We all know that Bruce Wayne is a billionaire, and that Peter Parker scrapes by selling photographs of himself/Spiderman to the Daily Bugle. We also know that Clark Kent took the not-so-lucrative journalistic route, while Daredevil’s Matt Murdock is a trained lawyer (not bad) – but none of those (except Wayne, or course) will be buying a private jet anytime soon on those salaries.
But what about the adversaries to these heroes? How much do they make? After all, building bombs, boobytraps, and hiring round-the-clock henchmen to, unsuccessfully, take out Batman, Spiderman, Superman, and everyone else, can’t be cheap. Although something tells me The Joker doesn’t provide his clown faced employees with dental insurance.
A recent study conducted by online gaming experts SolitaireBliss analysed official salary data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics to determine the wealthiest comic book supervillains based on their current or former real-world professions.
Sitting atop the list is Batman’s mummified foe, Hush, aka Dr. Thomas Elliot, who is a neurosurgeon with an annual salary of AED 1,281 million. Although not Batman’s most recognisable adversary, if you’re a comic book nerd like me, the Batman: Hush series by Jeph Loeb are terrific, and give a haunting backstory of this vindictive, surgical foe.
In second place was Spiderman villain, The Lizard, aka Dr. Kurt Connors, also a surgeon, with an annual salary of AED 1,263 million. The Lizard’s only real appearance in any live action films was 2012’s yawn-fest, The Amazing Spider-Man.
Here is the rest of the list, according to real life salaries.
| Rank | Supervillain | Occupation | Annual Salary |
| 1 | Hush (Dr. Thomas Elliot) | Neurosurgeon (Surgeon- General) | 1,281 m |
| 2 | The Lizard (Dr. Curt Connors) | Surgeon (Surgeon – Other) | 1,263 m |
| 3 | Bullseye | Pro-Athlete | 1,207 m |
| 4 | Kingpin (Wilson Fisk) | CEO | 950 k |
| = | Lex Luthor | CEO | 950 k |
| = | Green Goblin (Norman Osborn) | CEO | 950 k |
| = | Star Sapphire (Carol Ferris) | CEO | 950 k |
| 5 | Harley Quinn (Dr. Harleen Quinzel) | Psychiatrist | 943 k |
| 6 | General Zod | Military Leader (O-10) | 815 k |
| 7 | The Thinker (Clifford DeVoe) | Lawyer | 648 k |
| 8 | The Penguin (Oswald Cobblepot) | Nightclub Owner (General & Operations Manager) | 475 k |
| 9 | Doctor Octopus (Otto Octavius) | Nuclear Physicist | 466 k |
| 10 | Two-Face (Harvey Dent) | District Attorney | 463 k |
Note, however, that although Lex Luthor, Norman Osborn, and Kingpin are far from financial uncertainty, it takes one glance at any one of the respective films/comic books/TV shows in which they make an appearance to realise that they are making far, far more than what this study suggests.
Lex Luthor has enough financial firepower and political influence to make kryptonite bazookas to kill Superman and potentially take over the world and run for office. Norman Osborn? Lives in a gargantuan penthouse in the middle of Manhattan, and CEO of OsCorp with its own, dedicated building in New York City. That dude is flirting with Tony Stark level wealth. And Kingpin? Sure, he may be a gangster, and doubtfully makes a single honest penny, but considering his fancy suits, his cars, his henchmen and security, as well as yet another Manhattan penthouse, that dude is loaded. However, much like Tony Soprano’s official title as “waste management consultant”, perhaps Kingpin, Norman and Lex all just play a really good game of masquerade when it comes to declaring income.
Notice, also, how The Joker didn’t make the top 10 list. But then again, perhaps his indifference to money shouldn’t come as a surprise.
