Scrooge McDuck
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Scrooge McDuck (occasionally stylized as $crooge McDuck) is a cartoon character created in 1947 for
The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...
by
Carl Barks Carl Barks (March 27, 1901 – August 25, 2000) was an American cartoonist, author, and painter. He is best known for his work in Disney comics, Disney comic books, as the writer and artist of the first Donald Duck stories and as the creator of ...
. Appearing in
Disney comics Disney comics are comic books and comic strips featuring characters created by the Walt Disney Company, including Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Scrooge McDuck. The first Disney comics were newspaper strips appearing from 1930 on, starting with t ...
, Scrooge is a Scottish-born American anthropomorphic duck. Like his nephew,
Donald Duck Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by the Walt Disney Company. Donald is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor suit, sailor shirt and cap with ...
, he has a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a red or blue
frock coat A frock coat is a formal wear, formal men's coat (clothing), coat characterised by a knee-length skirt cut all around the base just above the knee, popular during the Victorian era, Victorian and Edwardian era, Edwardian periods (1830s–1910s). ...
, top hat,
pince-nez Pince-nez ( or , plural form same as singular; ) is a style of glasses, popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, that are supported without earpieces, by pinching the bridge of the nose. The name comes from French language, French ''pi ...
glasses, and spats varying in color. He is portrayed in animation as speaking with a
Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
accent. Originally intended to be used only once, Scrooge became one of the most popular characters in the Disney comics world, as well as Barks' signature work. Scrooge is an extremely rich duck who lives in the fictional city of Duckburg (which is also Donald Duck and
Huey, Dewey, and Louie Huey, Dewey, and Louie are Multiple birth, triplet cartoon characters created by storyboard artist and screenwriter Carl Barks for The Walt Disney Company from an idea proposed by cartoonist Al Taliaferro. They are the nephews of Donald Duck an ...
's home city) in the fictional U.S. state of Calisota (a blend of
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
and
Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
), whose claimed location is in real-world California,
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. Named after the character
Ebenezer Scrooge Ebenezer Scrooge () is a fictional character and the protagonist of Charles Dickens's 1843 novel, ''A Christmas Carol''. Initially a cold-hearted miser who despises Christmas, his redemption by visits from the ghost of Jacob Marley, the G ...
from
Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...
' 1843 holiday novella ''
A Christmas Carol ''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. It recounts the ...
'', Scrooge is an incredibly rich
business magnate A business magnate, also known as an industrialist or tycoon, is a person who is a powerful entrepreneur and investor who controls, through personal enterprise ownership or a dominant shareholding position, a firm or industry whose goods or ser ...
and self-proclaimed "adventure-capitalist", whose dominant character traits are his wealth, frugality, and tendency to seek more money through adventure and treasure hunting. Scrooge founded the company called McDuck Enterprises. He is the maternal uncle of
Donald Duck Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by the Walt Disney Company. Donald is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor suit, sailor shirt and cap with ...
and Della Duck, the maternal great uncle of
Huey, Dewey, and Louie Huey, Dewey, and Louie are Multiple birth, triplet cartoon characters created by storyboard artist and screenwriter Carl Barks for The Walt Disney Company from an idea proposed by cartoonist Al Taliaferro. They are the nephews of Donald Duck an ...
, a financial backer of inventor
Gyro Gearloose Gyro Gearloose ( ) is a cartoon character created in 1952 by Carl Barks for Disney comics. An anthropomorphic chicken, he is part of the Donald Duck universe, appearing in comic book stories as a friend of Donald Duck, Scrooge McDuck, and any ...
, and the world's richest person — all within the context of the fictional
Donald Duck universe The Donald Duck universe is a fictional universe, fictional shared universe which is the setting of stories involving Walt Disney Company, Disney cartoon character Donald Duck, as well as Daisy Duck, Huey, Dewey, and Louie, Scrooge McDuck, and L ...
. His business interests are comically diverse and all-inclusive. Both his "Money Bin" and Scrooge himself are often used as humorous
metonym Metonymy () is a figure of speech in which a concept is referred to by the name of something associated with that thing or concept. For example, the word "wikt:suit, suit" may refer to a person from groups commonly wearing business attire, such ...
s for great wealth in popular culture around the world. McDuck was initially characterized as a greedy miser and antihero (similar to Dickens' original Scrooge character). However, in later appearances, he has often been portrayed as a thrifty hero, adventurer, and explorer. He was originally created by Barks as an antagonist for
Donald Duck Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by the Walt Disney Company. Donald is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor suit, sailor shirt and cap with ...
, first appearing in the 1947 story '' Christmas on Bear Mountain'' (''
Four Color ''Four Color'', also known as ''Four Color Comics'' and ''Dell Four Color'', is an American comic book anthology series published by Dell Comics between 1939 and 1962. The title is a reference to the four basic colors used when printing comic ...
'' #178). However, McDuck's popularity grew so large that he became a major figure in the Donald Duck universe. In 1952, he received his own comic book series, called ''
Uncle Scrooge ''Uncle Scrooge'' (stylized as ''Uncle $crooge'') is a Disney comic book series starring Scrooge McDuck ("the richest duck in the world"), his nephew Donald Duck, and grandnephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie, and revolving around their adventures in ...
'', originally published from 1952–1984, and has had various revivals over the years (as have other Disney comic lines). The most recent revival, by
IDW Publishing IDW Publishing is an American publisher of comic books, graphic novels, art books, and comic strip collections. It was founded in 1999 as the publishing division of Idea and Design Works, LLC (IDW) and is recognized as the fifth-largest comic ...
, ran from 2015 to 2020. Scrooge was most famously drawn by his creator Carl Barks, and then later by
Don Rosa Keno Don Hugo Rosa (), known as Don Rosa (born June 29, 1951), is an American comic book writer and illustrator known for his comics about Scrooge McDuck and other Disney comics, Disney characters. Many of his stories are built on characters an ...
. Like other Disney franchise characters, Scrooge McDuck has gained international popularity, resulting in literature that's often translated into other languages. The comics have remained Scrooge's primary medium, although he has also appeared in animated feature films and television programs, most extensively in the TV series ''
DuckTales DuckTales refers to: Film and television * ''DuckTales'' (1987 TV series), original TV series ** '' DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp'' * ''DuckTales'' (2017 TV series), reboot TV series Video games * ''DuckTales'' (video game) ...
'' (1987–1990), and its
reboot In computing, rebooting is the process by which a running computer system is restarted, either intentionally or unintentionally. Reboots can be either a cold reboot (alternatively known as a hard reboot) in which the power to the system is physi ...
(2017–2021), as the main protagonist of both series.


Comics history


First appearance

Scrooge McDuck, maternal uncle of previously established character
Donald Duck Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by the Walt Disney Company. Donald is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor suit, sailor shirt and cap with ...
, made his first named appearance in the story '' Christmas on Bear Mountain;'' it was published in Dell's ''Four Color Comics'' #178 on October 22, 1947, and written and drawn by artist
Carl Barks Carl Barks (March 27, 1901 – August 25, 2000) was an American cartoonist, author, and painter. He is best known for his work in Disney comics, Disney comic books, as the writer and artist of the first Donald Duck stories and as the creator of ...
. His appearance may have been based on a similar-looking Scottish "thrifty saver" Donald Duck character from the 1943 propaganda short '' The Spirit of '43''. In ''Christmas on Bear Mountain'', Scrooge was a bearded, bespectacled, reasonably wealthy old duck, visibly leaning on his cane and living in isolation in a "huge mansion". Barks, Carl (writer and illustrator). " Christmas on Bear Mountain". ''
Four Color Comics ''Four Color'', also known as ''Four Color Comics'' and ''Dell Four Color'', is an American comic book anthology series published by Dell Comics between 1939 and 1962. The title is a reference to the four basic colors used when printing comic ...
'' #178 (December 1947).
Scrooge's
misanthropic Misanthropy is the general hatred, dislike, or distrust of the human species, human behavior, or human nature. A misanthrope or misanthropist is someone who holds such views or feelings. Misanthropy involves a negative evaluative attitude tow ...
thoughts in this first story are quite pronounced: "Here I sit in this big lonely dump, waiting for Christmas to pass! Bah! That silly season when everybody loves everybody else! A curse on it! Me—I'm different! Everybody hates me, and I hate everybody!" Barks later reflected on the portrayal, saying "Scrooge in 'Christmas on Bear Mountain' was only my first idea of a rich, old uncle. I had made him too old and too weak. I discovered later on that I had to make him more active. I could not make an old guy like that do the things I wanted him to do."


