6

In Ducktales, Gladstone Gander has fantastic luck. He finds 20 dollar bills wherever he goes, every business deal he makes is successful, and so on.

So over time he should be richer than uncle Scrooge. Why isn't he?

Improve this question
6
  • 1
    It's possible he is. I don't recall the saga of uncle scrooge to ever specifically state just how much he is worth. Him or anyone else for that matter. It's always implied
    – Kai Qing
    Nov 14, 2017 at 22:14
  • 1
    Scrooge McDuck is the richest duck in the world. Followed by Flintheart Glomgold. This is basic Ducktales canon.
    – TheAsh
    Nov 14, 2017 at 22:21
  • 1
    It's stated that way but they don't disclose actual figures. Considering one of the two has a portion of their wealth contained in a giant tower in cash which is tallied by way of greed based ESP it seems logical to say that over the undocumented happenstance of always finding money, etc, the grey area happens to bend in favor of Gander from time to time. Unless scrooge just knows with the same ESP he knows the full worth of his tower, or just that the duck world holds one axiomatic truth, then we can only assume it is possible he has been surpassed once or twice, but just doesn't know it
    – Kai Qing
    Nov 14, 2017 at 22:37
  • 2
    @KaiQing - It's stated (repeatedly) that Scrooge is the richest of the billionaire's club by a country mile. The only times that he's surpassed are on the (actually pretty common, now that I come to think of it) occasions that he inadvertently becomes bankrupt.
    – Valorum
    Nov 14, 2017 at 23:02
  • 1
    I get what they state. He's asking that based on that luck of Gander, why is he not richer. It's conceivable that he was at some point, but since they never choose to address that, the answer is that either we cannot know because Gander's character doesn't care to disclose, or that he plain and simply never was. His character is lazy, so to accumulate mass wealth and surpass Scrooge is not in his interest. His luck may theoretically allow him to do so, but he has been known to fail at his endeavors and just back out. I'd guess the -1 is because OP may not know Gander's bio fully
    – Kai Qing
    Nov 14, 2017 at 23:17

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
22

Gladstone doesn't care about being rich. He relies almost solely on his luck to get him what he needs or wants at the moment. Who cares about being rich if you've got everything you want (that money could buy)? Well, OK, Scrooge would, for one - but it's pretty clear from his attitude that Gladstone doesn't.

In fact, I vaguely recall a story (in the comics - no, I don't have the reference handy on that one) that showed that Gladstone's luck wasn't reliable if he tried too hard - that it only worked as long as he kept his laissez-faire attitude.

This story might be “Trail of the Unicorn”; here, Gladstone tries to cheat Donald out of some money. Gladstone theorizes that cheating is a form of work, and that’s why his scheme fails. (Thanks to McTroopers for the tip).

Improve this answer
2
  • 3
    Plus, it might work like Niven's Known Space luck, where one of the things it does is prevent the person from rising too high lest they become a target. Scrooge has to constantly defend his money. Gladstone doesn't.
    – FuzzyBoots
    Nov 16, 2017 at 19:34
  • 1
    I think the story where it is stated that Gladstone's luck doesn't function if he tries too hard is Trail of the Unicorn : if I recall correctly, in that story Gladstone states that his tricks use to fail because treachery is a form of work...
    – McTroopers
    Mar 2, 2021 at 20:42
7

No effort to save or even keep much money

In the season 3 DuckTales (2017) episode "The Phantom and the Sorceress!" Gladstone temporarily has his luck drained. We see a flashback to right after this occurs. He goes into a restaurant expecting to be the 1,000st customer and given a free meal. When they expect payment, he shows that his wallet is empty. He then complains that "not one $20 bill conveniently flew in."

enter image description here

He goes to an ATM and only gets the $20 he asked for, instead of the "usual sack of rubies."

The season 2 episode "Treasure of the Found Lamp" contains a similar scene where he wants to purchase an item and presents an empty wallet, only for a $20 bill to fly in.

enter image description here

Based on these episodes, it would seem that Gladstone is constantly wandering through life accepting things as they come to him. Since he always gets what he wants in the moment, he has no reason to accumulate anything. Therefore his savings never reach the ludicrous levels of Scrooge, who very actively adds to and maintains his collection.

Improve this answer

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.