For a long time, when I'd read a comic with Lex Luthor in it, and he'd be... I dunno, conspiring with a guy who's super power is that he is mediocre at riddles, and maybe Solomon Grundy or someone like that, in order to launch their army of poison turtles into Metropolis, I'd scoff and say, "it's unrealistic that the world's richest man would waste his time and money on something that's only going to showcase to the world how incompetent he is."

I owe DC comics an apology.

@MonteCook Austin Powers lampshaded this pretty hard, Dr. Evil is there going "we're going to hold the world to ransom for ONE MILLIOOOON DOLLARS" and Number Two is like "Our cover operation made nine billion last year"