Recurring character

Barks would later claim that he originally only intended to use Scrooge as a one-shot character, but then decided Scrooge (and his fortune) could prove useful for motivating further stories. Barks continued to experiment with Scrooge's appearance and personality over the next four years. Scrooge's second appearance in '' The Old Castle's Secret'' (first published in June 1948) had him recruiting his nephews to search for a family treasure hidden in Dismal Downs, the McDuck's ancestral family castle built in the middle of
Rannoch Moor Rannoch Moor (; ) is an expanse of around of boggy moorland to the west of Loch Rannoch in Scotland, from where it extends into westerly Perth and Kinross, northerly Lochaber (in Scottish Highlands, Highland), and the area of Highland Scotland ...
in Scotland. ''Foxy Relations'' (first published in November 1948) was the first story where Scrooge is called by his title and
catchphrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...
"The Richest Duck in the World".


First hints of Scrooge's past

The story ''Voodoo Hoodoo'', first published in Dell's ''Four Color Comics'' #238 in August 1949, was the first story to hint at Scrooge's past with the introduction of two figures. The first was Foola Zoola, an old African sorcerer and chief of the Voodoo tribe who cursed Scrooge, seeking revenge for the destruction of his village and the taking of his tribe's lands by Scrooge decades earlier. Scrooge privately admitted to his nephews that he had used an army of "cutthroats" to get the tribe to abandon their lands, in order to establish a
rubber plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tobacco ...
.''Voodoo Hoodoo'', first published in ''Four Color Comics #238'', August 1949 The event was set in 1879 by Carl Barks, but it would later be
retcon Retroactive continuity, or retcon for short, is a literary device in fictional story telling whereby facts and events established through the narrative itself are adjusted, ignored, supplemented, or contradicted by a subsequently published work ...
ned by Don Rosa to 1909 to better fit with Scrooge's later-established personal history in '' The Empire-Builder from Calisota''. The second figure from Scrooge's past was Bombie the Zombie, the would-be assassin sent from Foola Zoola to enact the sorcerer's curse and revenge. He sought Scrooge for decades before reaching Duckburg, mistaking Donald for Scrooge. Barks, with a note of skepticism often found in his stories, explained the zombie was a living person who has never died but has somehow gotten under the influence of a sorcerer. Although some scenes of the story were intended as a
parody A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satire, satirical or irony, ironic imitation. Often its subject is an Originality, original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, e ...
of
Bela Lugosi Blaskó Béla Ferenc Dezső (; October 20, 1882 – August 16, 1956), better known by the stage name Bela Lugosi ( ; ), was a Hungarian–American actor. He was best remembered for portraying Count Dracula in the horror film classic Dracula (19 ...
's '' White Zombie'', the story is the first to not only focus on Scrooge's past but also touch on the darkest aspects of his personality.


Later stories

''Trail of the Unicorn'', first published in February 1950, introduced Scrooge's private zoo. One of his pilots had managed to photograph the last living
unicorn The unicorn is a legendary creature that has been described since Classical antiquity, antiquity as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn (anatomy), horn projecting from its forehead. In European literature and art, the unico ...
, which lived in the Indian part of the
Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...
. Scrooge offered a reward to competing cousins Donald Duck and Gladstone Gander for whoever captured the unicorn for Scrooge's collection. This was also the story that introduced Scrooge's private airplane. Barks would later establish Scrooge as an experienced aviator; Donald had previously been shown as a skilled aviator, as was Flintheart Glomgold in later stories. In comparison,
Huey, Dewey, and Louie Huey, Dewey, and Louie are Multiple birth, triplet cartoon characters created by storyboard artist and screenwriter Carl Barks for The Walt Disney Company from an idea proposed by cartoonist Al Taliaferro. They are the nephews of Donald Duck an ...
were depicted as only having taken flying lessons in the story ''Frozen Gold'' (published in January 1945). ''The Pixilated Parrot'', first published in July 1950, introduced a precursor to Scrooge's money bin. In this story, Scrooge's central office building is said to contain "three
cubic Cubic may refer to: Science and mathematics * Cube (algebra), "cubic" measurement * Cube, a three-dimensional solid object bounded by six square faces, facets or sides, with three meeting at each vertex ** Cubic crystal system, a crystal system w ...
acres of money". Two burglars (one of which is referred to as Butch) who briefly appear during the story are considered to be the precursors of the Beagle Boys.


Scrooge as a major character

''The Magic Hourglass'', first published in September 1950, was arguably the first story to change the focus of the Duck stories from Donald to Scrooge. During the story, several themes were introduced for Scrooge. Donald first mentions in this story that his uncle practically owns Duckburg, a statement that Scrooge's rival John D. Rockerduck would later dispute. Scrooge first hints that he was not born into wealth as he remembers buying the Hourglass in
Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
when he was a member of a ship's crew as a cabin boy. It's also the first story in which Scrooge mentions reading and speaking other languages besides his native English; during the story, he reads and speaks
Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
. Scrooge's proficiency in languages would become apparent in future stories. Barks and Rosa depicted Scrooge as being fluent in Arabic, Dutch, German, Mongolian, Spanish, Mayan, Bengali, Finnish, and a number of Chinese dialects. Scrooge acquired this knowledge from years of living or traveling to the various regions of the world where those languages are spoken. Later writers would depict Scrooge having at least a working knowledge of several other languages. He also encountered several historical figures during his lifetime, such as
U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
Roosevelt ('' The Buckaroo of the Badlands'', ''
The Invader of Fort Duckburg "The Invader of Fort Duckburg" is a 1994 Scrooge McDuck comic by Don Rosa. It is the tenth of the original 12 chapters in the series ''The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck''. The story takes place in 1902. The story was first published in the Dan ...
'', and '' The Sharpie of the Culebra Cut''),
Apache The Apache ( ) are several Southern Athabaskan language-speaking peoples of the Southwestern United States, Southwest, the Southern Plains and Northern Mexico. They are linguistically related to the Navajo. They migrated from the Athabascan ho ...
leader
Geronimo Gerónimo (, ; June 16, 1829 – February 17, 1909) was a military leader and medicine man from the Bedonkohe band of the Ndendahe Apache people. From 1850 to 1886, Geronimo joined with members of three other Central Apache bands the Tchihen ...
('' The Vigilante of Pizen Bluff''),
Czar Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...
Nicholas II of Russia Nicholas II (Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov; 186817 July 1918) or Nikolai II was the last reigning Emperor of Russia, Congress Poland, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 1 November 1894 until Abdication of Nicholas II, hi ...
('' The Empire-Builder from Calisota''), and
philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also defined as the study of ...
Elias Lönnrot Elias Lönnrot (; 9 April 1802 – 19 March 1884) was a Finnish polymath, physician, philosopher, poet, musician, linguist, journalist, philologist and collector of traditional Finnish language, Finnish Oral literature, oral poetry. He is best k ...
('' The Quest for Kalevala''). In ''The Magic Hourglass,'' Scrooge is shown in a more positive light than in previous stories, but his more villainous side is still evident. He is seen attempting to reacquire a magic hourglass that he gave to Donald, before finding out that it acted as a protective charm for him. Scrooge starts losing one billion dollars each minute and comments that he will go bankrupt within 600 years. This line is a parody of
Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American director, actor, writer, producer, and magician who is remembered for his innovative work in film, radio, and theatre. He is among the greatest and most influential film ...
's line in ''
Citizen Kane ''Citizen Kane'' is a 1941 American Drama (film and television), drama film directed by, produced by and starring Orson Welles and co-written by Welles and Herman J. Mankiewicz. It was Welles's List of directorial debuts, first feature film. ...
,'' "You know, Mr. Thatcher, at the rate of a million dollars a year, I'll have to close this place in ... 60 years." To convince his nephews to return it, he pursues them throughout Morocco. Scrooge interrogates Donald by having him tied up and tickled with a feather in an attempt to get Donald to reveal the location of the hourglass. The former finally manages to retrieve it, exchanging the item for a flask of water, as he had found his nephews exhausted and left in the desert with no supplies. As Scrooge explains, he intended to give them a higher offer, but he just could not resist having somebody at his mercy without taking advantage of it.


