Like the Caped Crusader himself admitted in 2017’s Justice League, Batman’s superpower is essentially that he’s rich, and you can say more or less the same about his less broody MCU counterpart Iron Man. But if you’ve ever wondered which of these two heroes is the more loaded, a new piece from Screen Rant appears to have the answer.
The article takes inspiration from the Forbes Fictional 15 list published in 2013, which ranked the year’s wealthiest fictional characters. While Bruce Wayne sat at number six with an estimated $9.2 billion, Tony Stark was ranked fourth with $12.4 billion. And though both of these estimates are up for debate, the evidence certainly seems to bear out that Iron Man is indeed the richer of the two.
While both heroes inherited large amounts of wealth from their parents, the difference really comes down to how the two of them have invested their respective fortunes. On the one hand, you’ve got Bruce, who’s generally shown little interest in the business side of Wayne Enterprises. Oftentimes, the Dark Knight has almost lost touch entirely with his persona as a billionaire playboy, and when he does get involved in the company, it’s usually for charitable causes.
Tony, on the other hand, has often played a far more active role in Stark Industries, and while Bruce has usually kept his superhero life separate from the activities of Wayne Enterprises, Tony’s company and his work as Iron Man seem inherently connected. After all, unlike Bruce, Tony is very open about his superhero persona, and his many technological innovations have frequently benefited Stark Industries and his work as Iron Man simultaneously.
All in all, it certainly looks like Iron Man has done a lot more to boost his wealth than Batman, not that this would bother Bruce too much. Indeed, fighting crime has usually had the Caped Crusader’s undivided attention, and we’ll see him do what he does best when The Batman hits theaters on June 25th, 2021.