Mr. Burns

Charles Montgomery Plantagenet Schicklgruber "Monty" Burns, usually referred to as Mr. Burns or C. Montgomery Burns, is a recurring antagonist in the Fox animated television series The Simpsons, voiced initially by Christopher Collins and by Harry Shearer in later episodes. He is the mostly evil, devious, greedy, and wealthy owner of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant and, by extension, Homer Simpson's boss where he has been considered the town villain in some episodes like "It's a Blunderful Life". He is assisted at almost all times by Waylon Smithers, his loyal and sycophantic aide, adviser, confidant, and secret admirer. He is around 156 years old, though sometimes it is implied he is much older. His place of birth is Pangea, revealed in the season 17 episode "The Seemingly Never-Ending Story".

Although originally conceived as a one-dimensional, recurring dastardly villain who might occasionally enter the Simpsons' lives and wreak some sort of havoc, Mr. Burns's popularity has led to his repeated inclusion in episodes. He is a stereotype of corporate United States in his unquenchable desire to increase his own wealth and power, inability to remember his employees' names (including Homer's, despite frequent interactions—which has become a recurring joke) and lack of concern for their safety and well-being. Reflecting on his advanced age, Mr. Burns is given to expressing dated humor, making references to Jazz Age popular culture, and aspiring to apply obsolete technology to everyday life. Conan O'Brien has called Mr. Burns his favorite character to have written for, due to his arbitrarily old age and extreme wealth.

Mr. Burns's trademark expression is the word "Excellent...", muttered slowly in a low, sinister voice while steepling his fingertips. He occasionally orders Smithers to "release the hounds", so as to let his vicious guard dogs attack any intruders, enemies, or even invited guests. Mr. Burns is Springfield's richest and most powerful citizen (and also the richest person in Springfield's state; his current net worth has been given as $1.3 billion by Forbes, though it fluctuates wildly depending on the episode). He uses his power and wealth to do whatever he wants, usually without regard for consequences and without interference from the authorities. These qualities led Wizard magazine to rate him the 45th-greatest villain of all time. TV Guide named him #2 in their 2013 list of the 60 nastiest villains of all time. In 2016, Rolling Stone ranked him #8 of their "40 Greatest TV Villains of All Time".