Final developments

'' A Financial Fable'', first published in March 1951, had Scrooge teaching Donald some lessons in productivity as the source of wealth, along with the laws of
supply and demand In microeconomics, supply and demand is an economic model of price determination in a Market (economics), market. It postulates that, Ceteris_paribus#Applications, holding all else equal, the unit price for a particular Good (economics), good ...
. Perhaps more importantly, it was also the first story where Scrooge observes how diligent and industrious Huey, Louie, and Dewey are, making them more similar to himself rather than to Donald. In Barks' stories, Donald is depicted as working hard on occasion, but given the choice often proves to be lazy. The three younger nephews first side with Scrooge rather than Donald in this story, with the bond between granduncle and grandnephews strengthening in later stories. However, there have been rare instances where Donald proved invaluable to Scrooge, such as when the group traveled back in time to Ancient Egypt to retrieve a pharaoh's
papyrus Papyrus ( ) is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing surface. It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, ''Cyperus papyrus'', a wetland sedge. ''Papyrus'' (plural: ''papyri'' or ''papyruses'') can a ...
. Donald cautions against taking it with him, as no one would believe the story unless it was unearthed. He then buries it and makes a marking point from the
Nile River The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the longest river i ...
; Scrooge thinks to himself admiringly, "Donald must have swallowed the !" '' Terror of the Beagle Boys'', first published in November 1951, introduced the readers to the Beagle Boys. Although new to the series, Scrooge seems to be already familiar with them. ''The Big Bin on Killmotor Hill'' introduced Scrooge's
money bin The Donald Duck universe is a fictional shared universe which is the setting of stories involving Disney cartoon character Donald Duck, as well as Daisy Duck, Huey, Dewey, and Louie, Scrooge McDuck, and many other characters. Life in the D ...
, built on Killmotor Hill in the center of Duckburg. In the Ducktales 2017 reboot, the Money Bin is built on an island on Audubon Bay. The island is connected to a small bridge that leads to downtown Duckburg. By this point, Scrooge had become familiar to readers in the United States and Europe. Other Disney writers and artists, including Italian writer Romano Scarpa, began using Scrooge in their own stories.
Western Publishing Western Publishing, also known as Western Printing and Lithographing Company, was an American company founded in 1907 in Racine, Wisconsin, best known for publishing the Little Golden Books. Its Golden Books Family Entertainment division also ...
, then the publisher of North American Disney comics, began thinking about using Scrooge as a protagonist rather than a supporting character, and then decided to launch Scrooge in his own self-titled comic. ''Uncle Scrooge'' #1, featuring the story '' Only a Poor Old Man'', was published in March 1952. This story, along with '' Back to the Klondike'', first published a year later in March 1953, became the biggest influences in how Scrooge's character, past, and beliefs would become defined. After this point, Barks produced most of his longer stories in ''Uncle Scrooge'', with a focus mainly on adventure, while his ten-page stories for
Walt Disney's Comics and Stories ''Walt Disney's Comics and Stories'', sometimes abbreviated ''WDC&S'', is an American Comics anthology, anthology comic book series featuring characters from The Walt Disney Company's films and shorts, including Donald Duck, Scrooge McDuck, Micke ...
continued to feature Donald as the star and focused on comedy. In Scrooge's stories, Donald and his nephews were cast as Scrooge's assistants who accompanied the latter in his adventures around the world. This change of focus from Donald to Scrooge was also reflected in stories by other contemporary writers. Since then, Scrooge remains a central figure of the Duck comics' universe, thus the coining of the term " Scrooge McDuck Universe".


Modern era

After Barks's retirement, the character continued under other artists. However, in 1972, Barks was persuaded to write more stories for Disney. He wrote Junior Woodchuck stories where Scrooge often plays the part of the villain, closer to the role he had before acquiring his own series. Under Barks, Scrooge always was a malleable character who would take on whatever persona was convenient to the plot. The Italian writer and artist Romano Scarpa made several additions to Scrooge McDuck's lore, including characters such as Brigitta MacBridge, Scrooge's self-styled fiancée, and Gideon McDuck, a newspaper editor who is Scrooge's brother. Those characters have appeared mostly in European comics. This is also the case for Scrooge's rival John D. Rockerduck (created by Barks for just one story) and Donald's cousin Fethry Duck, who sometimes works as a reporter for Scrooge's newspaper. Another major development was the arrival of writer and artist Don Rosa in 1986, with his story " The Son of the Sun"; it released by Gladstone Publishing and nominated for a
Harvey Award The Harvey Awards are given for achievement in comic books. Named for writer-artist Harvey Kurtzman, the Harvey Awards were founded by Gary Groth in 1988, president of the publisher Fantagraphics, to be a successor to the Kirby Awards, which were ...
, one of the comics industry's highest honors. Rosa has said in interviews that he considers Scrooge to be his favorite Disney character. Unlike most other Disney writers, Don Rosa considered Scrooge as a historical character whose Disney adventures had occurred in the fifties and sixties and ended (in his undepicted death) in 1967 when Barks retired. He considered only Barks's stories as canonical, and fleshed out a timeline and a family tree based on Barks's stories. Eventually he wrote and drew '' The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck'', a full history in twelve chapters, which received an
Eisner Award The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are awards for creative achievement in American comic books. They are regarded as the most prestigious and significant awards in the comic industry and often referred ...
in 1995. Later editions included additional chapters. Under Rosa, Scrooge became more ethical; while he never cheats, he ruthlessly exploits any loopholes. He owes his fortune to his hard work and his money bin is "full of souvenirs" since every coin reminds him of a specific circumstance. Daan Jippes, who can mimic Barks's art to a close extent, repenciled all of Barks's 1970s Junior Woodchucks stories, as well as Barks's final Uncle Scrooge stories from the 1990s to the early 2000s. Other notable Disney artists who have worked with the Scrooge character include Michael Peraza, Marco Rota, William Van Horn, and Tony Strobl. In an interview with the Norwegian "Aftenposten" from 1992, Don Rosa says that "in the beginning Scrooge wedhis existence to his nephew Donald, but that has changed and today it's Donald that weshis existence to Scrooge," and he also says that this is one of the reasons why he is so interested in Scrooge.


