Marvel Comics is well known for both the heroes who protect the universe and those who seek to either control or destroy that very same universe. The battle of good versus evil has always been a prevalent theme in comic books, and those battles are often waged at the expense of others.
Yet one thing that always fuels these battles but isn’t always talked about is wealth. Some of the more popular or powerful foes of the Marvel Universe are worth quite a lot of money, so let us explore the ten most wealthy villains of the Marvel Comics universe.
10 Obadiah Stane: Estimated Wealth $100 Million
The first villain worth mentioning is Obadiah Stane, aka Iron Monger. Well known to MCU fans as the first villain of not only Iron Man’s trilogy but the MCU as a whole, Obadiah Stane is a ruthless businessman who not only created his own company, Stane International and became an arms dealer, but nearly took control of Stark Industries as well.
Becoming a partner of Howard Stark's years ago, Obadiah sought to get control of Stark Industries after Tony assumed control after his parent’s passing. Obadiah would later become Tony’s nemesis, and had a net worth of over 100 million dollars.
9 Magneto: Estimated Wealth $900 Million
The next most wealthy villain of the Marvel Comics universe is none other than the master of magnetism and the powerful mutant villain (and sometimes anti-hero), Magneto. Erik Lehnsherr, aka Magneto, was a child when he and his parents were taken to a Nazi concentration camp. Eventually, Erik survived, but his powers emerged and his parents passed on during the tragic events.
Years later, Magneto would believe mutants were the next evolutionary stage and were meant to rule humanity. This would bring him into conflict with his friend Charles Xavier and the X-Men. His years as a villain would see him amass a net worth of over 900 million dollars.
8 Emma Frost: Estimated Wealth $1-3 Billion
One of the next most powerful villains to face in the Marvel Universe is Emma Frost. What makes Emma so fascinating is her career has seen her walk a fine line between hero and villain over the years, both being a member of the X-Men and a member of the Hellfire Club.
She was also born into wealth in the Frost family but later was made homeless after she refused her father’s money. She then gained quite a fortune from her time as the White Queen of the Hellfire Club. Thanks to this status, she has gained a net worth of between 1-3 billion dollars.
7 Harry Osborn: Estimated Wealth $10 Billion
The next wealthy villain to acquire a large sum of money is Harry Osborn. Born into wealth as well, thanks to his father Norman Osborn’s company, Harry was once Peter Parker’s best friend and ally. However after his father accidentally ended his own life while battling Spider-Man as the Green Goblin, Harry took a dark turn.
With his father’s loss sending him down a dark path, Harry not only became the Green Goblin himself, blaming Spider-Man for his father’s passing, but he inherited his father’s company as well. This led to Harry being worth well over $10 billion.
6 Norman Osborn: Estimated Wealth $10 Billion
The wealth of Harry Osborn, of course, wouldn’t be possible if not for his father, Norman Osborn. Despite his passing, Norman rose to power once again after his passing and since has become a major villain in the Marvel Universe as a whole, even taking on a government position and becoming the Iron Patriot, leader of the Dark Avengers.
Norman’s main villainous role, of course, is as the Green Goblin, the longtime foe of Spider-Man. Having terrorized the city for years, Norman is the reason Harry became as wealthy as he was, making Norman worth well over $10 billion as well.
5 Aldrich Killian: Estimated Wealth $12.4 Billion
One unique villain who gained more power in the MCU than in his comic book days has to be Aldrich Killian. The villain in the comics was a scientist who helped Maya Hansen develop the powerful Extremis virus, but his guilt became too much and he confessed, taking his own life in the process.
However, his role was made much larger in the film Iron Man 3, making him not only the main villain who was selling Extremis to criminals but made him a wealthy businessman as well, with an estimated net worth in the film of over $12.4 billion.
4 Red Skull: Estimated Wealth Unknown
Determining the wealth of Marvel’s villains is not always definitive. However, many villain's wealth and power is something that cannot be denied, despite not having an exact estimate. One villain who embodies this notion is the Red Skull, the legendary leader of the villainous group known as HYDRA and the longtime foe of Captain America.
While the villain’s net worth is not known to the Marvel Comics universe, it is not hard to imagine he is worth quite a lot of money. He is the chosen leader of HYDRA, an international terrorist organization since WWII, and has many ties to business and political leaders around the world.
3 Loki: Estimated Wealth Unknown
The third most wealthy and powerful villain of the Marvel Universe, of course, belongs to the god of mischief himself, Loki. While his status as a god and alien to Earth makes his exact wealth unknown, his connection to the royal family of Asgard, (the adoptive son of Odin and brother of Thor), makes his connection to a vast fortune more well known.
As a longtime opponent of his brother Thor, Loki is the villain responsible for bringing the original Avengers together. He is a god with great power and magic at his disposal, and he is also the son of the Frost Giant Laufey, making him very powerful.
2 Kingpin: Estimated Wealth $40 Billion
The second most powerful villain in Marvel Comics is the most feared mobster and ruler of the criminal underworld imaginable, Wilson Fisk. Otherwise known by his criminal moniker, the Kingpin of Crime, Fisk is the longtime foe of street-level heroes like Daredevil, Spider-Man, and The Punisher. Known to control the criminal underworld, he has also in recent years become the Mayor of New York City.
A powerful foe, Fisk uses his connections as the Kingpin to fund and gain money through various criminal undertakings and partnerships. This has led to the Kingpin gaining a net worth of well over $40 billion.
1 Doctor Doom: Estimated Wealth $100 Billion
The most wealthy villain in Marvel Comics has to be Doctor Doom. Otherwise known as Victor Von Doom, the longtime foe of the Fantastic Four has had a long career in the Marvel Universe. He is the longtime ruler of the nation of Latveria, a master of magic and genius scientist, and has gone so far as to become a living god in the event Secret Wars.
His journey from godhood, villainy and sometimes anti-hero behavior has not only garnered him power but massive amounts of wealth as well. He is estimated to have a net worth of over $100 billion.