How Much Would It Cost To Be Bruce Wayne?

Being Gotham's preeminent billionaire playboy-slash-secret vigilante for justice ain't easy, and it definitely ain't cheap.

Thanks to some intrepid and geeky economics students at Lehigh University who crunched the numbers to determine the value of a modern-day Wayne Enterprises, it's estimated that Bruce Wayne's net worth is somewhere near $11.6 billion. That means, if he were an actual person and living today, he'd be the 100th richest man on earth.

But for those of us who didn't inherit our murdered parents' fortunes, how big would your bank account need to be to merely kick it like Bruce (Christopher Nolan's version) on a typical day? We did our own rough calculations to find out.

Housing: Upwards of $32 million

First thing's first: the bachelor pad. If you’re going to pull off the lifestyle you’ll need your very own Tudor Gothic mansion like Wayne Manor. The exterior shots for the latter two films in Nolan’s trilogy are of Mentmore Towers in Buckinghamshire, UK, which was recently appraised by a real estate website for $32 million. Interiors, though, were shot at the opulent Osterley Park House outside London, which would have certainly jacked the price. We spoke to an architect who actually builds these types of homes to weigh in on a set of fictional blueprints (from a slightly different Wayne Manor) and he concurs: "He's got a 1st floor of 8,750 square feet, a 2nd floor of 3,600 square feet, plus his Batcave at 12,000 square feet totals out to 24,350. Total cost has to be at least $1,000 per square foot, so $24,350,000 minimum."

Since we're discussing Bruce Wayne, we're not factoring in the cost of a Bat Cave (or any Batman-related costs).

Live-In Butler: Around $150,000 Per Year

As much as he loves you, Alfred doesn’t work for free. If you consider a personal butler is paid upwards of $150,000 per year on average, it's safe to assume you'll be compensating your beloved Alfred at least that much.

Wardrobe: $21,000

If you're dressing like Bruce Wayne on any given day, you're wearing a made-to-measure Armani suit. On the cheap, those babies will set you back at least $3,000 each. One for every day of the week, plus dress shoes and casual duds? That's big money.

Cars: $786,200

Bruce drives a different Lamborghini in each of the three Nolan films, suggesting he owns at least three of them. The cost of a new Aventador ($397,500), a Murcielago roadster ($198,800), and a Murcielago LP640 ($189,000) is nearly $800K, and that's without factoring in whatever else he's got parked in the garage.

Philanthropy: $varies

Overseeing the Wayne Foundation, the Thomas Wayne Foundation, and the Martha Wayne Foundation, you'll be busy raising money for charities that cover the spectrum of causes. You'll be throwing lots of galas and fundraisers to bring in the money, and likely contributing a good deal yourself every year.

Fitness: $52,440 per year

To get ripped like Bruce you'll need access to a world-class martial arts instructor and trainer, who on average charge at least $60 per hour. Consider that you're training three hours a day, four days per week and that's well over $35,000 per year. This also presumes that you have an at-home gym, which would likely set you back at least $15,000, on the conservative side.

Travel: $2,700 per hour

While Bruce doesn't seem to fly all that often (save for the flight out of China in Batman Begins), there's no way he's flying commercial. That means owning a jet, or at least chartering one every time you need to skip town. A mid-size private jet from Pentastar Aviation starts at $2,700 an hour.

So how much would it cost to live like Bruce Wayne for a year? Approximately $33,074,940. Holy big money, Batman!


Joe McGauley is a senior editor at Supercompressor. Shockingly, he cannot afford to be Bruce Wayne.