Characterization


Overview

The character is almost exclusively portrayed as having worked his way up the financial ladder from humble immigrant roots. His characteristics are believed to be strongly influenced by the life of a real, incredibly wealthy Scottish-American business magnate
Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie ( , ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the History of the iron and steel industry in the United States, American steel industry in the late ...
, as well as
Ebenezer Scrooge Ebenezer Scrooge () is a fictional character and the protagonist of Charles Dickens's 1843 novel, ''A Christmas Carol''. Initially a cold-hearted miser who despises Christmas, his redemption by visits from the ghost of Jacob Marley, the G ...
, his namesake from ''
A Christmas Carol ''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. It recounts the ...
''. The comic book series '' The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck'', written and drawn by Don Rosa, shows Scrooge's fictional life. As a young boy, he takes up a job polishing and shining boots in his native
Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
. A pivotal moment comes in 1877 when a ditch-digger pays him with an 1875 US dime, which is useless as currency in 19th century Glasgow; he only notices what sort of coin he has been given after the man has left, as his boots were so caked with dirt, Scrooge fainted from exhaustion after finishing his work. Enraged, Scrooge vows to never be taken advantage of again, to be "sharper than the sharpies, smarter than the smarties and tougher than the toughies". He takes a position as cabin boy on a Clyde cattle ship to the United States to make his fortune at the age of 13. In 1898, after many adventures, he finally ends up in Klondike, where he finds a golden rock the size of a goose egg. By the following year, he made his first $1,000,000 and bought the deed for Killmule Hill from Casey Coot, the son of Clinton Coot and grandson of Cornelius Coot, the founder of Duckburg. He finally ends up in Duckburg in 1902. After some dramatic events, where he faces both the Beagle Boys and President
Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...
and his
Rough Riders The Rough Riders was a nickname given to the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry, one of three such regiments raised in 1898 for the Spanish–American War and the only one to see combat. The United States Army was small, understaffed, and diso ...
at the same time, he tears down the rest of the old Fort Duckburg and builds his famous Money Bin at the site. In the years to follow, Scrooge travels all around the world to increase his fortune, while his family remains behind to manage the Money Bin. When Scrooge finally returns to Duckburg, he is the richest duck in the world, rivaled only by Flintheart Glomgold, John D. Rockerduck, and less prominently, the
maharaja Maharaja (also spelled Maharajah or Maharaj; ; feminine: Maharani) is a royal title in Indian subcontinent, Indian subcontinent of Sanskrit origin. In modern India and Medieval India, medieval northern India, the title was equivalent to a pri ...
of the
fictional country A fictional country is a country that is made up for Fiction, fictional stories, and does not exist in real life, or one that people believe in without proof. Fictional lands appear most commonly as settings or subjects of myth, myths, literature, ...
Howdoyoustan (play on
Hindustan ''Hindūstān'' ( English: /ˈhɪndustæn/ or /ˈhɪndustɑn/, ; ) was a historical region, polity, and a name for India, historically used simultaneously for northern Indian subcontinent and the entire subcontinent, used in the modern day ...
). His experiences, however, have changed him into a hostile miser, and his family leaves him in disgust. About twelve years later, he closes down his empire; he eventually returns to a public life five years later and restarts his business in the comic's final chapter. He keeps the majority of his wealth in his massive Money Bin, an enormous cubic building adorned with a dollar sign, overlooking the city of Duckburg. In the short '' Scrooge McDuck and Money'', he remarks to his nephews that this money is "just
petty cash Petty cash is a small amount of discretionary funds in the form of cash used for minor expenditures. The most common way of accounting for petty cash expenditures is to use the imprest system. Audit controls Oversight of petty cash is importan ...
". In the Dutch and Italian version, he regularly forces Donald and his nephews to polish the coins one by one in order to pay off Donald's debts; Scrooge will not pay them much for this lengthy, tedious, hand-breaking work. As far as he is concerned, even 5 cents an hour is too much expenditure. He does not even keep any to his personal estate, stating "Money goes to the bin, not next of kin". A shrewd businessman and noted tightwad, he is fond of diving into and swimming in his money without injury. His most famous prized possession is his
Number One Dime The Donald Duck universe is a fictional universe, fictional shared universe which is the setting of stories involving Walt Disney Company, Disney cartoon character Donald Duck, as well as Daisy Duck, Huey, Dewey, and Louie, Scrooge McDuck, and L ...
. He is also the richest member of The Billionaires Club of Duckburg, a society which includes the most successful businessmen of the world and allows them to keep connections with each other. Glomgold and Rockerduck are also influential members of the Club.


Wealth

The sum of Scrooge's wealth is unclear. According to Barks' ''The Second Richest Duck'' as noted by a ''Time'' article, Scrooge is worth "one multiplujillion, nine obsquatumatillion, six hundred twenty-three dollars and sixty-two cents". The ''DuckTales'' episode "Liquid Assets", Fenton Crackshell (Scrooge's accountant) notes that McDuck's money bin contains "607 tillion 386 zillion 947 trillion 522 billion dollars and 36 cents". Don Rosa's ''Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck'' notes that Scrooge amounts to "five multiplujillion, nine impossibidillion, seven fantastica trillion dollars and sixteen cents". A thought bubble from Scrooge McDuck sitting in his car with his chauffeur in ''Walt Disney's Christmas Parade'' No. 1 (published in 1949) that takes place in the story "Letter to Santa" clearly states "What's the use of having 'eleven octillion dollars' if I don't make a big noise about it?". In '' DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp'', Scrooge mentions "We quadzillionaires have our own ideas of fun." In the first episode of the ''DuckTales'' reboot, Scrooge states that he runs "a multi-trillion-dollar business". In the original ''
DuckTales DuckTales refers to: Film and television * ''DuckTales'' (1987 TV series), original TV series ** '' DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp'' * ''DuckTales'' (2017 TV series), reboot TV series Video games * ''DuckTales'' (video game) ...
'' animated series (Episode 56, Season 1), he claims to have 72 quadrillion dollars. ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
'' magazine has occasionally tried to estimate Scrooge's wealth in real terms. In 2007, the magazine estimated his wealth at $28.8 billion. By 2011, it rose to $44.1 billion due to the rise in gold prices. In a 1970 comic, Scrooge says that he would be broke in 600 years if he lost 1 billion dollars a minute, putting his total estimated net worth at $315,360,000,000,000,000. A
running gag A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling. Though they are similar, catchphrases are no ...
is Scrooge always making profit on any business deal. Whatever the amount, Scrooge never considers it to be enough; he believes that he has to continue to earn money by any means possible. Additionally, ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
'' does have him ranked at the number 1 spot on ''The Forbes Fictional 15''.


Education

Scrooge never completed a formal education, as he left school at an early age. However, he has a sharp mind and is always ready to learn new skills. Because of his secondary occupation as a treasure hunter, Scrooge has become something of a scholar and an amateur
archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...
. Starting with Barks, several writers have explained how Scrooge becomes aware of the treasures he decides to pursue. This often involves periods of research consulting various written sources in search of passages that might lead him to treasure. Often Scrooge decides to search for the possible truth behind old legends, or discovers obscure references to the activities of ancient conquerors, explorers, and military leaders that he considers interesting enough to begin a new expedition. As a result of his research, Scrooge has built up an extensive personal library, which includes many rare tomes. In the McDuck Archives, every work of McDuck's expeditions studied by scholars such as Ms. Quackfaster. In Barks's and Rosa's stories, among the prized pieces of this library is an almost complete collection of Spanish and Dutch naval logs of the 16th and 17th centuries. Their references to the fates of other ships have often allowed Scrooge to locate sunken vessels and recover their treasures from their watery graves. Mostly self-taught as he is, Scrooge is a firm believer in the saying "knowledge is power". Scrooge is also an accomplished
linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...
and entrepreneur, having learned to speak several different languages during his business trips around the world, selling refrigerators to
Eskimo ''Eskimo'' () is a controversial Endonym and exonym, exonym that refers to two closely related Indigenous peoples: Inuit (including the Alaska Native Iñupiat, the Canadian Inuit, and the Greenlandic Inuit) and the Yupik peoples, Yupik (or Sibe ...
s, wind to windmill manufacturers in the
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
, etc.


