'Real' Santa loses top spot on fictional rich list

Move over Santa for the first time the red-clad philanthropist has lost the top slot on Forbes magazines' list of the 15 richest fictional characters.

"We still estimate Claus' net worth as infinite, but we excluded him from this year's rankings after being bombarded by letters from outraged children insisting that Claus is 'real'," said Forbes in a statement.

Forbes said it had taken into account "the physical evidence" of Santa's existence, "toys delivered, milk and cookies devoured," in removing him from the list.

With Santa no longer in pole position the No 1 slot is now filled by defence contractor Oliver "Daddy" Warbucks, adoptive father of Little Orphan Annie.

Warbucks, a lieutenant general in the comic strip unseats Santa from the top position with an estimated net worth of US$36.2 billion Forbes credits the conflict in Iraq with boosting the value of his military stock.

Alongside Santa other drop-offs include Ebenezer Scrooge, who has donated much of his fortune to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Superman nemesis Lex Luther, who blew billions trying to take over the world; and 101 Dalmatians villain Cruella De Vil, who has suffered from the plummet in demand for fur coats.

The new annual list with an aggregate fictional net worth of US$111 billion includes new faces Mr Monopoly, and videogame plumber Mario.

Prince Abakaliki of Nigeria, well known by Internet users for his repeated attempts to retrieve his father's US$50 million oil fortune through e-mails requesting complete strangers' bank details, also makes his first appearance.

Second place goes to Charles Montgomery Burns, owner of the Springfield nuclear power plant in the cartoon TV show "The Simpsons," worth an estimated US$16.8 billion.

Scrooge McDuck comes in third with an estimated US$10.9 billion from mining and treasure hunting as gold prices soar.

How did Forbes calculate their worth? When possible on known commodity and share price movements, or by comparing private businesses to comparable fictional public companies, plus a "tiny grain of common sense and a large dose of salt."

Source: China Daily/agencies