Richest Marvel and DC superheroes revealed, from Iron Man to Batman

Superheroes are usually ranked by their strength or how impressive their powers are, but who comes out on top when it comes to money?

A new study from Vanquis has estimated how much money some of the most popular Marvel and DC superheroes would be earning based on their career and location, and the results make for interesting reading.

As expected, superhero CEOs who draw a lot of their power from gadgets and well-equipped costumes come out on top. That means Bruce Wayne aka Batman takes the number one spot as CEO of Wayne Enterprises, with an estimated yearly salary of $988,902.

Following closely in second place is Marvel’s Tony Stark aka Iron Man. As the CEO of Stark Industries, he’s estimated to be on $920,006. In third place is DC’s Oliver Queen aka Green Arrow, whose role as CEO of Queen Consolidated is expected to earn him $894,098 a year.

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At the other end of the spectrum is Scott Lang’s Ant-Man, who’s expected to earn around $18,543 as an ice cream server at Baskin Robbins. Meanwhile, Spider-Man alter-ego Peter Parker could earn around $18,605 as a freelance photographer.

You can see the top 10 list of richest Marvel and DC superheroes below:

1. Batman / Bruce Wayne (Wayne Enterprises CEO) – $988,902
2. Iron Man / Tony Stark (Stark Industries CEO) – $920,006
3. Green Arrow / Oliver Queen (Queen Consolidated CEO) – $894,098
4. Doctor Strange / Stephen Strange (Neurosurgeon) – $394,765
5. Deadpool / Wade Wilson (Mercenary) – $180,000
6. Professor X / Charles Xavier (Founder of Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters) – $132,012
7. Batgirl / Barbara Gordon (Head of the Gotham City Public Library) – $121,881
8. Daredevil / Matt Murdock (Lawyer) – $121,394
9. Black Lightning / Jefferson Pierce (High School Principal) – $104,268
10. Robin / Dick Grayson (Police Detective) – $84,000

Explaining how they came up with the list, Vanquis said: “We took the average salary for their listed profession in the city where they are based. For characters based in fictional locations (eg. Gotham City), we took the average salary from the real-world city that fictional location is based on.”

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They also calculated that the average salary for Marvel superheroes is $71,852, while the average salary for DC superheroes is $78,546.

Is Batman really richer than Iron Man?

It’s worth pointing out that the overall wealth of fictional characters like Iron Man and Batman would be far greater than their estimated yearly base salaries would suggest, with factors such as inheritance playing a big part.

In fact, the final Fictional 15 Rich List that Forbes printed in 2013 actually placed Tony Stark above Batman, estimating his worth is $12.4 billion. Bruce Wayne, meanwhile, was estimated to be worth $9.2 billion.

And if all of this has got you in the mood for some superhero-themed entertainment, check out our list of the 21 best superhero movies and TV series you can watch on Netflix right now.