Morality and beliefs

Both as a businessman and as a treasure hunter, Scrooge is noted for his drive to set new goals and face new challenges. As Carl Barks described his character, for Scrooge there is "always another rainbow". The phrase later provided the title for one of Barks's better-known paintings depicting Scrooge. Periods of inactivity between adventures and lack of serious challenges tend to be depressing for Scrooge after a while; some stories see these phases take a toll on his health. Scrooge's other motto is "Work smarter, not harder." As a businessman, Scrooge often resorts to aggressive tactics and deception. He seems to have gained significant experience in manipulating people and events towards his own ends. As often seen in stories by writer
Guido Martina Guido Martina (9 February 1906 – 6 May 1991) was an Italian comic writer, documentarist and author. Martina is well known for his Disney comics stories, including the first of the "" story "L'inferno di Topolino", and the creation of Paperini ...
and occasionally by others, Scrooge is noted for his cynicism, especially towards ideals of
morality Morality () is the categorization of intentions, Decision-making, decisions and Social actions, actions into those that are ''proper'', or ''right'', and those that are ''improper'', or ''wrong''. Morality can be a body of standards or principle ...
when it comes to business and the pursuit of set goals. This has been noted by some as not being part of Barks's original profile of the character, but has since come to be accepted as one valid interpretation of Scrooge's way of thinking. Scrooge seems to have a personal code of honesty that offers him an amount of self-control. He can often be seen contemplating the next course of action, divided between adopting a ruthless pursuit of his current goal against those tactics he considers more honest. At times, he can sacrifice his goal in order to remain within the limits of this sense of honesty. Several fans of the character have come to consider these depictions as adding to the depth of his personality, because based on the decisions he takes Scrooge can be both the hero and the villain of his stories. This is one thing he has in common with his nephew
Donald Donald is a Scottish masculine given name. It is derived from the Gaelic name ''Dòmhnall''.. This comes from the Proto-Celtic *''Dumno-ualos'' ("world-ruler" or "world-wielder"). The final -''d'' in ''Donald'' is partly derived from a misinter ...
. Scrooge's sense of honesty also distinguishes him from his rival Flintheart Glomgold, who places no such self-limitations. During the cartoon series ''DuckTales'', at times he would be heard saying to Glomgold, "You're a cheater, and cheaters ''never'' prosper!" Like his nephew Donald, Scrooge has also a temper and rarely hesitates to use cartoon violence against those who provoke his ire (often his nephew Donald, but also bill and tax collectors as well as door-to-door salesmen). However, he seems to be against the use of lethal force. On occasion, he has even saved the lives of enemies who had threatened his own life but were in danger of losing their own. According to Scrooge's own explanation, this is to save himself from feelings of guilt over their deaths; he generally awaits no gratitude from them. Scrooge has also opined that only in
fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, household tale, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful bei ...
s do bad people turn good, and that he is old enough to not believe in fairy tales. Scrooge believes in keeping his word—never breaking a promise once given. In Italian-produced stories of the 1950s to 1970s, however, particularly those written by Guido Martina, Scrooge often acts differently from in American or Danish comics productions. Carl Barks gave Scrooge a definite set of ethics which were in tone with the time he was supposed to have made his fortune. The robber barons and industrialists of the 1890–1920s era were McDuck's competition as he earned his fortune. Scrooge proudly asserts "I made it by being tougher than the toughies and smarter than the smarties! And I made it square!". Barks's creation is averse to dishonesty in the pursuit of wealth. When Disney filmmakers first contemplated a Scrooge feature cartoon in the fifties, the animators had no understanding of the Scrooge McDuck character and merely envisioned Scrooge as a duck version of Ebenezer Scrooge—a very unsympathetic character. In the end, they shelved the idea because a duck who gets all excited about money just was not funny enough. In an interview, Barks summed up his beliefs about Scrooge and
capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...
:


''DuckTales''

In the ''
DuckTales DuckTales refers to: Film and television * ''DuckTales'' (1987 TV series), original TV series ** '' DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp'' * ''DuckTales'' (2017 TV series), reboot TV series Video games * ''DuckTales'' (video game) ...
'' series, Scrooge has care of the nephews (as Donald has joined the
US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
and is away on his tour of duty), and, as a result, his darker personality traits are downplayed. While most of his persona remain from the comics, he is notably more optimistic and level-headed in the animated cartoon. In an early episode, Scrooge credits his improved temperament to the nephews and Webby (his housekeeper's granddaughter, who comes to live in Scrooge's mansion), saying that "for the first time since I left Scotland, I have a family". Though Scrooge is far from tyrannical in the comics, he is rarely so openly affectionate. While he still hunts for treasure in ''DuckTales'', many episodes focus on his attempts to thwart villains. However, he remains just as tightfisted with money as he has always been. But he's also affable and patient with his family and friends. Scrooge displays a strict code of honor, insisting that the only valid way to acquire wealth is to "earn it square," and he goes to great lengths to thwart those (sometimes even his own nephews) who gain money dishonestly. This code also prevents him from ever being dishonest himself, and he avows that "Scrooge McDuck's word is as good as gold." He also expresses great disgust at being viewed by others as a greedy liar and cheater. The series fleshes out Scrooge's upbringing by depicting his life as an individual who worked hard his entire life to earn his immense fortune and to fiercely defend it against those who were truly dishonest but also, he defends his family and friends from any dangers, including villains. His value teaches his nephews not to be dishonest with him or anybody else. It's shown that money is no longer the most important thing in his life. For one episode, he was under a love spell, which caused him to lavish his time on a goddess over everything else. The nephews find out that the only way to break the spell is to make the person realize that the object of their love will cost them something they truly love. The boys make it appear that Scrooge's love is allergic to money; however, he simply decides to give up his wealth so he can be with her. Later, when he realizes he will have to give up his nephews to be with her, the spell is immediately broken, showing that family is the most important thing to him. On occasion, he demonstrates considerable physical strength by arm wrestling and beating bigger criminals on Aquatraz. He credits his strength to "lifting money bags."


Voice

Another part of Scrooge's persona is his Scottish accent.
Dallas McKennon Dallas Raymond McKennon (July 19, 1919 – July 14, 2009), sometimes credited as Dal McKennon, was an American actor. With a career lasting over 50 years, McKennon's best known roles include Gumby for Art Clokey, Archie Andrews in several diffe ...
was the first actor to provide Scrooge's voice for the 1960
Disneyland Records Walt Disney Records is an American record label owned by the Disney Music Group. The label releases soundtrack albums from the Walt Disney Company's motion picture studios, television shows, theme parks and traditional studio albums produced b ...
album, ''Donald Duck and His Friends''. When Scrooge later made his speaking animated debut in '' Scrooge McDuck and Money'' in 1967, he was voiced by Bill Thompson. Thompson had previously voiced Jock the
Scottish Terrier The Scottish Terrier (; also known as the Aberdeen Terrier), popularly called the Scottie, is a dog breed, breed of dog. Initially one of the highland breeds of terrier that were grouped under the name of ''Skye Terrier'', it is one of five br ...
in ''
Lady and the Tramp ''Lady and the Tramp'' is a 1955 American Animated film, animated Musical film, musical romantic comedy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by Buena Vista Film Distribution. Based on Ward Greene's 1945 ''Cosmopolitan (magazine) ...
'' and according to
Alan Young Alan Young (born Angus Young; November 19, 1919 – May 19, 2016) was a British-born actor. Young is best known for portraying Wilbur Post in the television comedy '' Mister Ed'' (1961–1966) and voicing Disney's Scrooge McDuck for over ...
, Thompson had some Scottish ancestry. Following ''Scrooge McDuck and Moneys release, Scrooge made no further animated appearances prior to Thompson's death in 1971. In 1974, Disneyland Records produced the album, ''An Adaptation of Dickens' Christmas Carol, Performed by The Walt Disney Players''. Alan Young belonged to a Dickens Society and was asked to help adapt the story to fit in Disney characters. Young, whose parents were Scottish and who lived in Scotland for a few years when he was an infant, voiced Scrooge for this record in addition to voicing
Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an American cartoon character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime icon and mascot of the Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red shorts, large shoes, and white ...
and
Merlin The Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN) is an interferometer array of radio telescopes spread across England. The array is run from Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire by the University of Manchester on behalf of UK Re ...
from '' The Sword in the Stone''. When Disney decided to adapt the record into the 1983 theatrical short, '' Mickey's Christmas Carol'', Young returned to voice Scrooge. Young remained as Disney's official voice for Scrooge up until his death in 2016, although
Will Ryan William Ryan (May 21, 1949 – November 19, 2021) was an American voice actor, musician and singer. He provided the voice of Petrie in the 1988 animated film '' The Land Before Time''. He was also known for his voice work as Eugene Meltsner in t ...
voiced Scrooge for the 1987 television special, '' Sport Goofy in Soccermania'' and Alan Reid voiced Scrooge for
Tuomas Holopainen Tuomas Lauri Johannes Holopainen (born 25 December 1976) is a Finnish musician, songwriter, and record producer, best known as the primary songwriter, keyboardist, and founding member of symphonic metal band Nightwish. He has stated that his son ...
's 2014 album, '' Music Inspired by the Life and Times of Scrooge''. Young's last performance as Scrooge was in the 2016 ''
Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an American cartoon character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime icon and mascot of the Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red shorts, large shoes, and white ...
'' short, "No". Since Young's death, several actors have provided Scrooge's voice. John Kassir took over for the ''Mickey Mouse'' shorts starting with "Duck the Halls" in 2016 and its follow-up series ''
The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse ''The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse'' is an American animated television series produced by Disney Television Animation for Disney+. The series is a continuation and revival of the Emmy Award-winning 2013 ''Mickey Mouse'' shorts, uses the same ...
''.
Eric Bauza Eric Bauza (born December 7, 1979) is a Canadian voice actor based in the United States. He is mostly known for voicing several ''Looney Tunes'' characters, for which he won three Emmy Awards for his performances in '' Looney Tunes Cartoons'' (20 ...
voiced Scrooge for a cameo in the television series, ''
Legend of the Three Caballeros ''Legend of the Three Caballeros'' is a 2018 animated television series based on the 1944 animated Disney film '' The Three Caballeros'', but depicted as a spin-off of the 2017 '' DuckTales'' reboot. As with the original film, the series features ...
''. Scottish actor Enn Reitel voiced Scrooge for the English dub of ''
Kingdom Hearts III is a 2019 action role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows, and Nintendo Switch. It is the third main installment in the '' Kingdom Hearts'' series and the twelfth game overall, and ser ...
'', the 2022 life simulator game '' Disney Dreamlight Valley'', and for the Disney Parks. Scottish actor
David Tennant David John Tennant (; born 18 April 1971) is a Scottish actor. He is best known for portraying the Tenth Doctor, tenth and Fourteenth Doctor, fourteenth incarnations of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the science fiction series ''Docto ...
voices Scrooge in the 2017 reboot of ''
DuckTales DuckTales refers to: Film and television * ''DuckTales'' (1987 TV series), original TV series ** '' DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp'' * ''DuckTales'' (2017 TV series), reboot TV series Video games * ''DuckTales'' (video game) ...
'', and reprised the role in '' Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers'' and '' Chibiverse''. According to executive producer Matt Youngberg:


