Question about Money

[eveningblue]

Are there any episodes in which it is mentioned, even briefly or in passing, how either Methos or Duncan amassed their fortunes?

Aside from canon, are there any fanon explanations?

Comments

[melannen]

I think it's debatable that Methos might not have much in the way of conventional wealth beyond what Adam Pierson might have managed to save - it's obvious that he doesn't *worry* about money, but that doesn't mean he actually has any, just that he's confident that he can get what he needs. And I've known actual people getting by on a low-level academic's or teacher's salary who were willing to blow their savings on a spur-of-the-moment trans-Atlantic vacation or two, especially if they had no kids to worry about. Same thing with going on a few years' sabbatical; and Pierson did have Don's bookstore, after all, which he could have got rental money with even if he'd eventually stopped running it (Was its fate ever mentioned in canon? I don't remember.) Most of his other travelling and extravagances can be excused as being put on the Watchers' tab - he may even have gotten paid leave for most of his time with Alexa, since young Pierson seems the type to not bother to take regular vacations.

And Methos is clearly capable of aquiring a couple million whenever he feels like it (as is well established in fanon), by means legal or otherwise, so I don't know if he'd even consider it worth the security risk to keep up his liquid capital long term, beyond what would be needed to cut and run and start over. As has happened in many a fanfic, that kind of large financial footprint is traceable if people try hard enough, and he couldn't really use the money or even manage it effectively while in a cover identity which didn't have that much, and money is such an ephemeral thing anyway, why would he bother?

On the other hand, the fanon version where Methos has bank accounts and investments spiderwebbed all over the world and is richer that Solomon could have dreamed of being is also perfectly logical within what we know from the show. And that he would have a fair amount of real estate - "real" wealth, as it would have been considered over most of his lifetime, and also useful if one needs to go to ground in a familiar place in a hurry - and the money necessary to maintain that property long-term - makes a lot of sense.

I tend to think that most of his wealth is in things other than money - real estate, favors owed, the location of a hidden cache of Ming vases (Great condition! One owner from new!) - and in skills, like being able to fake it as a doctor and/or lawyer in whatever time or place he shows up in - things that last, but are not necessarily quickly convertible into hotel rooms, beer tabs, or sweaters that actually fit. I think you can even see this mindset in the completely moneyless economy he creates around himself when with people who know his real name. However, canon evidence? Tells us *nothing*. (Unless you're counting the fourth movie, and even then, it's less than clear - I prefer the toyboy theory there.)

The character I think most likely to have the billions of dollars squirrelled away in labyrinthine bank accounts is Amanda, who may be richer in terms of actual money than either of the others, because she's the only one of the bunch who actually cares about it enough to go to the bother.