11. Bill Watterson – $450 Million
The reclusive “Calvin and Hobbes” artist hasn’t released any public work in decades — because clearly he’s doing fine.
Bill Watterson’s “Calvin and Hobbes” was one of the most beloved comic strips of all time. Detailing the adventures of a mischievous boy named Calvin and his stuffed tiger that may or may not have been actually alive, the strip ran in newspapers from 1985 to 1995, at which point Watterson voluntarily ended the strip at the top of his game, deciding to pursue other artistic endeavors.
Since then, Watterson has largely remained out of the public eye, resurfacing only a handful of times in the past 20 years — once to sell a painting for charity, and again when he did a 3 strip guest spot on the newspaper comic “Pearls Before Swine.”
So what is the artist doing for money if he’s not working? Well, apparently he’s living off of his past successes. Although “Calvin and Hobbes” finished in 1995, collected editions of the strip continue to be huge sellers. Current estimates peg Watterson’s fortune at somewhere around $450 million!
Some say that the artist is shy or reclusive. We, however, think that he’s been gone so long because he’s lost somewhere behind his giant mountain of money.
