The Richest Heroes In The Marvel Universe Ranked

If superheroes were real, chances are, most of them would be rich — or at least sponsored by someone who is. This isn't because the rich are more dedicated to the cause of justice, mind you: The question simply is, how else could a superhero be a superhero? How else could you pay for the costumes, the replacement costumes after the first ones get ruined, the secret headquarters, the themed vehicles, and the equipment made from advanced tech? How else could you compensate businesses when your epic battles trash their storefronts? Really, how else could you even have the time to be a superhero, unless you were independently wealthy? If you're a working stiff whose boss is cool with you disappearing for a few months to fight the Beyonder, you're living an enormously unique life.

Though most Marvel heroes aren't rich, the mythos has its fair share of good guys supported by hefty caches of wealth. The wide-ranging nature of the narrative also makes the sources of that wealth quite a bit more varied than they are in the real world. There are the business moguls and the world leaders you might expect, but some of Marvel's wealthiest earn their money through esoteric trades like monster-hunting, retrieving sunken treasure, and even work in other dimensions. 

Regardless of how they got it, here are Marvel's richest heroes, ranked.

Stephen Strange begins his superheroic journey by spending all the wealth he's earned as a surgeon on anything that might heal his hands. Becoming a master of the mystic arts eventually mends his broken digits — and it also makes him rich.

This wealth is most obvious in Strange's ownership and upkeep of his Greenwich Village Sanctum Sanctorum, and the long employment of his faithful friend and comrade in arms, Wong. There are plenty of other obvious examples of his wealth lying around his home: While many of the antiques and artifacts in his vast collection are no doubt the product of adventure, some of them were just as likely purchased with mundane currency. In 1989's Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme #11, readers learn Strange owns a nearby warehouse, for the sole purpose of storing the cryogenically frozen corpse of his brother, Victor. Earlier in that series, Strange's pockets prove deep enough for his friend Sara Wolfe to set up a memorial foundation in his name, when he's believed to be dead. 

With magic at his command, there is likely no end to the ways Strange can generate income. If he needs a fresh cash injection, he can reach into another dimension until he finds a valuable artifact or an overflowing chest of gold. He might not always be attached to the material world, but he sure can get what he wants from it.

Janet Van Dyne, better known as the Wasp, begins her crime-fighting career after the death of her father, Vernon. Vernon was a world-renowned inventor at the time of his death, and his demise not only inspires Janet to become a hero, but also gifts her with a ton of cash. Early on in her Avenging days, Janet openly enjoys her riches more than most wealthy superheroes. She's known both among her teammates and the public as a socialite and an incorrigible flirt, not to mention a fashion plate. Eventually, however, she curbs some of her more dilettante-ish ways, and truly becomes one of Earth's mightiest heroes. 

Janet never loses her love of the finer things entirely, however. A fashion designer whose career predates her time as an Avenger, Janet uses her fortune to further her art in everything from her ready-to-wear offerings to her own wardrobe. She changes her costume so often that it's not at all rare to see her in one outfit in one issue, and a different one in the next. Her designs can also be glimpsed in other corners of the Marvel universe: Karolina Dean can be spotted wearing Van Dyne-branded clothing in the 2017 Runaways comic series.

While Charles Xavier is best known for the good he has done for mutantkind, little of that good would have been possible without his considerable wealth. Indeed, the grounds and the mansion used for Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, the original home of the X-Men, is inherited from Xavier's father. That fortune is likewise used to build the more secret parts of Xavier's School, like the Danger Room, in addition to the X-Men's vast variety of high-tech vehicles.

Since accountants' spreadsheets would probably not make the most thrilling reading for comic book fans, hard numbers about a character's wealth are hard to come by. However, because of a story from the early '00s, we know that at that time, Charles Xavier's net worth was $3.5 billion. This is revealed in 2002's New X-Men #129, when the artificially-evolved superhero known as Fantomex tries to extort Xavier.

Of course, it's likely that Xavier's fortune has increased considerably since 2002. Not only is the founder of the X-Men known for investing wisely, but the 2019 event Dawn of X likely did a lot of good for Xavier's bottom line. In this event, Xavier helps to found a new sovereign mutant state on the sentient mutant island of Krakoa, a process that includes lucrative deals with other nations seeking medicines only available on Krakoa. As one of the members of Krakoa's leading Quiet Council, Xavier is sure to have piles of money that probably dwarf what he had in 2002. 

Daniel Rand, the immortal Iron Fist, is more than just a hero wielding mastery over kung fu and the hard-won power of the Iron Fist. Rand is also CEO of the Rand Corporation, a position which has afforded Rand and his allies comforts and advantages. It has also, however, attracted new enemies. 

Originally the Rand-Meachum Corporation, the company passes briefly into the care of Harold Meachum, Daniel's father Wendell's old business partner. Wendell Rand had visited the mystical city of K'un-Lun once upon a time, and searches for it in the snows of Tibet years later, with his son, wife, and Meachum in tow. Disaster strikes, and when Wendell hangs helplessly from the edge of a precipice, Meachum, who sees this as an opportunity to seize control of the company, stomps on Wendell's hand, causing him to fall to his death. Daniel's mother Heather subsequently sacrifices herself to save Daniel from hungry wolves, allowing the young Danny Rand to find shelter — and more — in K'un-Lun.

