From Joh Fredersen in Metropolis to Gordon Gekko in Wall Street, and Charles Foster Kane in Citizen Kane to Noah Cross in Chinatown, Hollywood has just about covered the spectrum of wealthy individuals. Some of the characters seek power, others want world domination, a few just want to have fun, while others are just plain assholes. We tried to put aside any bias we have against a certain movie or potential motivation in order to put together a list of likable and unlikeable fictional characters. Basically, it came down to who we would want to hang out with . . .
Likeable
Arthur Bach (Arthur w/Dudley Moore) 
A heir to a vast fortune who must marry into another prominent family or lose his claim to the money.
Why We Like Him: The life of the party never gives into the demands of his greedy family. Arthur needs to grow up, but he is one of the few decent people in his world. Did we mention he likes to have a drink or two and pick up hookers?
Tony Stark (Iron Man)
The man who took Stark Industries to the next level after his father passed away.
Why We Like Him: Self-absorbed, cocky, selfish . . . these are typically traits that would land a character in the “Un-likable” category. Yet, we root for Stark to succeed. Stark is fearless inside and outside of the metal suit. Can a guy build weapons of mass destruction AND protect the world? Sure . . . why not? Plus, he might have some of the best digs in wealthy fictional character history.
Bruce Wayne (Batman)
After his parents are murdered, Bruce Wayne becomes the sole heir to Wayne Enterprises.
Why We Like Him: The only business Wayne conducts is at night in a Bat-Suit. Wayne never flaunts his money and is often a recluse when he is not jumping off of roof-tops at night. Wayne is often the smartest person in the room, but he never lets he ego get the best of him.
Willy Wonka (Willie Wonka & the Chocolate Factory w/Gene Wilder)
The inventor of Wonka bars and the sweetest (no pun intended) factory in the world.
Why We Like Him: The ultimate eccentric breaks-out into random songs, controls a seemingly unlimited amount of Oompa-Loompas, and has no tolerance for spoiled kids. In fact, Wonka seemingly has no reservations about having a kid dropped into the bad-egg dumpster or rolled out after nearly exploding. What’s not to like? Wonka only loses his temper when he feels betrayed by Charlie (and only because he wants someone he can trust to have his factory).
Gomez Addams (The Addams Family)
The patriarch of the Addams Family has unlimited funds and no one knows where it comes from.
Why We Like Him: Nothing brings this man down. Gomez is the ultimate optimist who never concerns himself with wealth or power. Extremely generous and well versed in just about every form of combat. Gomez is endlessly in love with his wife and family . . . He trusts everyone until they betray him. Gomez could be the most likeable of the wealthy characters.
Tony Montana (Scarface)
A self-made kingpin who works his way up the ranks trafficking drugs.
Why We Like Him: 2 quotes from the man himself automatically land him in the likeable category . . .
- “In this country, you gotta make the money first. Then when you get the money, you get the power. Then when you get the power, then you get the women.”
- “All I have in this world is my balls and my word, and I don’t break ‘em for no one.”
Dr. Evil (Austin Powers)
The head of the Virtucon Empire.
Why We Like Him: Virtucon is a thriving business thanks to well-played investments by Number 2 and a major stake in Starbucks. Yet, instead of sitting back and cashing in, Dr. Evil seeks world domination . . . and $1 million dollars.
Montgomery Brewster (Brewster’s Millions):
A minor league baseball player who is left $300 million by his great uncle . . . only if he can spend $30 million in 30 days. It could happen . . .
Why We Like Him: Brewster passes on $1 million dollars to take on the $30 million dollar challenge. The real scumbags are the attorneys hoping he fails. Before the deal, Brewster never earned more than $11,000 a year. Eventually, Brewster becomes fed up with money and learns his lesson. A wealthy individual who has learned the error of his ways is always a pleasant person to have around (see Ebenezer Scrooge).
Akeem Joffer (Coming To America)
An African Prince.
