The Empire-Builder from Calisota

"The Empire-Builder from Calisota"
Original cover of The Empire-Builder from Calisota. Art by Don Rosa.
Story code	D 93288
Alternative title	"The Richest Duck in the World"
Story	Don Rosa
Ink	Don Rosa
Hero	Scrooge McDuck
Pages	24
Layout	4 rows per page
Appearances	Scrooge McDuck Hortense McDuck Matilda McDuck

The Empire-Builder from Calisota or The Richest Duck in the World is a 1994 Scrooge McDuck comic by Don Rosa. It is the eleventh of the original 12 chapters in the series The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck. The story takes place from 1909 to 1930.

The story was first published in the Danish Anders And & Co. #1994-15; the first American publication was in Uncle Scrooge #295, in December 1995.

Plot

Tired of being left to watch the office while he went globe-trotting, Scrooge's sisters Matilda and Hortense demand that he either stay in Duckburg to run his business empire, or let them accompany him on his next trip. Hearing of prime land for diamond mining in Africa, Scrooge takes his sisters with him down the Mumbo Jumbo River, where he purchases mining lands from a local tribe for a mere quarter-dollar. But when Chief Foola Zoola of the Voodoo tribe refuses to sell him valuable land for rubber tree plantations, Scrooge commits the only dishonest deed in his life: He hires mercenaries to burn down the tribe's village, and disguises himself to fool the chief into signing the deed giving him their land. Horrified by his dishonest dealings, Matilda and Hortense leave a note for Scrooge, telling him they were going home to Duckburg. Ridden with guilt, Scrooge hopes to make amends both with them and with the tribe, only to bump into a zombie named Bombie, sent by Foola Zoola as his revenge. However, Scrooge is able to escape when Bombie is confused by his real appearance.

Though he intended to head for home, Scrooge instead travels for the next two decades to increase his wealth - attempting to finance Robert Peary's expedition so he can buy the North Pole, buying Fabergé eggs in bulk from Czar Nicholas II of Russia, recovering the Candy-Striped Ruby that inspired the eggs from bandits in the Asian steppes, and surviving the sinking of the RMS Titanic, among other things. All the while, he is relentlessly pursued by Bombie. In an island in the South Pacific, the tribal shaman agrees to keep Bombie contained in exchange for the ruby. Scrooge finally returns to Duckburg thoroughly hardened by his travels, only interested in his wealth. Sickened by his selfish greed, his family finally abandons him for good (with a kick to his tailfeathers courtesy of Hortense's young son, Donald). Scrooge is momentarily overwhelmed by guilt before finding out that he has finally achieved his life's goal: He is now the richest person in the world.

External links

• The Empire-Builder from Calisota at Inducks
• The Empire-Builder from Calisota on Duckman
• The Life and Times of $crooge McDuck - Episode 11