on Krakoa. Mutants finally have power in the world and it's all thanks to Xavier's near-inexhaustible resources.

4/14 Sunspot

Estimated Net Worth: >$125 billion

Professor X is undoubtedly one of the wealthiest mutants on the planet. However, he hasn't quite reached the extreme wealth shown by his student Roberta Da Costa/Sunspot. The solar-powered mutant, first introduced in The New Mutants by writer Chris Claremont and artist Bob McLeod, inherited his father's entire fortune, which landed him a spot in the Hellfire Club.

• Member of the Hellfire Club
• Inherited family fortune
• CEO of Da Costa International

When Sunspot was working with one of the strongest rosters of the Avengers, he decided to buy out A.I.M. instead of fighting them. The former criminal organization became his own wing of the Avengers. De Costa's resources and his wealth even reached off-planet, which helped the New Mutants when he needed to hire them a space lawyer.

3/14 Namor

Estimated Net Worth: >$260 billion

Namor has been a lot of things since his creation in 1939 by writer/artist Bill Everett. He's been a hero, a villain, an Avenger, and a member of the X-Men, but one thing he's always been is the king of Atlantis. The undersea kingdom is larger than any other nation on Earth, with the greatest amount of wealth and natural resources on the planet.

• All the ocean's resources
• Former member of the Illuminati
• Heir to the Atlantean royal family

Namor controls all of that, making him one of the wealthiest people on Earth. On top of that wealth, Namor's kingdom also controls the salvage rights to all kinds of sunken ships. It's a side hustle that he's spun off into a lucrative business on more than one occasion.

2/14 Black Panther

Estimated Net Worth: $90 trillion

T'Challa/Black Panther is easily one of the wealthiest superheroes due to his position as the King of Wakanda. His country is the only source of the incredibly rare and powerful Vibranium, making it Marvel's wealthiest nation. T'Challa's control of Vibranium only further increased his personal wealth, which was already vast when he inherited it from his father.

• Vibranium exports
• Wakandan royal family inheritance
• World leader

T'Challa's Vibranium-enhanced costume has only improved since his first appearance in Fantastic Four #52, by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Joe Sinnott, Stan Goldberg, and Sam Rosen. It features advanced technology that rivals some of Black Panther's closest allies like the tech-powered Iron Man. He's used this wealth to finance and outfit the Avengers and even stocked up their Celestial headquarters.

1/14 Aquaman

Estimated Net Worth: $150 Trillion

It's kind of hard to say which King of Atlantis is richer, but seeing as how Aquaman isn't always getting mad at the surface world, he probably has treaties with surface governments that pay him for resources, increasing his wealth. The ocean covers most of the planet, and that means there's a lot of stuff Aquaman must own as the King of the Seas.

• Heir to the Atlantean throne
• All the ocean's resources
• Founding member of the Justice League

Aquaman wasn't the king of Atlantis when he debuted in 1941's More Fun Comics, written by Mort Weisinger and illustrated by Paul Norris, but DC made Aquaman better over the years by giving him his kingdom, which came with unimaginable wealth. Aquaman is easily the richest hero on the planet in the DC Universe, and he's got the golden shirts to prove it.

NEXT: DC's 10 Greatest Villains With The Stupidest Names