Bertrand Russell > Russell Crowe
Russell Crowe > John Forbes Nash Jr.
John Forbes Nash Jr. > Forbes Magazine
Forbes Magazine > publishes annual list of world's wealthiest individuals
annual list > Scrooge McDuck

Mr. Duck previously was listed and was the wealthiest individual in the world, but has now been surpassed by Bill Gates. I have that on the indisputable authority of the web:
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Den/3001/dofferings/gates.html

Post-edit: improving on the first pair of links:
Bertrand Russell > John Forbes Nash Jr.
(each a mathematician who won a Nobel Prize; 1950 and 1994 respectively)