Europe

Many of the European comics based on the Disney Universe have created their own version of Scrooge McDuck, usually involving him in slapstick adventures. This is particularly true of the Italian comics which were very popular in the 1960s–1990s in most parts of Western continental Europe. In these, Scrooge is mainly an anti-hero dragging his long-suffering nephews into treasure hunts and shady business deals. Donald is a reluctant participant in these travels, only agreeing to go along when his uncle reminds him of the debts and back-rent Donald owes him, threatens him with a sword or
blunderbuss The blunderbuss is a 17th- to mid-19th-century firearm with a short, large caliber Gun barrel, barrel. It is commonly flared at the muzzle (firearms), muzzle to help aid in the loading of Lead shot, shot and other projectiles of relevant quantity ...
, or offers a share of the loot. When he promises Donald a share of the treasure, Scrooge will add a little loophole in the terms which may seem obscure at first but which he brings up at the end of the adventure to deny Donald his share, keeping the whole for himself. After Donald risks life and limb – something which Scrooge shows little concern for – he tends to end up with nothing. Another running joke is Scrooge reminiscing about his adventures while
gold prospecting Gold prospecting is the act of searching for new gold deposits. Methods used vary with the type of deposit sought and the resources of the prospector. Although traditionally a commercial activity, in some developed countries Placer mining, plac ...
in the Klondike much to Donald and the nephews' chagrin at hearing the never-ending and tiresome stories.


Age

According to Carl Barks' 1955 one-pager "Watt an Occasion" (''Uncle Scrooge'' #12), Scrooge is 75 years of age. According to Don Rosa, Scrooge was born in Scotland in 1867, and earned his Number One Dime (or First Coin) exactly ten years later. The ''DuckTales'' episodes (and many European comics) show a Scrooge who hailed from Scotland in the 19th century, yet was clearly familiar with all the technology and amenities of the 1980s. Despite this extremely advanced age, Scrooge does not appear to be on the verge of dotage, and is vigorous enough to keep up with his nephews in adventures. With rare exceptions, there appears to be no sign of him slowing down. Barks responded to some fan letters asking about Scrooge's Adamic age, that in the story "That's No Fable!", when Scrooge drank water from a
Fountain of Youth The Fountain of Youth is a mythical Spring (hydrology), spring which supposedly restores the youth of anyone who drinks or bathes in its waters. Tales of such a fountain have been recounted around the world for thousands of years, appearing in t ...
for several days, rather than making him young again (bodily contact with the water was required for that), ingesting the water rejuvenated his body and cured him of his
rheumatism Rheumatism or rheumatic disorders are conditions causing chronic, often intermittent pain affecting the joints or connective tissue. Rheumatism does not designate any specific disorder, but covers at least 200 different conditions, including a ...
, which arguably allowed Scrooge to live beyond his expected years with no sign of slowdown or senility. Don Rosa's solution to the issue of Scrooge's age is that he set all of his stories in the 1950s or earlier, which was when he himself discovered and reveled in Barks' stories as a kid, and in his unofficial timelines, he had Scrooge die in 1967, at the age of 100 years. In ''DuckTales'' (2017), Scrooge was trapped in ice for five years and "stuck in a timeless demon dimension" called Demogorgana for an unknown amount of time, which is used to explain his longevity. In the episode "The Other Bin of Scrooge McDuck!", Webby Vanderquack's research on Scrooge reveals that he was born in 1867, as previously established by Rosa. This would make Scrooge 158 years old as of 2024.


In popular culture


Cultural impact

''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
'' magazine routinely lists Scrooge McDuck on its annual " Fictional 15" list of the richest fictional characters by net worth: In 1972, Grupo Ronda S.A acquired the license to use the character among other Disney characters for their board game ''Tío Rico Mc. Pato.'' As of today, it is one of the most popular board games in Colombia and the direct competitor of ''
Monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek and ) is a market in which one person or company is the only supplier of a particular good or service. A monopoly is characterized by a lack of economic Competition (economics), competition to produce ...
'' in the region. In tribute to its famous native, Glasgow City Council added Scrooge to its list of "Famous Glaswegians" in 2007, alongside the likes of
Billy Connolly Sir William Connolly (born 24 November 1942) is a Scottish actor, musician, television presenter, artist and retired stand-up comedian. He is sometimes known by the Scots nickname the Big Yin ("the Big One"). Known for his idiosyncratic and of ...
and
Charles Rennie Mackintosh Charles Rennie Mackintosh (7 June 1868 – 10 December 1928) was a Scottish architect, designer, water colourist and artist. His artistic approach had much in common with European Symbolism. His work, alongside that of his wife Margaret Macd ...
. In 2008 ''
The Weekly Standard ''The Weekly Standard'' was an American neoconservative political magazine of news, analysis, and commentary that was published 48 times per year. Originally edited by founders Bill Kristol and Fred Barnes, the ''Standard'' was described as a ...
'' parodied the bailout of the financial markets by publishing a memo where Scrooge applies to the TARP program. An
extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit (e.g., money or goods) through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, although making unfounded ...
ist named Arno Funke targeted German department store chain
Karstadt Karstadt Warenhaus GmbH was a German department store chain whose headquarters were in Essen. Until 30 September 2010 the company was a subsidiary of Arcandor, Arcandor AG (which was known until 30 June 2007 as KarstadtQuelle AG) and was respo ...
from 1992 until his capture in 1994, under the alias "Dagobert", the German (first) name for Scrooge McDuck. In the ''
Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on January 31, 1999, following Super Bowl XXXIII, with the rest of the first season airing from April 11, 1999. Th ...
'' episode " Lottery Fever", Peter injures himself trying to dive into a pile of coins like Scrooge McDuck. In the 2013 episode of ''
Breaking Bad ''Breaking Bad'' is an American crime drama television series created and produced by Vince Gilligan for AMC (TV channel), AMC. Set and filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the series follows Walter White (Breaking Bad), Walter White (Bryan Cran ...
'', " Buried", Saul Goodman associate Patrick Kuby remarks to fellow associate Huell Babineaux "we are here to do a job, not channel Scrooge McDuck" when Huell lies down on Walter White's pile of cash stored in a storage facility locker. In the '' Clarence'' episode "Clarence's Millions", Clarence dreams that he swims in money like Scrooge McDuck only on a pile of bills instead of coins until a money monster chases him. ''Dagobertducktaks'' ("Dagobert Duck" is the Dutch name for Scrooge McDuck), a tax for the wealthy, was elected Dutch word of the year 2014 in a poll by
Van Dale ''Van Dale Great Dictionary of the Dutch Language'' (, ), called ' (, ) for short, is the leading dictionary of the Dutch language. The latest edition was published in April 2022. History Van Dale's dictionary was first published after the dea ...
. In August 2017, the YouTube channel ''Film Theory'', hosted by Matthew "MatPat" Patrick, estimated the worth of the gold coins in the money bin of Scrooge McDuck based on four sources, with the lowest source equaling $52,348,493,767.50 and the highest source ("three cubic acres") equaling $333,927,633,863,527.10 of gold value.


