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Comment by blindriver | Hacker News Reader

If I were a trillionaire like Elon Musk, Bill Watterson would be one of those people I would anonymous gift enough money so that the rest of their lives would be comfortable. We need more people like him, and he should be rewarded for it.

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Bill Watterson is worth a hundred million dollars. He’s not hurting for cash.

He didn't license his characters, he's not worth a hundred million dollars.

The guy that never sold out won't have the island next to supreme sellouts, jared and ivanka.

In 2023 his publisher said that his printed collections had sold 50 million copies worldwide, and that the strip had appeared in 2,400 newspapers. That's at least tens of millions of dollars over many years, and with little spending and risk-averse investments, it's not unreasonable to conclude $100M for the total net worth figure.

Yes, but what fraction of that money ever reached him?

I think a hundred million is probably a bit optimistic.

That said, I would be surprised if he's not at least a multi-millionaire.

Citation? I’m sure he’s fine but $100M?

Sure, he's sold 10s of millions of books plus all the syndication money. Sounds about right.

Bill Watterson is comfortable for life - even without merchandising he's easily a millionaire multiple times over.

Ah, I think it's safe to say you wouldn't. Nothing against you, but the personality required to acquire a trillion (!!!) dollars is incompatible with the kind of philanthropic thinking you clearly possess.

Most philanthropic spending is from rich people, believe it or not.

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