Forbes has done its annual Fictional 15 ranking of the richest fictional characters. Why? It doesn't matter why. #1 is, as you'd expect, Scrooge McDuck, and #2 is Carlisle Cullen who, I am told, is one of the sparkly vampires in that sparkly vampire series that delved into important issues like how important it is to have a boyfriend.
But lest you think they just make it up, Michael Noer delves into the case of Smaug, that mighty dragon from "The Hobbit" (obviously Tolkein's best work - how anyone read "The Lord of the Rings" is beyond me. After the 50th Tom Bombadil song in "The Two Towers" I skipped to the last book) who provides the ring to Bilbo Baggins that gets Frodo in so much trouble later.
He starts with “O Smaug, the unassessably wealthy” and gets into what a dragon that size may be able to lie on top of and does a calculation. The result: Well, a lot, V= 1/3 π r2 h = 1/3 * π * 9.62 * 7 = 675.6 cubic feet of gold, silver and various treasure. But seeing the answer is not fun. Seeing how he did it is, so go check it out.