Scrooge McDuck Universe

The popularity of Scrooge McDuck comics spawned an entire mythology around the character, including new supporting characters, adventures, and life experiences as told by numerous authors. The popularity of the
Duck universe The Donald Duck universe is a fictional shared universe which is the setting of stories involving Disney cartoon character Donald Duck, as well as Daisy Duck, Huey, Dewey, and Louie, Scrooge McDuck, and many other characters. Life in the Donal ...
– the fandom term for the associated intellectual properties that have developed from Scrooge's stories over the years, including the city of Duckburg – has led Don Rosa to claim that "in the beginning Scrooge wedhis existence to his nephew Donald, but that has changed and today it's Donald that weshis existence to Scrooge." In addition to the many original and existing characters in stories about Scrooge McDuck, authors have frequently led historical figures to meet Scrooge over the course of his life. Most notably, Scrooge has met US president
Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...
. Roosevelt and Scrooge would meet each other at least three times: in the Dakotas in 1883, in Duckburg in 1902, and in Panama in 1906. ''See Historical Figures in Scrooge McDuck stories''. Based on writer
Don Rosa Keno Don Hugo Rosa (), known as Don Rosa (born June 29, 1951), is an American comic book writer and illustrator known for his comics about Scrooge McDuck and other Disney comics, Disney characters. Many of his stories are built on characters an ...
's '' The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck'', a popular timeline chronicling Scrooge's adventures was created consisting of the most important "facts" about Scrooge's life. ''See Scrooge McDuck timeline according to Don Rosa''. In 2014, composer
Tuomas Holopainen Tuomas Lauri Johannes Holopainen (born 25 December 1976) is a Finnish musician, songwriter, and record producer, best known as the primary songwriter, keyboardist, and founding member of symphonic metal band Nightwish. He has stated that his son ...
of
Nightwish Nightwish is a Finnish symphonic metal band from Kitee. The band was formed in 1996 by lead songwriter and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, and former lead singer Tarja Turunen. The band soon picked up drummer Jukka Neval ...
released a conceptual album based on the book, '' The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck''. The album is titled '' Music Inspired by the Life and Times of Scrooge''.
Don Rosa Keno Don Hugo Rosa (), known as Don Rosa (born June 29, 1951), is an American comic book writer and illustrator known for his comics about Scrooge McDuck and other Disney comics, Disney characters. Many of his stories are built on characters an ...
illustrated the cover artwork for the album.


In other media

Although first established as a character in the comic books, Scrooge has also appeared in various other mediums.
Carl Barks Carl Barks (March 27, 1901 – August 25, 2000) was an American cartoonist, author, and painter. He is best known for his work in Disney comics, Disney comic books, as the writer and artist of the first Donald Duck stories and as the creator of ...
created an earlier film prototype of Scrooge while working as the lead story man (
writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...
/
designer A designer is a person who plans the form or structure of something before it is made, by preparing drawings or plans. In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, products, processes, laws, games, graphics, services, or exper ...
) of the early ''Donald Duck'' cartoons. The prototype was featured in the animated short, '' The Spirit of '43''. Scrooge's voice was first heard on the 1960 record album ''Donald Duck and His Friends;'' Dal McKennon voiced the character for this appearance. It took the form of a short dramatization called "Uncle Scrooge's Rocket to the Moon", a story of how Scrooge builds a rocket to send all his money to the moon to protect it from the Beagle Boys. In 1961 this story was reissued as a 45rpm single record entitled "Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge's Money Rocket." Initially, Scrooge was to make his animated debut in the Donald Duck theatrical cartoons. Late in 1954, Carl Barks was asked by the Disney Studios if he would be free to write a script for a Scrooge McDuck 7-minute animated cartoon. Scrooge was a huge success in the comic books at the time, and Disney now wanted to introduce the miserly duck to theater audiences as well. Barks supplied the studios with a detailed 9-page script, telling the story of the happy-go-lucky Donald Duck working for the troubled Scrooge who tries to save his money from a hungry rat. Barks also sent number of sketches of his ideas for the short, including a money-sorting machine, which Barks had already used on the cover of one of the Uncle Scrooge issues. The script was never used as Disney soon after decided to concentrate on TV shows instead. Scrooge's first appearance in animated form (save for a brief '' Mickey Mouse Club'' television series cameo) was in Disney's 1967 theatrical short '' Scrooge McDuck and Money'' (voiced by Bill Thompson), in which he teaches his nephews basic financial tips. In 1974,
Disneyland Records Walt Disney Records is an American record label owned by the Disney Music Group. The label releases soundtrack albums from the Walt Disney Company's motion picture studios, television shows, theme parks and traditional studio albums produced b ...
released an adaptation of the
Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...
' ''
A Christmas Carol ''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. It recounts the ...
''. Eight years later,
Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Pictures is an American film Film production company, production company and subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios (division), the Walt Disney Studios, a division of Disney Entertainment, which is owned by the Walt Disney Company. The st ...
produced a
featurette In the American film industry, a featurette is a kind of film that is shorter than a full-length feature, but longer than a short film. The term may refer to either of two types of content: a shorter film or a companion film. Medium-length film ...
of this same story, this time dubbed '' Mickey's Christmas Carol'' (1983). He also appeared as himself in the television special '' Sport Goofy in Soccermania'' (1987). Scrooge's biggest role outside comics would come in the 1987
animated series An animated series, or a cartoon series, is a set of Animation, animated films with a common title, usually related to one another. These episodes typically share the same main heroes, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series ...
''
DuckTales DuckTales refers to: Film and television * ''DuckTales'' (1987 TV series), original TV series ** '' DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp'' * ''DuckTales'' (2017 TV series), reboot TV series Video games * ''DuckTales'' (video game) ...
'', a series loosely based on Carl Barks's comics, and where
Alan Young Alan Young (born Angus Young; November 19, 1919 – May 19, 2016) was a British-born actor. Young is best known for portraying Wilbur Post in the television comedy '' Mister Ed'' (1961–1966) and voicing Disney's Scrooge McDuck for over ...
returned to voice him. In this series, premiered over two-hours on September 18, 1987, while the regular episodes began three days later, Scrooge becomes the legal guardian of Huey, Dewey and Louie when Donald joins the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
. Scrooge's ''DuckTales'' persona is considerably mellow compared to most previous appearances; his aggression is played down and his often duplicitous personality is reduced in many episodes to that of a curmudgeonly but well-meaning old uncle. Still, there are flashes of Barks' Scrooge to be seen, particularly in early episodes of the first season. Scrooge also appeared in '' DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp'', released during the series' run. He was mentioned in the '' Darkwing Duck'' episode "Tiff of the Titans", but never really seen, apart from on a billboard in Duckburg, in the aforementioned episode. He has appeared in some episodes of ''
Raw Toonage ''Raw Toonage'' is an American animated cartoon program that premiered on CBS on September 19, and ended on December 5, 1992, after 12 episodes or 39 shorts and segments had been broadcast. The program was preceded by a ''He's Bonkers'' theatri ...
'', two shorts of ''
Mickey Mouse Works ''Mickey Mouse Works'' (also known as ''Disney's Mickey Mouse Works'' or simply ''Mouse Works'') is an American animated television series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation featuring Mickey Mouse and his friends in a series of anima ...
'' and some episodes (specially "House of Scrooge") of ''
House of Mouse ''Disney's House of Mouse'' (or simply ''House of Mouse'') is an American animated television series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation that originally aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC and Toon Disney from January 13, 2001 ...
'', as well as the
direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, television series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strat ...
films '' Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas'' and '' Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas''. His video game appearances include the three ''DuckTales'' releases (''
DuckTales DuckTales refers to: Film and television * ''DuckTales'' (1987 TV series), original TV series ** '' DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp'' * ''DuckTales'' (2017 TV series), reboot TV series Video games * ''DuckTales'' (video game) ...
'', ''
DuckTales 2 ''DuckTales 2'' is a platform video game developed and published by Capcom. It is a sequel to the original ''DuckTales'' based on the Disney animated series of the same name. It was released on the Famicom in early 1993 and on the Nintendo Ent ...
'', and '' DuckTales: The Quest for Gold''), and in '' Toontown Online'' as the accidental creator of the Cogs. Additionally, he is a secret playable character in 2008 quiz game, '' Disney TH!NK Fast''. In the 2012
Nintendo 3DS The is a foldable dual-screen handheld game console produced by Nintendo. Announced in March 2010 as the successor to the Nintendo DS, the console was released originally on February 26, 2011 and went through various revisions in its lifetime, ...
game '' Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion'', he is one of the first characters Mickey rescues, running a shop in the fortress selling upgrades and serving as a Sketch summon in which he uses his cane pogostick from the ''DuckTales'' NES games. Scrooge also makes sporadic appearances in Disney's and
Square Enix is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational holding company, video game publisher and entertainment conglomerate. It releases role-playing video game, role-playing game franchises, such as ''Final Fantasy'', ''Dragon Quest'', and '' ...
's ''Kingdom Hearts'' series, helping Mickey Mouse establish a world transit system to expand his business empire to other worlds. He first appears in ''Kingdom Hearts II'' as a minor non-playable character in Hollow Bastion, where he is trying to recreate his favorite ice cream flavor – sea-salt. Scrooge later appears in the prequel ''Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep'', this time with a speaking role. He works on establishing an ice-cream business in Radiant Garden and gives Ventus (Kingdom Hearts), Ventus three passes to the Dream Festival in Disney Town. Scrooge returns in ''
Kingdom Hearts III is a 2019 action role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows, and Nintendo Switch. It is the third main installment in the '' Kingdom Hearts'' series and the twelfth game overall, and ser ...
'', now managing a bistro in Twilight Town with the help of Remy from ''Ratatouille (film), Ratatouille''. Alan Young reprises the role in the English version of ''Birth by Sleep'', while Enn Reitel voices the character in ''III''. Scrooge has appeared in the Boom! Studios '' Darkwing Duck'' comic, playing a key role at the end of its initial story, "The Duck Knight Returns". Later he would also play a key role on the final story arc "Dangerous Currency", where he teams up with Darkwing Duck in order to stop the Phantom Blot and Magica De Spell from taking over St. Canard and Duckburg. In 2015, Scrooge was seen in the ''
Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an American cartoon character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime icon and mascot of the Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red shorts, large shoes, and white ...
'' short "Goofy's First Love", where Mickey and Donald are trying to help Goofy find his love. Donald suggests money, and they head over to Scrooge's mansion where Donald tells his uncle that Goofy needs a million dollars. Scrooge then has his butler kick them out. When Goofy is inadvertently launched from a treadmill and catapulted off another building, he lands in Scrooge's mansion. The butler kicks Goofy out and the process repeats itself but this time Mickey and Donald are catapulted as well and kicked out by the butler. Scrooge is seen at the end attending Goofy's wedding with a sandwich. In the 2016 ''Mickey Mouse'' Christmas special, "Duck the Halls", after Young's death, John Kassir took over voicing Scrooge McDuck, however he later Twitter, tweeted that he would not be reprising his role in the reboot. Kassir continues to voice the character in subsequent appearances in this series. Scrooge makes a cameo appearance in the ''
Legend of the Three Caballeros ''Legend of the Three Caballeros'' is a 2018 animated television series based on the 1944 animated Disney film '' The Three Caballeros'', but depicted as a spin-off of the 2017 '' DuckTales'' reboot. As with the original film, the series features ...
'' episode "Shangri-La-Di-Da". Scrooge also has a cameo appearance with his outfit from ''Mickey's Christmas Carol'' in the 2023 short film ''Once Upon a Studio''.


