9 most beloved fictional, fabulously wealthy families

How Peter McCallister (Kevin’s dad) made a living has been internet fodder in the last decade. After all, how could the family have afforded a Christmas vacation to Paris for 15 people—including four first-class tickets? The Wet Bandits even described their enormous house as the “silver tuna.” The Georgian Colonial home is more than 9,000 square feet with five bedrooms and six bathrooms.

According to Internet theories, matriarch Kate was a fashion designer while Peter’s profession ranged from dentist—given Kevin’s fascination with Harry’s good tooth and whether his toothbrush was American Dental Association-approved—to mob boss. However, writer Todd Strasser, who wrote the Home Alone books based on the screenplay by John Hughes, has confirmed that Peter was a businessman.

In Crazy Rich Asians, almost everybody is rich and almost everybody is connected. To explain the clans’ illustrious wealth, Peik Lin Go (played by Awkwafina) explains: “The Youngs are like royalty...These people are posh and snobby, they’re nosy. These people aren't just rich, they're crazy rich. Look, there’s new money all over Asia. We got the Beijing billionaires, the Taiwan tycoons. But the Young family, they're old-money rich. They had money when they left China in the 1800s…they came to Singapore when there was nothing but jungle and pig farmers…and they built all of this. Now they're the landlords of the most expensive city.”

According to author Kevin Kwan, he based this network of ultra high net worth families on his kin, the Kwans, Ohs and Hus.

Olive oil is obviously a lucrative business—it’s used for cleaning, cooking, and beautifying. But it’s a rather slick front for the Corleones’ other income generators.

Internet valuators have estimated the Corleones’ wealth between US$300 million to US$1 billion, mostly from their organised crime syndicate involving gambling (i.e., bookmaking and casino management), bootlegging, prostitution and union corruption. Vito Corleone also agreed to traffic narcotics, which brought the family a not-insignificant fortune.

Richard, Regina and Richie Rich make up the richest family in the world. They have their version of Mount Rushmore (aptly named Mount Richmore) and a breed of dog (a Dollarmation).

In the 1994 Richie Rich film, the Riches were supposedly worth US$70 billion—adjusted for inlation, about US$148 billion in today’s dollars. The movie doesn’t explain exactly what Richard does for a living, but since the comics were launched in 1953, Richard could have made his fortune from the 1930s stock market boom. He expanded his financial luck by investing in technology, food, and machinery.

What we do love about this family? Despite all the money in the world, their most prized possessions include baby photos and an old guitar.

Vampire patriarch Carlisle Cullen was born in 1640 and had ample time to build a massive nest egg for his family. As a surgeon, he has a great salary. However, it was after meeting his adoptive daughter, Alice, in 1950, when the family fortune hit pay dirt. Alice’s gift of foresight allowed Carlisle to make long-term investments in steel, gold, and oil. He also managed to put money into future corporate giants like Wal-Mart and Apple. Some of the properties that Carlisle owns—to the benefit of his family—include a private island, a priceless collection of Renaissance art and a yacht.

Tony Stark may be a genius, playboy, billionaire, and philanthropist, but he has his daddy to thank for his leg up in life. Iron Man is the son of the industrialist and weapons manufacturer Howard Stark and his wife, Maria.

Howard himself was a trust fund baby. He was heir to a railroad dynasty and used his God-given skills in science to enrich the family business. He and his father founded Stark Industries, which specialised in engineering and technology, particularly weapons. When Tony took over, he shifted the entire company’s direction to focus on clean energy and robotics.

Harlan Thrombey, played by Christopher Plummer, has an estate worth an estimated $64m, a publishing empire that sold over 80 million books, a massive mansion, and a greedy, bickering family hanging on his coattails.

Thrombey, whose mysterious death on his 85th birthday fuels the plot of Knives Out, leaves all his possessions to his nurse Marta—much to the ire of his self-serving relatives.

Sometimes you can understand where the Riddler’s bitterness came from. The Waynes are old, old rich, and valuators can trace their wealth back to colonial times. The first generation of Waynes traded pelts and skins with the French. By the 19th century, the family members founded Wayne Enterprises, specialising in oil and shipping. It would serve as the blueprint for the conglomerate it is today.

Though the films don’t explicitly show it, Thomas Wayne, the father of Batman Bruce Wayne, is canonically a wealthy doctor known for his philanthropy. His wife, Martha, was an heiress herself whose family owned Kane Chemical.

NOW READ

8 of the richest female musicians in the world

How Asia’s wealthiest billionaires are using their great wealth to help people rise out of poverty

The 10 richest people in the fashion industry in 2021