20 Richest Comic Book Characters Of All Time

Being the first black superhero in mainstream American comic books, Black Panther tops this list as the most realistically rich superhero (or supervillain) in either DC or Marvel.

Why is this? Well, for one, he runs the entire country of Wakanada (a fictional African country in the Marvel universe), which just happens to be the world's only deposit of the most precious metal: Vibranium.

You know that indestructible metal that Wolverine's bones are incased in? Vibranium is the stronger metal and T'Challa (the Black Panther's real identity) owns all of it, and often has to protect it.

So, from the perspective of natural resources, supply vs. demand, and how much he has at his disposal if he just sells a tiny bit of what he has an endless amount of -- T'Challa, The Black Panther, is arguably the richest superhero in comics.

BONUS: He's considered one of the eight smartest people in the entire Marvel Universe.

Namor once saved the day with a ridiculous wad of cash with the explanation that if he wanted to, he could always have money because what he has to work with is oh, you know, all the riches of the sea.

That's right, anytime anyone loses a wallet or drops change into the ocean (as well as any pirate treasure that exists in the Marvel universe, oh yeah, and the countless riches of the kingdom of Atlantis)... it's all Namor's. The reigning Prince of Atlantis, Namor is one of the biggest jerks in the Marvel universe, even though his heart is usually in the right place.

Namor has other-worldly value to his riches, which puts him above anyone who runs a country (except for T'Challa, because c'mon, what if one guy owned all the platinum in the world?), and anyone who runs a huge corporation.

BONUS: Breaking a chunk off of a building in his place could go for millions at a huge museum, so that's another huge source of income.

Guess he does have a reason to be so snobby.

Adrien Veidt, otherwise known as Ozymandias, otherwise known as (WATCHMEN SPOILER ALERT) the bad guy from Watchmen, is one of the richest superheroes in history. He has Bruce Wayne-style power, and fortune, but takes it far enough to do what Bruce Wayne wouldn't. His questionable morality gives him the financial edge on Bruce Wayne, as Wayne runs an honest business. Veidt kills people and sells toys of himself.

On top of all of this, he is also the smartest man on Earth.

Veidt is a superhero/supervillain (depending on your take on Watchmen) that doesn't pull punches (often) and does what he wants to get what he wants. Money isn't really a problem for him, as he owns a freaking crazy, genetically engineered wildcat named Bustastis, and a "tower" (a sure sign... as you will see... of a rich superhero).

Because of all this, he's #3 on the list.

Owner of Wayne Enterprises, billionaire Bruce Wayne is the richest self-made superhero on this list. Sure, Strange earned his powers, but someone had to give them to him. Bruce Wayne took billions of dollars as an orphan and turned himself into one of the most powerful superheroes in comic books.

Being able to keep up with the titans in the Justice League like Superman and Wonder Woman (and often having to save them all, always being one step ahead of almost everyone in the DC universe), Batman is easily among the smartest characters in comic books.

With this intelligence, he runs Wayne Enterprises, a multi-billion dollar international company, and somehow still has enough time to be Batman (see: Lucius Fox) and get all those crazy gadgets he needs not only made, but ordered privately and in quantities that allow him to always have everything he needs under his belt... well, ON his belt.

Owner of LexCrop, Lex Luthor is one of the most ruthless and morally-despicable characters in the DC universe. Needless to say, he's rich as hell.

LexCorp is one of the most successful multi-national corporations in the DC universe -- which says a lot considering the insane stuff that every single one of these characters buys with their money. Giant robots, endless research, mountains of cover-up money, enough money to fund his own campaign for the presidency of the United States and most of all, enough money to really do little else but try and kill Superman all the time -- LexCorp brings in BILLIONS for Luthor.

So, imagine Bill Gates did nothing but try and kill some unkillable guy all the time.

That's Lex Luthor.