See also


Comics

* Clan McDuck and the Duck family (Disney), Duck family * ''
Uncle Scrooge ''Uncle Scrooge'' (stylized as ''Uncle $crooge'') is a Disney comic book series starring Scrooge McDuck ("the richest duck in the world"), his nephew Donald Duck, and grandnephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie, and revolving around their adventures in ...
'' (comic book) /
Disney comics Disney comics are comic books and comic strips featuring characters created by the Walt Disney Company, including Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Scrooge McDuck. The first Disney comics were newspaper strips appearing from 1930 on, starting with t ...
*
Carl Barks Carl Barks (March 27, 1901 – August 25, 2000) was an American cartoonist, author, and painter. He is best known for his work in Disney comics, Disney comic books, as the writer and artist of the first Donald Duck stories and as the creator of ...
– foundational comics artist/writer; created Scrooge *
Don Rosa Keno Don Hugo Rosa (), known as Don Rosa (born June 29, 1951), is an American comic book writer and illustrator known for his comics about Scrooge McDuck and other Disney comics, Disney characters. Many of his stories are built on characters an ...
– popular comics artist/writer of the following generation * '' The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck'', by Don Rosa * '' Music Inspired by the Life and Times of Scrooge'' * Inducks – Disney comics database / Donaldism – Disney comics fandom


Animation

* '' Scrooge McDuck and Money'' (1967) – Theatrical film * '' Mickey's Christmas Carol'' (1983) – Theatrical film * '' Sport Goofy in Soccermania'' (1987) – TV special * ''
DuckTales DuckTales refers to: Film and television * ''DuckTales'' (1987 TV series), original TV series ** '' DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp'' * ''DuckTales'' (2017 TV series), reboot TV series Video games * ''DuckTales'' (video game) ...
'' (1987) – TV series * '' DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp'' (1990) – Theatrical film * '' Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas'' (2004) – Direct-to-video film * ''
DuckTales DuckTales refers to: Film and television * ''DuckTales'' (1987 TV series), original TV series ** '' DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp'' * ''DuckTales'' (2017 TV series), reboot TV series Video games * ''DuckTales'' (video game) ...
'' (2017) – TV series


Notes


Further reading

* ''Uncle Scrooge McDuck: His Life and Times'', deluxe reprint volume; Edward Summer (editor), Celestial Arts 1981 * ''The Carl Barks Library'', Another Rainbow Publishing 1984 * ''The Complete Carl Barks Disney Library'', Fantagraphics 2011 * ''Carl Barks and the Disney Comic Book'', University Press of Mississippi, Thomas Andrae 2006
''An Informal Biography of Scrooge McDuck''
Jack Chalker, Mirage Press 1974 * ''How to Read Donald Duck: Imperialist Ideology in the Disney Comic'', Ariel Dorfman, Dorfman & Armand Mattelart, Mattelart, International General 1975 (Communist propaganda) * ''Scrooge McDuck Capitalist and Proud of it!'', Goldbrick & Bond, USA-International Publications 2004 (Capitalist rebuttal of How to Read Donald Duck)


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:McDuck, Scrooge Scrooge McDuck, Clan McDuck Donald Duck universe characters Disney comics characters Anthropomorphic ducks Characters created by Carl Barks Comics characters introduced in 1947 Fictional adventurers Fictional billionaires Fictional businesspeople in comics Fictional characters from Calisota Fictional characters from the 19th century Fictional characters from the 20th century Fictional explorers Fictional immigrants to the United States Fictional misers Fictional people from Glasgow Fictional people with acquired American citizenship Fictional philanthropists Fictional treasure hunters Fictional stick-fighters Male characters in comics Male characters in animation Scottish comics characters Scottish male characters in television