The creator of the globally syndicated Dilbert comic strip, Scott Adams, has died at the age of 68 following a battle with prostate cancer. His death was announced on Tuesday, marking the end of a journey that saw him transform from a bank clerk facing armed robbers into one of the world's most influential satirical cartoonists.
From Bank Floor to Boardroom Satire
Adams's path to creating Dilbert was forged in the mundane reality of corporate America. Born in Windham, New York, he moved to California after college in 1979, seeking opportunity. He took a job at Crocker National Bank in San Francisco, but his career there took a dramatic turn when, for the second time in four months, a robber pointed a gun at him. This frightening experience convinced Adams he needed a safer career path, prompting a move 'upstairs' into management.
He earned an MBA from Berkeley and climbed the corporate ladder, holding roles including computer programmer, budget analyst, and product manager at telecoms giant Pacific Bell. It was this very experience of corporate drudgery, sitting in cubicle 4S700R, that provided the rich material for his iconic comic. He would doodle during meetings and wake at 4am to draw before work, with his office musings soon being faxed around by colleagues.
The Birth of a Global Phenomenon
Dilbert was officially born in 1989 after United Media, the syndicator behind 'Peanuts', agreed to publish his work. The strip, featuring the bespectacled, tie-wearing engineer and his cynical dog Dogbert, struck an immediate chord. At its peak, Dilbert appeared in over 2,000 newspapers across 65 countries, translated into 25 languages and reaching an estimated 150 million readers.
Adams credited the strip's success to a perfect, if modest, blend of his skills. "I'm a poor artist," he told Forbes in 2013. "Through brute force I brought myself up to mediocre... I can write a little bit, I can draw a little bit, and you put those three together and you've got Dilbert." He maintained his day job for years, mining his office life for material, often laughing until he cried at the absurdity. The comic's income eventually dwarfed his corporate salary, and by his death, he had earned an estimated $20 million from it.
Controversy and a Late Diagnosis
In later years, Adams became a controversial figure. An open supporter of Donald Trump's political showmanship, he also used his platform to mock corporate Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) policies. In 2023, a major backlash ensued after he declared on his podcast that black Americans could be considered a 'hate group' based on a poll response, advising white people to 'get the hell away from black people'. He later called this 'hyperbole', but the damage was done, leading many newspapers to drop the Dilbert strip.
Adams announced his aggressive prostate cancer diagnosis in May 2025. In November, he posted on X that his health was 'declining fast' and made a public appeal to Donald Trump for help accessing a drug. Trump replied, 'On it!' Adams is survived by his ex-wives, Shelly Miles and Kristina Basham. He had no children.
Reflecting on his life in 2017, Adams described his ideal arc: "Start perfectly selfish and on your last day give it all away." The man who gave the world a voice for its cubicle-bound millions, and who found humour in the fluorescent-lit absurdity of modern work, has now reached that final day.