As an adult, Danny returns to NYC and regains control of Rand, though his revenge on Meachum is stolen from him by an assassin. He has since used his vast wealth to fund his work as the immortal Iron Fist, including funding the Heroes for Hire, an organization Rand and Luke Cage, among others, use to help fight crime.

While Professor X's history is not without its morally questionable moments, Marvel Comics canon has long maintained that he never uses his psychic abilities to help with his investments. However, Xavier isn't Marvel's only psychic, and they don't all share his principles. Emma Frost, for example, is not shy about using her formidable telepathy to gain an edge in the financial world. It's likely a good chunk of her wealth may come from even less legal ventures. Frost is, after all, the former White Queen of the Hellfire Club, which is not known for its respect for the law. 

As the heiress to the Frost fortune, including Frost International, which specializes in technology and electronics, Emma has been set for life since she was born. When the X-Men establish the mutant safe haven of Utopia, it's Frost's wealth alone that supports the island. Her power has grown considerably in recent years: With almost the entire population of Earth's mutants having joined the sovereign nation of Krakoa, Frost's position on the island's Quiet Council is a lofty perch indeed. Krakoa is a unique source of world-changing medication other nations are willing to pay billions for — all the people of Krakoa are making plenty of money from the nations that once oppressed them, and Frost is as ruthless a businesswoman as you're likely to find. It's a safe bet she's making what everyone else is making, and then some.

Anyone who's played the PlayStation Spider-Man game should be familiar with Silver Sable. Unlike many rich Marvel heroes, Sable didn't inherit any wealth from her father –unless you count the skills she's used to become one of the world's most well-known mercenaries. Her father trains her to fight after the murder of her mother, and she goes on to found her own soldier-for-hire company, Silver Sable International.

Silver Sable's wealth is enough to afford her the acquisition of high-tech weaponry and a vast variety of other equipment made from cutting edge materials. It is also enough to allow her to hire other world-class mercenaries, including super-powered operatives. While in business she can often be seen as cutthroat, Silver Sable does not amass riches for riches' sake. Much of her wealth goes to aid her homeland, the fictional nation of Symkaria. As a neighbor to Latveria — the nation ruled by Doctor Doom — Symkaria often finds itself suffering from the conflicts between Doom's home and other nations, and has endured multiple periods of revolution and unrest over the years.

When you think of rich Marvel heroes, you will almost definitely think of Tony Stark, the invincible Iron Man. Inheriting both wealth and Stark Industries from his father Howard, Tony can't be accused of sitting on his laurels. Stark is a tireless inventor and innovator, always trying to do more with the genius he was born with than simply make a buck and fight crime. 

In spite of the dozens of heroes who have been part of the mighty Avengers, it's likely that no single person has more to do with the creation of the team than Tony Stark. More often than not, his wealth has financed the Avengers, even before he reveals his secret identity to his colleagues and later, the public at large. It's Stark who owns Avengers Mansion, it's Stark who employs their butler, Edwin Jarvis, and it's Stark who pays for and designs the team's Quinjets. Not to mention, of course, the considerable amount of time, money, and resources Stark puts toward designing and building his many Iron Man suits, nor the innovations he's created for other heroes, like Spider-Man's famous Iron Spider suit.  

Stark's wealth and company come under fire frequently in the comics, and in plenty of instances, he's found himself broke and unemployed. But Stark's genius and determination don't allow him to stay down for long. 

Namor, the King of Atlantis, has any real estate mogul in the real world easily beat. The mighty Sub-Mariner claims all of the Earth's oceans as his kingdom and — according to him — the ships that traverse are allowed to do so only because of his charity. While few world leaders recognize Namor's claim to two-thirds of the Earth's surface, he has the muscle to back his claims up. In recent years he's become much more active about punishing "surface dwellers" who defile and pollute his territory. He's gone so far as to form the Defenders of the Deep, a group that includes underwater heroes and villains, some of whom — like Tiger Shark and Orka — are old enemies of Namor's.

When you're a world ruler in Marvel Comics and a superhero, losing your throne becomes a uniquely big deal. As such, Namor has found himself dethroned more times than the entire cast of Game of Thrones. Yet even without a kingdom, the Sub-Mariner has managed to secure significant wealth for himself. Early in the '90s Namor the Sub-Mariner series, for example, Namor reinvents himself as a businessman by using treasures he finds in the deep. The fortune these rarities bring him allows him to found Oracle Inc., with the intention of using its wealth to heal the environment.  

There are riches whose worth cannot be properly counted with numbers. Quite a few of those unfathomable riches are the property of Thor, the god of thunder. 

In 2019's Thor #16, Odin steps aside, allowing Thor to become the new All-Father and the king of Asgard. Once that happens, every drop of gold in the land often referred to as the "golden realm," plus every priceless artifact locked away in Odin's vaults, becomes the property of the mighty Thor. Nailing down a price for such powerful artifacts would be impossible, even if you brought them to Pawn Stars or Antiques Roadshow. This sort of wealth is very literally mythical.

Of course, one of the most valuable artifacts in Thor's collection is the one he's best known for: His iconic hammer, Mjolnir. While it's best known for its ability to summon and control lightning (and to, well, just hit things really hard), its versatility is also impressive. With Mjolnir, Thor has been able to turn himself intangible, to absorb an enemy's life force, and even to travel across dimensions. Not to mention the fact that the Odinson is one of only a handful of people who have been able to wield the weapon at all. If there's a Marvel weapon with a higher price tag, we don't know it.