Some Of The Richest Manga Artists In The World

Mangaka (漫画家)

Manga are a type of Japanese art, or comics, they’re essentially graphic novels but with their own unique “Japan style”. These incredible, often highly intricate, creations started appearing in Japan around the late 19th century. Today if you go to Japan Manga is everywhere and it’s used for all kinds of entertainment purposes. Some manga are not for the faint of heart with graphic illustrations and often dark themes.

10. Jyoji Morikawa
Net Worth: $1 million

Jyoji Morikawa or George Morikawa is a manga author for the series Hajime no Ippo, which has been serialized by Kodansha in Weekly Shonen Magazine since October 1989. It is a boxing manga written and illustrated by Morikawa and there are 133 tankobon volumes as as of January 2022. This manga depicts the story of Makunouchi Ippo and his career in boxing depicting his wins and defeats in the sport.

Between October 2000 to March 2002, a 76-episode anime adaptation was produced by Madhouse Inc. a Japanese animation studio and aired on Nippon TV.

A television film and an original video animation were released in 2003. A second series titled Hajime no Ippo: New Challenger aired from January to June 2009. A third series Hajime no Ippo: Rising aired from October 2013 to March 2014.

In North America, the first series was licensed by Geneon in 2003, which was released under the name Fighting Spirit.

As of January 2022, Jyoji Morikawa’s manga has 96 million copies in print, making it one of the most distributed series. In 1991, Morikawa won the 15th Kodansha Manga Award in the shōnen category for Hajime no Ippo.

Born on January 17, 1966. Morikawa is estimated to have a net worth of $1 million, as of 2023.

9. Keisuke Itagaki
Net Worth: $3 million

It’s not every day that one’s child is also a manga artist. Well, for Keisuke, his daughter, Paru Itagaki is the author of Beastars. Keisuke was born April 4, 1957.

Keisuke himself is the author of Grappler Baki which ran from 1991 to 1999 in four sequels. Grappler Baki sold well over 75 million copies. Baki the Grappler is a teenage fighter in a series of lethal combat competitions. It includes incredible depictions created by the artist. Although no further sequels were written after 1999, it is still very much in circulation today. Enjoyed by everyday people and fanatics alike.

In 1996, Itagaki began on Garoden, an original work by the Japanese science fiction and adventure writer. Garoden is a series of martial arts novels.

Keisuke Itagaki is thought to have built a formidable net worth for a manga artist of approximately $3 million, as of 2023.

8. Yoichi Takahashi
Net Worth: $5 million

Takahashi is best known for Captain Tsubasa about Tsubasa Oozora a manga footballer with dynamic and martial arts like moves. He is also known for his soccer series Hungry Heart: Wild Striker. Captain Tsubasa is widely recognized to have spread and popularized interest in football in Japan, especially among those who were not originally interested in the sport. Takahashi was a guest of FC Barcelona in 2016 when he visited. FC Barcelona is Oozora’s football club in the manga.

In volume sales, Captain Tsubasa and all ancillary works have earned an impressive $80 million or more in sales. He received the Honorary Citizen Award from Katsushika for his contributions to the city through his manga works.

Born July 28, 1960. Yoichi Takahashi is estimated to have a fortune of $5 million dollars, as of 2023.

7. Hirohiko Araki
Net Worth: $8 million

Hirohiko Araki is behind the manga series JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure and serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump from 1987 to 2004. The series is divided into eight storylines over a mini-series, with each storyline depicting the adventures of a new protagonist. Each protagonist has the nickname “JoJo”.

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is loved by its fans for its unique style and poses, references to Western popular music and fashion, and creative battles scenes and psycho-spiritual manifestations, with its protagonists and characters possessing supernatural abilities. The series has sold over 100 million copies in print to date, making it one of the best-selling manga series in history, and it has developed into a media franchise including one-shot manga, light novels, and video games. The manga, TV anime, and live-action film are licensed in North America by Viz Media, which has produced various English-language releases of the series since 2005.

This large following and distribution has made Hirohiko Araki its creator and illustrator a wealthy man, and we estimate that he has put away a nice nest egg built solely from his work on manga. Hirohiko Araki was born June 7, 1960. We estimate Hirohiko Araki has an estimated net worth of $8 million, as of 2023.

6. Masashi Kishimoto
Net Worth: $15 million

Naruto was serialized from 1999 to 2014 and sold over 250 million copies worldwide in 46 countries, as of January 2022. The series has also been made into anime, films, video games, and related media. The artist behind Naruto was Masahi Kishimoto who in 2019 started writing the manga Samurai 8: the Tale of Hachimaru.

Naruto is about a young ninja called Naruto Uzumaki who dreamed of being the leader of his village, while seeking recognition from his peers.

Born November 8, 1974, Masashi Kishimoto has always wanted to write his own manga and spent some years working to write his own shonen manga for Weekly Shonen Jump magazine.

With his success, Masashi Kishimoto is reported to have accumulated millions in assets.

HirMasashi Kishimoto has an estimated net worth of about $15 million, as of 2023.

5. Yoshihiro Togashi
Net Worth: $20 million

Togashi’s manga opus must be Hunter X Hunter which has 380 chapters, collected into 36 volumes by Shueisha Inc. Hunter x Hunter is about a young boy called Gon Freecss who discovered that his father who left him at a young age is actually a famous “Hunter”. In the manga, a Hunter is sort of a professional mercenary who is hired to locate rare animal species, treasure hunt, or bring in the lawless. Gon sets out to be a Hunter himself and in his many journeys, discovered his long-lost father.

