Richest Video Game Characters

[Maral Mende]

CarlisleCullen, the immortal vampire and small-town doctor from the Twilight series of books and movies, topped last year's rankings with a fictional fortune estimated at $34.1 billion. Penny-pinching Scrooge McDuck ranked second with a pile of gold worth some $33.5 billion, while Jay "the Great" Gatsby, perennial favorite of high-school English teachers, squeaked onto the list in 14th place with an imaginary net worth of $1 billion.

This year our crack team of literary detectives, comic-strip connoisseurs and imaginary reporters need your help. Who do you think belongs on the 2011 Forbes Fictional 15? Enter your nominations in the comment section below -- the best ideas and comments will (hopefully) be featured in an upcoming issue of Forbes magazine. Last year's list is below.

As you make your nominations, remember that to qualify for the Fictional 15, we require that candidates be an authored fictional creation, a rule which excludes mythological and folkloric characters. They must star in a specific narrative work or series of works. And they must be known, both within their fictional universe and by their audience, for being rich. (And yes, we know that the Tooth Fairy is a creature of folklore. We reserve the right to bend -- or outright snap -- the rules at any time, for any reason.)

Now how about who's the richest among the side characters? Obviously, Diamond Tiara is, so let's not count her, Silver Spoon, Filthy or Spoiled Riches, or Fancy Pants for that matter. Oh yeah, and not the princesses either. Just the side characters that seem average.

Like let's go with: Spike, each CMC, Zecora, Cheerilee, the Cakes, each of the Apple family how they split the profits, Starlight, Snips, Snails, Coco Pommel, Cheese Sandwich, yunno all those characters. Of course Discord can make his own money with his face on them!

Among the characters you specified, I don't think any of them have much money. Spike & the CMCs are children & probably just have allowances. Cheerilee is a small town school teacher, she ain't rich. Zecora has her hut & probably isn't destitute but unless she has money back home she isn't getting rich as a potion maker. Farms are a business & family farms are a small business, they've been in financial trouble since at least the 19th century. Cheese Sandwich & Trixie are wanderers & probably don't have much. Starlight was probably the richest as ruler of Our Town but lost that when kicked out

Howver, being a dragon he's unlikely to ever spend his hoard and we don't even know the value of gems in Equestrian society since you can literally dig them up almost anywhere with the correct spell.

I think Cherry Jubilee, A. K. Yearling and Coloratura are pretty well-off, not the richest though. The richest ponies seem to live in Canterlot. But I won't be surprised if somepony like Goldie Delicious keeps a fortune under her matress. And will leave everything to her cats.

Coloratura is pretty well-off considering she is a famous singer, the same can be said about Cherry Jubilee, the Apple Family, and many of the socialites in Canterlot. Each of them found their proper calling and through both hard work and dedication, they've become very rich. Yes, Filthy Rich and his family count as well.

Once again, Forbes magazine has taken a very realistic look at the bottom lines of fake people for its "Fictional 15." The list compares the wealth of fictional characters using an "analysis of the fictional character's source material, and where possible, valued against known real-world commodity and share price movements."

Just in time for "The Avengers," Iron Man's alter-ego Tony Stark made the list - coming in 5th, with an estimated net worth of $9.3 billion. This put Stark ahead of another superhero's alter-ego, the man behind Batman's mask, Bruce Wayne, who will also be seen onscreen when "The Dark Knight Rises" debuts this summer.

Topping the list this year is another topical upcoming movie character, Smaug, the red-gold dragon who will be seen in Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit" films. According to the number crunchers at Forbes, Smaug rests his armored belly on a bed made up of $62 billion worth of gold, priceless Elvish armor, and other baubles.

2. Flintheart Glomgold Worth: $51.9 Billion Source: Mining, Theft Residence: Johannesburg, South Africa Claim to fame: Stole the title of "world's richest duck" from archnemesis Scrooge McDuck after winning an "around the world" race.

This includes all assets such as property, shareholdings and visible cash. Shareholdings of fictional companies have been determined from measurable signs of market capitalisation, such as area of industry, number of employees, details of revenue, comparisons with real world corporations and perceived prestige.

To keep things more manageable, we have only selected well-known characters who are notable for being wealthy. We assume that nothing new has happened since their last filmic appearance and all figures are inflation adjusted to current 2011 rates, wherever necessary.

