As we know from our Forbes Fictional 15 list of the richest fictional characters, Bruce Wayne is worth $6.9 billion, money that he inherited and grew. But Bruce Wayne, who midnights as Batman, has some rather opulent expenses that cut into his petty cash. According to Centives, the blog of economics students from Lehigh University, it costs big money to be the world’s greatest detective.
In fact, it costs Bruce over $2.8 million to live in the manner in which Batman has become accustomed to.
Centives breaks it down for us, from the cost of a Kevlar utility harness ($337.98) to the cost of ten hunting boomerangs ($281.30). (Sadly, Centives didn’t include the cost of carving the polypropylene boomerangs into bat shapes.) As the Tumbler is a prototype military vehicle, Centives substituted the Humvee, which will set you back $140,000–plus an additional $1500 to paint it black.
In addition, Centives writes,
This is perhaps a good time to mention the cost of a Butler. We don’t know how much Bruce Wayne pays Alfred, but you can get an executive personal assistant to dress your wounds, cook you meals, clean the bat droppings, and engage in witty banter for $30 an hour. 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and you’ll be paying them $262,800.
Although Bruce can easily spend $2.8 million and not lose a moment’s sleep, his crime-fighting ways may have serious ramifications on the fiscal health of Gotham. According to another article by Centives, Batman’s vigilantism, compounded by the police’s inability to catch him, is destroying investor confidence and therefore keeping Gotham poor. “ This makes it less likely that individuals will invest or start a business,” Centives writes.
In other words, Batman might be fueling the very crime that he’s trying to stop. Holy causality, Batman!
Via io9.