Richest Superhero

Who is the Richest Superhero – Batman, Iron Man or Black Panther?

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If you don’t have actual Superpowers, it really helps to be rich. DC’s Bruce Wayne and Marvel’s Tony Stark are two of the greatest examples of this. Batman can afford to have the latest cutting edge gadgets and Iron Man can have the sleekest nano technology built into his suit. So, who is the richest superhero – Batman, Iron Man or Black Panther?

In this article we will examine their net worth, how they became so rich and how they use their wealth to help them fight crime.

First up on our list is the Dark Knight himself, Batman.

How did Batman get so rich?

How rich is Batman? (Image by DC Comics)
Image: DC Comics

Bruce Wayne is the CEO of Wayne Enterprises, a hugely successful, multi-billion dollar company that operates in a huge range of sectors, from the Medical industry to the Technology space. As the CEO of the company Bruce likely takes home a nice size paycheck.

The vast majority of Batman/Bruce’s net worth though comes in the form of inheritance from his parents, Thomas and Martha Wayne. Following the death of his Mother and Father, Bruce became the sole heir to the Wayne empire.

How rich is Batman?

According to Forbes, Batman is worth an estimated $9.2 Billion dollars which is still only enough to earn the caped crusader third place on this list of superhero billionaires.

How does Batman use his money?

Considering Batman’s superpower is being rich, he damn well should have a lot of money. Those bat-gadgets are not cheap. Batman uses his billions by:

  • Setting up a super high tech bat cave which enables him to be the greatest detective in the world.
  • He also drives a super expensive, tech-filled Batmobile which cannot be cheap, no matter which version of Batman you are discussing. 
  • Bruce owns multiple Batsuits all filled with the latest technology like grapple guns and smoke grenades.
  • The Batwing – need I say anymore?

How did Iron Man get so rich?

Iron Man
Iron Man (Marvel Studios)

Next up , lets examine the net worth of the genius billionaire playboy philantropist, Tony Stark himself. Tony made his fortune as the CEO of Stark Industries in the weapons industry – mainly from government contracts.

However, like Bruce Wayne, the majority of Tony’s wealth comes in the form of inheritance received from his father, Howard Stark. When his parents were killed by The Winter Soldier, James ‘Bucky’ Barnes, Tony inherited the entire net worth of his incredibly rich parents. Howard Stark was a technology enthusiast who was always coming up with new inventions which is what led him to create Stark Industries before passing the company over to Tony after his death.

How rich is Iron Man?

According to Money.com Tony Stark’s net worth sits at a mind whopping $12.4 Billion Dollars. However, this is still only enough to put him at #2 in our list.

How does Iron Man use his money?

It’s a good thing Tony Stark earns so much money because he really likes to spend it. Here are just a few things that Iron Man has done with his vast wealth:

  • Avengers Tower – Former headquarters of the Avengers is a skyscraper right in the middle if New York City. Definitely not cheap.
  • Iron Man suits – Over the years Iron Man has hundreds of “Marks” which means different versions of his suit. All capable of performing different tasks. Some are for space travel and some are for underwater diving. Again, we’re talking billions of dollars here.
  • Collection of supercars – Tony owns multiple million dollar automobiles. While all of these don’t actually help him directly to fight crime, they can help him to get there faster right? When he’s not wearing the suit that is.

How did Black Panther get so rich?

How rich is black panther? (image: Disney)
Image: Disney

Next up we have the King of Wakanda, T’Challa AKA The Black Panther. While his wealth is not technically his own, rather it belongs to the country of Wakanda. Being the ruler of Wakanda means that T’Challa has access to this entire fortune so that’s what we’re going with here.

The country itself is home to the world’s entire reserves of Vibranium, the strongest and most valuable metal on the entire planet. According to some sources in the comics it is valued at approximately $10,000 per gram. Since Wakanda’s vaults are home to about 10,000 tonnes of the stuff you don’t have to be a genius billionaire playboy philantropist to workout that this makes the Black Panther super rich!

How rich is Black Panther?

Using the valuations above we can estimate that Black Panther is worth approximately $90,000,000,000,000 (Trillion) dollars. Meaning he’s not only the richest superhero on this list, he’s likely the richest character of all time. To put some context to just how rich he is, the current GDP of the entire world stands at about $81 Trillion, or $9 Trillion less than Wakanda. Crazy stuff!

How does Black Panther use his money?

Black Panther doesnt have quite the same reputation for splashing the cash like Iron Man or Batman but I can assure you, he spends just as much, if not more. Here are just some of the ways in which he spends his money to fight crime:

  • Multiple Black Panther suits – like Tony and Bruce, T’Challa has multiple suits to help him defeat the bad guys.
  • Entire Research & Development Technology lab – led by his super intelligent sister Shuri the lab is responsible for all sorts of technological advancements made possible by this lab.
  • Helping out the Avengers – Captain America’s shield is made from Vibranium. Also *spoiler alert* Sam Wilson’s new Captain America wingsuit was a gift from Wakanda as seen in Falcon and The Winter Soldier. Bucky’s Vibranium arm was given to him by The Black Panther after his original metal arm is destroyed by Iron Man.

Conclusion

So, who is the richest superhero – Iron Man, Batman or Black Panther? The answer? Black Panther by an incredible amount. It’s really not even close. The order is:

  1. Black Panther
  2. Iron Man
  3. Batman

There you have it. Did we miss something? Let us know in the comments below or send us a DM on Instagram, we love hearing from you. Feel free to share this article by using the buttons below. Thanks for reading!

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