Where Is Fisk's Money Coming From On 'Daredevil'?

Marvel's newest television outing, Daredevil, introduced us to the man who will one day be the Kingpin of Hell's Kitchen – Wilson Fisk. For the first half of the season he's very much hidden in the shadows and people thoroughly avoid saying his name (not unlike Voldemort — just saying). But in the second half of Daredevil's first season, Fisk is out in the public's eye, trying to help "save" New York City. He lives in a beautiful apartment with floor-to-ceiling windows and seems to have the entire city in his pocket. But something's unclear, so I give up: Fisk, where are you getting your money? Considering we don't see him work at all during Daredevil Season 1, there has to be some business plan that made him part of the One Percent.

It's pretty simple (see: vague): Fisk is actually a businessman... who just happens to runs a super shady business. Also it's a crime business, built on the foundation of drugs. Really legit stuff. So he's in "business." Cool. But throughout the 13 episodes of Season 1, the real ins and outs of this "business" are never clearly explained. Sure, they probably couldn't dedicate an entire episode to detailing a spreadsheet of how exactly Fisk is able to live in that gorgeous apartment, but a little something would help. Still, since we're not getting an explanation, know this: It all comes down to knowing what to invest at an opportune moment.

Source 1: The Drugs

We know he's in business with Madame Gao, Nobu, Leland Owlsley, and the Russians. Gao's a drug kingpin herself, and she makes her money off of a ton of that heroin production. We can assume that everyone has a hand in that pot, which is how they finance their shady businesses. Long and the short of it? Drugs = Money.

Source 2: Union Allied

That's not all, though. Fisk is arrested in at the end of the season for racketeering, which brings the whole Union Allied subplot full circle. Remember how the whole series started with Karen noticing some odd numbers in files she accidentally looked at at work? There was money missing from pension funds (and inflated pension funds at that), because the cash was going straight into Fisk's pocket. Boom: More money.

How Does He Get Rich In The Comics?

This differs a little bit from how Fisk gets his money in the comics. Once again, Fisk is a crime boss, but rather than dealing with Madame Gao, Fisk is the one in charge. There's a small reference to who he works for during the flashbacks to Fisk's childhood, but if you don't know the reference ahead of time, it's easy to miss it.

During Fisk's childhood on the Netflix show, we see that Fisk's father was involved with someone named Rigoletto, as in Don Rigoletto. What Fisk's father is doing with him is not at all explained, other than the fact that Fisk Sr. owes Rigoletto money — and that's where Pops is going the night that Fisk kills him. To put it bluntly: We're going to see Rigoletto at some point. In the comics, Fisk is actually one of Rigoletto's associates, and Fisk is the one who eventually kills him. In doing so, Fisk takes over Rigoletto's crime empire, and becomes the new king of the underworld, basically. So in the comics Fisk kind of, like, inherited the power, and thus the money.

Either way, it's not like crime lords get a weekly or bi-weekly paycheck for their services. They make their money through drugs and shady business deals. And it's a lot of money. That being said, hey, uh, Fisk, are you hiring?

Image: Barry Wetcher/Netflix