NEW YORK: 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. Artemis Fowl II, the prepubescent scion of an Irish crime family from Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl novels, was pegged at $13.5 billion.