Being a superhero (or villain) doesn't come cheap. Maintaining their endeavors requires quite a bit of funds. They need to pay for their custom costumes with built-in bulletproof capabilities, state-of-the-art hi-tech gadgetry, armored vehicles, and a headquarters to keep it all housed in.

It's not like superheroes can work a standard 9-to-5 job when they need that time to save as many people as possible. That's why so many heroes happen to be multi-billion dollar business owners before taking up the hero life. DC Comics is filled with billionaires turned heroes (or villains), each using their resources to shape the world as they see fit.

People often forget about Ferris Aircraft, the experimental aircraft manufacturer that once employed Hal Jordan, aka the first Green Lantern Corps member of Earth. Ferris Air is one of the leading aircraft manufacturers on Earth and has had several government contracts.

Power Girl of the Justice Society started her own technology firm in the pre-Flashpoint DC Universe, and this was more-or-less continued in the New 52 when she and the Huntress came over to Prime Earth from Earth-2. In some of Power Girl's comics, readers learned she had dealings with Holt Industries. DC Comics never stated how much she's worth, but comic readers could assume she was on the same level as Holt.

Some of Power Girl's wealth came from some of the various alien and advanced tech caches that she and Huntress raided after their journey from Earth-2. Karen Starr returned to Earth-2 with the Huntress, abandoning her company. These days, Power Girl employs another identity by the name of Paige Stetler, but it's unclear if she has connections with her old company or if she has access to the same resources.

Michael Holt is an Olympic gold medal winner, has 14 Ph.Ds, and is a brilliant inventor. He accomplished all these milestones before he became Mr. Terrific. The third-smartest man in the world made his fortune with Holt Industries (or HoltCorp), a high-tech company he founded.

Mr. Terrific eventually sold his company to Waynetech, earning himself even more money. Mr. Terrific is a hero known for his gadgets, most notably his T-Spheres and T-Mask. If he focused on his tech more than being a hero, he'd produce an even greater profit. Still, he continues to work with several major companies, and expanding Terrifictech because he can't stop creating.

Basically immortal, Ra's al Ghul has had several lifetimes to build his vast wealth. Doing so has allowed him to fund the League of Assassins, a group of the most talented killers and best Batman villain alliances in the world. When he's not forming secret assassin organizations, he's spent his many lifetimes collecting jewels, treasures, priceless art, and antiques.

Perhaps Ra's al Ghul's greatest treasure is the Lazarus Pit, the means by which he gains his immortality. Thanks to his access to that, Ra's has had hundreds of years to increase the size of his personal fortune. Still, Ra's cares less about his fortune and more about achieving his aims of world domination.

Vandal Savage, like Ra's al Ghul, is an immortal who has had countless lifetime's worth of time to amass a huge amount of wealth. Vandal Savage was born Vandar Adg, a Cro-Magnon who gained immortality from a mysterious meteor. He's had several millennia to find his fortune.

While many sources state that his wealth is immeasurable, the closest number puts Vandal Savage's wealth at approximately $2 billion. With that much money, he's been able to do whatever he wants in the world. In recent comics, Savage's taken up residence in Gotham City, and even acquired Bruce Wayne's Wayne Manor from him.

Maxwell Lord is one of the most dangerous supervillains in the DC Universe. He comes up with over-the-top schemes like turning the Justice League into a team that has power across multiple nations and throws money at his problems until they go away.

Though Maxwell Lord was born into money, thanks to having a wealthy businessman as a father, he successfully ran the international organization known as Checkmate. Along with his wealth, Lord also uses his psychic powers of persuasion to commit nefarious acts. Whatever wealth he couldn't attain on his own, he can obtain with his powers.

Stagg Enterprises was once a major business run by businessman Simon Stagg. Stagg Enterprises had its hands into every kind of business, but specialized in Research and Development. Simon lost his life in an issue of The Terrifics, passing the company to his son Sebastian. After Sebastian revealed himself as a supervillain, though, the business reverted to Sapphire Stagg.

Sapphire gained fame for being Justice Leaguer Metamorpho's girlfriend. However, their relationship has experienced a drastic change these days, since Sapphire is now one of the richest people on the planet. Still, considering Sapphire stayed by Rex's side even after his transformation, the two are likely to remain just as close even now that she's a billionaire.

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