“Arthur,” the Russell Brand-helmed remake of Dudley Moore’s 1981 classic, drunkenly stumbles into theaters today. The reboot follows Brand as the curiously appealing alcoholic man-child billionaire protagonist through a bevy of betrothal pitfalls, and features an all-star cast including Helen Mirren, Jennifer Garner and the adorable Greta Gerwig, not to mention some hilariously over-the-top turns from Nick Nolte and Luis Guzman.
Brand’s winning turn as a loveable billionaire in “Arthur” got us thinking about some of the other big-screen billionaires we love -- and not just for their money! Here are five of our favorites after the jump!
Bruce Wayne, “Batman”
He’s been embodied by Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney and Christian Bale, but we love this orphaned playboy most for using his deceased parents’ inheritance as start-up cash to create some wickedly cool gadgets, cars and outfits (that one year where he experimented with nipple-embellished armor doesn’t count) to assist him in fighting the crime of corrupt Gotham City with flair.
Navin R. Johnson, “The Jerk”
He may have been “born a poor black child,” but this adopted white son of African American sharecroppers unwittingly fixes the slippery glasses of one of his gas station customers, eventually becoming his partner in the successful endeavor that is the “Opti-Grab.” The zany, wholly entertaining arc of naïve Navin will have you wholeheartedly repeating his mantra, “That’s all I need!”
Tony Stark, “Iron Man”
While most privileged pansies would slink into the confines of their 1,500 thread count sheets after suffering a kidnapping that results in an electromagnet-embedded heart condition, Stark sucks it up and gets technical on misfortune’s ass, donning an arc reactor-powered suit of armor to transform into the evil-obliterating Iron Man.
Prince Akeem Joffer, “Coming to America”
The prince of Zamunda employs an assistant to clean his… ehem… manly bits in the bath. That pretty much qualifies him for every possible bro-tastic honor a billionaire could wish for, but his rationale for moving to New York City in search of a bride seals it. As Prince Akeem so astutely notes, “What better place to find a Queen than in the city of Queens?” Well played, sir.
Willy Wonka, "Willy Wonka/Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"
If we had unlimited sums of money, we’d totally build our own LSD trip of a chocolate factory, start a competition amongst local village children to win a tour of our highly-guarded operation, then test the contestants’ strength of character with any number of weird, tasty morality-busting traps. Also: Oompa-Loompa employees. We say no more.
Who are some of your favorite loveable movie billionaires? Tell us in the comments and on Twitter!
