@Ophois from Wikipedia:
McDuck was initially characterized as a greedy miser and antihero (similar to Dickens' original Scrooge character), but in later appearances he has often been portrayed as a thrifty hero, adventurer, and explorer. He was originally created by Barks as an antagonist for Donald Duck, first appearing in the 1947 story Christmas on Bear Mountain. However, McDuck's popularity grew so large that he became a major figure in the Donald Duck universe.