Considering the fact Stan Lee helped create pretty much every single one of the world's most popular superheroes and has an executive producer credit on almost every Marvel movie, you wouldn't think that money would be an issue for him. However, a new report from The Daily Beast reveals that his finances are in a state of disarray because people around Lee are taking advantage of the elderly creator of beloved characters like Spider-Man, the X-Men, The Avengers, and The Incredible Hulk.
One anonymous source describes the situation as "a real f***ing mess" and notes that over the past few months, Lee has lost $1.4 million due to technical issues with a wire transfer, while $300,000 was removed from one of Lee's bank accounts with an allegedly unauthorized cheque made out to Hands of Respect, a company owned by his daughter JC's former business partner, Jerry Olivarez.
That was founded by Lee and Olivarez but the former claims to have not seen any profits from the company despite the fact that a promise was made that it would generate a lot of money. Is Olivarez a con-man? Who knows but sources tell the site that a lot of people are now in Stan and his daughter's life, taking advantage of them in a big to make money off the vulnerable comic book creator.
"[JC’s] she’s never met a con man she doesn’t like, you know?" notes the so-called family insider. "Stan is not a whole lot better. Maybe their contemporaries and friends are all dead, and now they just have a bunch of hangers-on and sketchy-ass people hanging around. I have the feeling that he has been taken by everyone in the world."
Unfortunately, this means there's a very real chance Lee's final years could be full of stress, legal battles, and sketchy characters who want to leave him destitute.