Why We Like Him: Prince Akeem comes to New York City to find a woman who doesn’t love him for his money. In the process, he lives in a rundown apartment (until Semmi redesigns the place with a posh early 90′s makeover), works at McDonalds, stops a robbery in progress, and prevents the woman he loves from making a mistake by marrying Darryl Jenkins.
Auric Goldfinger (Goldfinger)
A wealthy man with a strange fetish for gold.
Why We Like Him: Most Bond villains are obsessed with world domination, but Goldfinger flat-out wants gold. His plan to break into Fort Knox is near perfect (if only James Bond wasn’t around) and he paints his victims gold . . . W
Unlikeable
Brit Reid (The Green Hornet)
Heir to a successful publishing company who takes over after his father is killed.
Why We Don’t Like Him: Perhaps Reid is the antithesis of Bruce Wayne . . . It’s hard to like a guy who has been spoiled his whole life and relies on his sidekick to do all the dirty work. His alter-ego is flat out lame . . . (Probably the most unlikeable Seth Rogen has ever been in a movie).
Richie Rich (Richie Rich)
The son of Richard Regina Rich Sr . . . wealthy inventor and philanthropist.
Why We Don’t Like Him: We just can’t get on-board with a kid strutting around his ridiculous mansion in a tuxedo. Richie spends his day doing unbelievably awesome things around the Rich complex . . . never working a day in life.
Jay Gatsby (The Great Gatsby)
A self-made millionaire who made his fortune bootlegging.
Why We Don’t Like Him: Gatsby’s background should put him in the likeable category. Unfortunately, he is just too cool for his own good. No one is sweet enough to throw parties and not make an appearance . . .
John Hammond (Jurassic Park)
Eccentric CEO of InGen.
Why We Don’t Like Him: Anyone who thinks he can regenerate Dinosaurs and not run into a problem is an idiot. Hammond never learns his lesson and evolves into a madman instead of a genius. You know you have lost your mind when you send a team to a 2nd island (The Lost World).
Future Biff Tannen (Back to the Future II)
Bumbling idiot who makes a fortune betting on races and games after his older self hands him a sports almanac.
Why We Don’t Like Him: Tannen squanders a golden opportunity after being handed a fortune. What does Tannen do? Well . . . He stays in Hill Valley, marries his high-school sweetheart, builds a high-rise hotel in the middle of a ghost town, constructs a Biff Tannen museum, and keeps the same three goons around. He also blows the opportunity kill the one person that can go back in time and stop him . . .
Danny Ocean (Ocean’s 11)
A master thief who makes a fortune doing elaborate jobs.
Why We Don’t Like Him: On the surface Ocean is a likeable guy. He helps his friends and is willing to take a beating and go to jail to get a job done. Yet, things just always seem to go his way when the deck is stacked against him. It’s hard to gauge what kind of person he really is without facing any real adversity.
Jeffery Lebowski (The Big Lebowski)
The “other” Jeffery Lebowski is a wealthy business man.
Why We Don’t Like Him: The man takes advantage of The Dude after a case of mistaken identity. A mansion, an assistant, and a young wife he wants to have killed . . . how stereotypical.
Daniel Plainview (There Will Be Blood)
Self-made oil tycoon.
Why We Don’t Like Him: A madman who never gets enough. Plainview basically disowns his son for losing his hearing and kills people (and land) without any reservations. Three hours of any character can be a little much.
Longfellow Deeds (Mr. Deeds)
Preston Blake’s long lost nephew who inherits a fortune.
Why We Don’t Like Him: Deeds might just be the most gullible person on the planet. He could be one of the nicest people you would meet, but they guy needs to get out of Neverland.
Willy Wonka (Charlie & the Chocolate Factory w/Johnny Depp)
A creative candymaker who makes his own fortune after leaving his estranged father.
Why We Don’t Like Him: This is the Wonka we don’t want to hang out with. Just plain weird.
Source : CMP Original
