《福布斯》最新發布虛擬人物富豪榜。貪婪的老鴨、吸血鬼以及早熟的孩子等虛擬人物紛紛上榜。
“守財奴”史高治•麥克老鴨（譯者注：迪斯尼動畫中唐老鴨的舅舅）在《福布斯》15位最富有虛擬人物榜中高居榜首，它囤積了估價達441億美元的金幣。
不過，麥克老鴨的財富還是沒能趕上微軟創始人比爾•蓋茨。蓋茨身價已達530億美元。
吸血鬼題材近期大熱，因此《暮光之城》系列圖書和影片中370歲的吸血鬼卡萊爾•卡倫以362億美元的資產位居榜單次席就不足為奇了。他自1670年開始就一直在積累財富。
緊隨其后的是兩個早熟的孩子。歐因•科弗所著的《阿特米斯奇幻歷險》一書中來自愛爾蘭犯罪家庭的阿特米斯•法爾二世小小年紀身價就已達135億美元。漫畫書主角雷切•里奇花錢很大方，但也坐擁97億美元。
入榜的這些人物必須是因身價不菲而著稱的虛擬人物。
《福布斯》表示：“凈資產估價是根據虛擬人物的原始資料分析得出的，在可能的情況下，還會與現實世界的商品以及股價變動進行對比。”
《福布斯》自2005年起開始發布年度虛擬人物富豪榜。特別項目執行編輯麥克爾•諾爾表示，盡管這份榜單純屬娛樂，但統計過程和所得出的數據都非常嚴謹。
諾爾在接受采訪時說：“我們盡最大努力計算凈資產，就像我們為真正的億萬富翁統計時那樣。”
市場因素，特別是商品因素，也為估價提供了參考。
諾爾解釋說：“麥克老鴨的財富增加了超過30%，這和今年金價的走勢一致，他的財富大部分是黃金。”
同樣，受益于油價上漲，在電視劇《貝弗利山莊》中挖到石油的“鄉巴佬”杰德•克拉珀特的凈資產也達到95億美元。
備受歡迎的大富翁游戲的主角“大富翁先生”排名第九，身價26億美元。他頭戴大禮帽，還長著八字胡。《福布斯》雜志編輯根據他位于大西洋城的房產現價、以及所有權占比對其財富進行了評估。
A miserly duck, a vampire and pair of precocious kids are among the richest fictional characters, according to a ranking by Forbes.
Scrooge McDuck, the "penny-pinching poultry" with a fortune in gold coins whose estimated worth is $44.1 billion, headed the list of Forbes' "Fictional 15" wealthiest imaginary characters.
But despite his riches, McDuck still trails Microsoft founder Bill Gates' $53 billion.
Vampire-themed franchises have become big business, so it's no surprise that Carlisle Cullen, the 370-year-old vampire from the "Twilight" books and films who has been accruing interest on a small savings account since 1670, came in second with $36.2 billion.
A pair of over-achieving youngsters came in third. Artemis Fowl II, the prepubescent scion of an Irish crime family from Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl novels, was pegged at $13.5 billion, while the altruistically inclined comic book character Richie Rich totaled $9.7 billion.
To qualify for the list the characters must be known in their fictional stories and by their audiences for being rich.
"Net worth estimates are based on an analysis of the fictional character's source material, and where possible, valued against known real-world commodity and share price movements," Forbes said.
While the list, which Forbes editors have compiled since 2005, is all in fun, the process and resultant numbers are serious business, said special projects executive editor Michael Noer.
"We go to great lengths to calculate their net worth," Noer said in an interview. "It's similar to how we calculate real billionaires."
Market forces, especially commodities, also provided some guidance.
"McDuck was up over 30 percent, which is what gold has done this year, and his wealth is mostly in gold," Noer explained.
Similarly Jed Clampett, the country bumpkin who found black gold in the television series "The Beverly Hillbillies" benefited from rising oil prices for a $9.5 billion net worth.
Mr. Monopoly, the top-hatted, mustachioed character from the popular board game, placed ninth with $2.6 billion. The editors based his worth on the current value of Atlantic City real estate and a presumed percentage of property ownership. |
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