Here’s Why Black Panther Is the Richest Superhero Ever

It’s pretty amazing to be a superhero. Apart from the awesome fighting powers, the men and women who grace our comic book covers and headline blockbuster action movies also get spiffy outfits, cool names, dashing good looks, and, in many cases, a huge fortune to help fund their crime-fighting adventures. And when it comes to fortunes, no one compares to Black Panther. With a net worth of approximately $90.7 trillion, even the likes of Tony Stark and Bruce Wayne can’t top the kind of riches T’Challa has.

The Wakandan king isn’t just the richest superhero either. He is also one of the wealthiest fictional characters of all time. But how did Black Panther and the small nation of Wakanda amass such wealth to become the richest superhero (or supervillain) in either DC or Marvel?

How Black Panther Is the Wealthiest Superhero

How is it even possible for one person to have this much wealth? T’Challa is the king of Wakanda, a fictional African country with nearly all of the world’s reserves ofVibranium. The ultra-rare material is the most precious and strongest metal in the Marvel Universe. It’s stronger than indestructible metal Adamantium, the substance bonded to Wolverine’s skeleton and claws.

Throughout the comics, Vibranium has been used to make a whole host of items. The metal was used to make Captain America’s shield, some of Hawkeye’s trick arrows, and Warpath’s knives given to him as a gift from T’Challa’s former wife, Storm. Obviously, being such a rare and powerful material, vibranium doesn’t come cheap.

In the distant past, a massive meteorite made up of the sound-absorbing mineral vibranium crashed in Wakanda. It lay dormant there until Bashenga, the second known Black Panther, unearthed it a generation before the events of the present day.

Knowing others would attempt to manipulate and dominate Wakanda for this rare and valuable resource, T’Chaka, father of T’Challa, concealed his country from the outside world. He sold off tiny amounts of the valuable vibranium while surreptitiously sending the country’s best scholars to study abroad. Consequently, Wakanda turns into one of the world’s most technologically advanced nations.

Extraordinary Riches

Vibranium from 'Marvel War of Heroes.'

According to the comics, the material costs $10,000 per gram, and Wakanda’s vibranium vaults have 10,000 tons of the stuff. That means that the amount of vibranium would cost more than the GDP of the entire world. From the perspective of natural resources, supply vs. demand, even if he just sells a tiny bit of it, T’Challa, is still arguably the richest superhero in comics.

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Source: fandom.