Of all the interesting developments seen in Dragon Ball Super, perhaps the weirdest was the sight of protagonist Goku working a job. Becoming a radish farmer by the series’ beginning, the vocational venture begged a lot of questions concerning the wealth of the Son family. Part of the debate concerning Goku’s need for funds has to do with the wealth on his wife’s side of the family.
Goku’s father-in-law is the Ox-King, a mighty mountain of a man known for his gigantic size. He also has a massive amount of wealth, with these funds helping to explain why Goku’s wife Chi-Chi nags him so much concerning their living conditions. With how rich Ox-King was, there’s a lot of debate about why Goku would even need to get a job to support his family. The answer to that question has everything to do with Ox-King’s own dire financial straits.
Goku’s Biggest Family Member Is Also the Richest
First showing up in the original Dragon Ball series, Ox-King is a gigantic man who once trained under the likes of Master Roshi. Despite how massive and imposing he is, the horned giant is actually a rather mild and genteel individual. In fact, he constantly tends to his daughter and his two grandsons, being a far more attentive parent than Goku ever was. This spoiling is mainly due to the funds at his disposal, with Chi-Chi growing up essentially as royalty. Living on Fire Mountain in a gigantic castle, he lived in veritable opulence, though the surrounding fires often drew his ire.
It has frequently been theorized that Ox-King’s resources are what kept Goku’s family afloat, especially during the times that he died. After all, Gohan and his brother Goten have the same appetite as their dad — something the unemployed and widowed Chi-Chi would be unable to pay for on her own. Thus, the king of Fire Mountain likely stepped in to take care of his family. These familial finances were finally confirmed in Dragon Ball Super, explaining years of speculation about how Goku’s family wasn’t completely destitute. With her dad still so important in her life and in many ways doing the things for the family that Goku should have been, it’s no wonder Chi-Chi constantly found herself annoyed with her husband. Unfortunately, the gravy train eventually ended, and this led to a major change in Goku’s life.
The End of Ox-King’s Wealth Forced Goku to Get a Job
By the beginning of the opening arc of Dragon Ball Super, things aren’t nearly as good as they once were for the Ox-King. Another fire breaks out on Fire Mountain, resulting in the destruction of Ox-King’s wealth, along with the resources in the surrounding village. Due to this, he can no longer support Chi-Chi and her household, instead having his own issues to worry about. As a result, Chi-Chi forces Goku to get a job and support the family, with the Saiyan choosing to farm the vegetable with a name similar to that of his late brother Raditz.
Of course, there have been other sources of money for Goku and his family — namely, the prize money from previous tournaments in the series. Later on in Dragon Ball Super, Goku also gains a large sum of money from Hercule Satan, likely ending his days of radish farming, at least for a while. Of course, another possibility is that Goku’s friend Bulma — herself massively rich — is providing the family with funds, although Chi-Chi might be too proud to accept such handouts from a non-family member. Either way, it’s obvious that, with Fire Mountain’s riches burned, Goku and Chi-Chi’s days of freeloading off her dad are over, especially considering their grocery bills.