Hunter x Hunter has been adapted into a 62-episode anime television series by Nippon Animation, with a second anime series produced by Madhouse Inc., which aired on Nippon Television from 2011 to 2014, covering a total of 148 episodes. There have also been theatrical films, audio albums, video games and musicals made of Hunter x Hunter.

Hunter x Hunter is a huge financial and critical success with over 79 million copies in circulation from 1998–2018. The series is currently on hiatus. All the same this manga has reached sales of almost $80 million dollars worldwide.

Born April 27, 1966. Yoshihiro Togashi has been able to amass a large personal fortune. Yoshihiro Togashi has an estimated net worth of $20 million, as of 2023.

4. Akira Toriyama
Net Worth: $30 million

Before Dragon Ball, Akira Toriyama created Dr. Slump which received mainstream recognition for its wide success. Dragon Ball is Toriyama’s best-known work which has become a hugely popular manga and media franchise. Dragon Ball was inspired by Chinese folklore Journey to the West and follows Son Goku from childhood through adult life. Son Goku trained in martial arts and lived in isolation until he met a girl called Bulma who he teamed up to scour the world for seven magical orbs called Dragon Balls.

Dragon Balls is to date the biggest cross-over to the West bring manga to the forefront of the US in a way no other manga has been able to.

Akira Toriyama is also responsible for the character designs of the huge Dragon Quest video game series.

Born April 5, 1955, Akira Toriyama has created and illustrated over 40 mangas in his career. Akira Toriyama is estimated to be worth $30 million, as of 2023.

3. Gosho Aoyama
Net Worth: $35 million

Detective Conan follows the story of a high school detective Shinichi Kudo who was de-aged into a child while investigating a mysterious organization and who went on to solve many cases while impersonating his childhood best friend’s father and other characters.

The series received an anime adaptation by Yomiuri Telecasting Corporation and TMS Entertainment, premiering in 1996. The English language releases are called Case Closed.

Aoyama was already a talented artist at an early age, having won and been recognized for his talent in school with awards and wins in various competitions. Aoyama made his debut as a manga artist with Chotto Mattete which was in the magazine Shonen Sunday in 1987. Magic Kaito was his second manga creation whose protagonist later appeared in Detective Conan. Detective Conan has sold over 200 million copies in print alone worldwide.

Born June 21, 1963. Gosho Aoyama is estimated to have a net worth of $35 million dollars, as of 2023.

2. Hajime Isayama
Net Worth: $45 million

For Hajime Isayama (born August 29, 1986), his Attack on Titan is one of the best-selling manga of all time, having achieved distribution of 100 million copies as of January 2022.

Born August 29, 1986, Isayama’s Attack on Titan series was first published in the monthly Bessatsu Shonen Magazine in 2009. It was later nominated for both the 4th annual Manga Taisho award and the 16th annual Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize. Attack on Titan is released in English by Kodansha USA and has been developed into 5 spin-off manga series, three light novel series, a televised anime adaptation, a few visuals novels, and video games and a two-part live-action film.

Attack on Titan tells the story of a society being threatened by gigantic humanoids called Titans.

Isayama has also created Attack on Avengers (2014) and The Killing Pawn (2014). Financially, Isayama has accumulated a massive net worth. Hajime Isayama has an estimated net worth of $45 million, as of 2023.

1. Eiichiro Oda
Net Worth: $150 million

Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece has been serialized since 1997 and has sold over 470 million copies worldwide. Once Piece is both the best-selling manga and possibly the best selling comic series of all time.

One Piece tells the story of Monkey D. Luffy, a boy who could stretch like rubber after eating a Devil Fruit. Luffy explores the Grand Line in search of One Piece, the world’s ultimate treasure with his crew of pirates called Straw Hat Pirates.

This manga is a media franchise, having been adapted into a festival film produced by Production I.G, and an anime series produced by Toei Animation, premiering in Japan in 1999. Additionally, Toei has developed fourteen animated feature films, one original video animation, and thirteen television specials. Several companies have developed various types of merchandising and media, such as a trading card game and numerous video games.

The series had an English language release in North America and the United Kingdom by Viz Media and in Australia by Madman Entertainment. The anime series was licensed by 4Kids Entertainment for an English-language release in North America in 2004, before the license was dropped and subsequently acquired by Funimation in 2007.

Born January 1, 1975, Eiichiro Oda has won over 12 awards including the Sondermann Awards and the Guinness World Record for the “most copies published for the same comic book series by a single author”.

Oda is estimated to be the wealthiest manga creator the world has ever known. As of 2023, Eiichiro Oda has an estimated net worth of $150 million dollars.

Summing-Up

Manga is deeply entrenched in Japanese culture and has spawned a huge industry that has more recently crossed over from East to West. Their creations are intricate and settling on nothing less than perfection. Their manga series have created public attention across the globe, not to mention created countless millionaires along the way.

The manga style of Japanese comic books is growing much faster in the West than it is even in Japan today, where it has already likely reached its maximum potential. Every Japanese kid delves into the exciting and often somewhat dark pages of manga comic books. Manga series are often edgier than our traditional Graphic Novelists books; Japanese Manga is a very unique art which ventures into a world familiar to the average Japanese, yet often shocking for the average Westerner. As is common in Japanese culture, manga pushes boundaries between fun and interesting drawings all the way to NSFW. I hope you enjoyed our list of some of the greatest, — and certainly the richest! — manga artists of all time.

Some Of The Richest Musicians In The World

net worth

Dorothy Wang Net Worth