Becoming a superhero and super villain is not cheap. The initial costs and expenses included in becoming an evil genius or a crime fighter that any seriously strong superhero or villain has to be, mostly, by themselves wealthy in order to make it big. Except, of course, they happen to be granted with unusual natural mutations and gifts, like Superman or Spiderman (neither of them are featured on this list of richest superheroes).

Those who depend on winning a position of power and influence to do their heroic/villainous duties, or the less naturally gifted heroes, need weapons, technology, vehicles and maybe even a top secret or really impressive Head Quarters, none of which are cheap. Apart from all these costs, most superheroes in order to save the day have to take time off work, which most office types simply can’t afford to do – most crime doesn’t really fit outside your 9-5 schedule. And in the case of a super villain, in order to focus on one person who is virtually unstoppable, its takes a lot of energy. And how can try to take over the world and at the same time hold a job? There’s simply not enough time during the day for all of that, and as a result, having a real job gets set aside in favor of saving the world or causing chaos.

The people over Buddy Loans just released researched which ranked super villains and heroes according to their riches – based on the amount of information that the carefully made comic book world provides – and it is interesting to note that most of the superheroes got their wealth through inheritance, while villains mainly are business moguls, rising their way through the system. This doesn’t apply to all of them, of course, but it is surely a significant trend. We have made a list of eight – some very well known, some are not – richest characters in the comic book universe, explaining how they got their riches and how they use it.

8. Magneto: Net Worth – $500 million

Magneto, also known as Max Eisenhardt, is one of the most famous and popular villains in the Marvel universe. He is a mutant with the power to control magnetism. Most of Magneto’s wealth possibly comes from stolen Nazi gold, which seems to fit him since his family was tortured during the Holocaust. The United Nations also gave Magneto his own island. Although Magneto wealth is still pretty decent, it is not close to that of his enemy in the X-Men world. If we take a look at his wealth probability, certainly, he may be a bit higher on this list. After all, Magneto can, hypothetically, attract all metal objects, which means he could bring in all the precious metals of the world if he wanted to. He too much focused on his splendid ideals and waging wars to bother, clearly.

7. Professor X: Net Worth – $3.5 billion

Professor X, known as Charles Xavier, made the X-Men, and he also runs a private school for mutants. He was born to a rich and well-respected nuclear scientist, and Professor X inherited a lot of wealth when his parents died. But he also name a name for himself professionally in the field of genetics and psychology, making up for a fraction of his large net worth. His X-plane is estimated to cost approximately $33 million alone, which isn’t easy change for most of us but hardly made a dent in Xavier’s bank account.

6. Green Arrow: Net Worth – $7 billion

Green Arrow, also known as Oliver Queen, uses archery to fight crime, especially with trick arrows made to be non-lethal. He is a rich playboy turned open activist who joined the Justice League after secretly supporting the League early on. Most of his wealth was got after inheriting Queen Industries when his parents were killed by lions while they were on safari. Queen Industries first made their cash from munitions and weapons, but later started funding charities and Queen’s crime fighting.

5. Dr. Doom: Net Worth – $35 billion

We are with the big leagues now. Apart from Doctor Doom ruling his own country in Europe, he also has an entire army of robots at his control. Not only is Victor Von Doom is a really wealthy villain, he is also one of the most smartest and dangerous. Doctor Doom’s mother had to sacrifice her soul to the devil in order for her son to become a ruler. He is evil, brilliant and really rich – and he even built his own time machine! He will be a boss villain if there was ever one.

 

4. Lex Luthor: Net Worth: $75 billion

Lex Luthor, a super villain, president, business magnate and even philanthropist? All these words can be used to describe Superman most famous villain. Philanthropist seems the most surprising, definitely, but Lex is credited with donating million of dollars to Metropolis for parks, medical charities and foundations. Of course, this could be a clever plan to build up his public appearance so that he can do super evil stuff or even run for President in the United States (where he will fund his own campaign). That looks to be more appropriate for a man known as the most cruel villains in the DC universe.

 

3. Batman: Net Worth: $80 billion

It costs a lot of money to become a superhero, especially if you do it how Batman does. For example, having your own batcave, driving around in custom-made vehicles that cost approximately $80 million each? Those things add up. Bruce Wayne does not have any natural super powers, so he uses costly tech that makes him to fly, destroy villains and keep track of Gotham’s many villains. Most of Bruce Wayne’s money came from mostly a huge inheritance after his parents passed away. He inherited a multi-billion dollar corporation called the Wayne Enterprises and he owns a lot of rights, products, and inventions, continuing to bring in lots of money as fast as Batman’s spending it.

 

2. Iron Man: Net Worth – $100 billion

We were all sure that Iron Man would be found on this list. After all, Tony Stark, Iron’s man alter ego, is a powerful and rich tycoon of celebrity status. He owns one of the largest munitions companies on the planet and he spends on his suits alone, $1.5 billion! Iron man is another comic book favourite who relies on expensive accessories for his powers, as he is not a natural superhero. Tony Stark intelligence together with his financial situation makes up the hero he is. Not only is he a billionaire playboy, but also he is highly educated in the engineering fields, and Stark Industries advanced weapon and defense technologies. Together with building weapons for the military, the industry has also built helicopter carriers used by S.H.I.E.L.D. However, the richest superhero on this list isn’t even Tony Stark…

 

1. Black Panther: Net Worth – $500 billion

This is most likely the most powerful superhero on this list. He started out as the ruler of Wakanada, a fictional African country. This country also happens to be the only world’s only deposit of VIbranium. This is a really precious and valuable metal so getting his hands on the planet’s entire supply means that Black Panther’s assets are even worth more than even Stark Industries. Of course, the riches he got from his reserves of Vibranium would make him worth more than most of the richest superheroes all together.