Scott Adams, the man behind Dilbert, has died at 68 after a battle with prostate cancer that spread to his bones. His ex‑wife, Shelly Miles, broke the news during a livestream of his YouTube show, closing the chapter on one of the most commercially successful—and later most controversial—cartoonists of his generation.
At the time of his death, Adams' net worth was estimated at about £16 million ($20 million), built almost entirely on the back of Dilbert, the office-satire strip he launched in 1989 while working at Pacific Bell. Miles announced his passing on his popular YouTube programme Real Coffee with Scott Adams, telling viewers he had succumbed to his illness. President Donald Trump quickly paid tribute, calling Adams 'a fantastic guy, who liked and respected me when it wasn't fashionable to do so', while Vice President JD Vance praised him as 'a true American original' and 'a great ally'.
Building the Dilbert Empire
Adams made his money the old‑fashioned way in comics: syndication. At Dilbert's peak, the strip ran in more than 2,000 newspapers across 65 countries and 25 languages, skewering pointy‑haired bosses and clueless managers. The National Cartoonists Society gave him the Reuben Award in 1997, and a Dilbert TV show ran for two seasons on UPN from 1998, with Adams as executive producer.
His first royalty cheque for Dilbert was just $368.62 (£290), but book deals, syndication fees, and a mountain of merchandise eventually made him a multimillionaire, with 1996's The Dilbert Principle becoming a bestseller. Not every spin‑off worked: his vegetarian 'Dilberito', sold through Scott Adams Food Inc, flopped badly.
Political Stardom and Career Collapse
Adams' second act came from politics. In 2015, he blogged that Trump had a 98 per cent chance of winning the presidency, arguing that pundits underrated Trump's persuasion skills. When Trump won in 2016, Adams suddenly looked prescient and demand for his commentary surged.
His YouTube show, Coffee with Scott Adams, drew large audiences. Trump amplified his posts, and the cartoonist visited the Oval Office in 2018. That run ended in February 2023 when, during a livestream, he called Black people a 'hate group' and told white people to 'get the hell away from Black people'. Major outlets, including The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, and USA Today, dropped Dilbert, and syndicator Andrews McMeel cut ties. Adams moved the strip to subscription platform Locals.com, but the mass‑market money was gone.
Personal Tragedy and Family Loss
Adams' personal life had plenty of rough patches, too. He married Shelly Miles in 2006 after meeting her at a gym. He helped raise her two kids, including a boy named Justin. In 2018, Justin died from a fentanyl overdose at just 18, a loss that friends say devastated Adams. The couple divorced in 2014 but stayed close; Miles moved a block away and remained involved in his life right up to his final days.
In 2020, Adams married model and musician Kristina Basham, who was 31 years younger. That marriage ended in divorce in 2022, adding another public chapter to an already turbulent personal story.
Final Battle With Cancer
Adams went public with his cancer diagnosis in May 2025. It was the same day Joe Biden announced he had the same type of cancer. 'I have the same cancer that Joe Biden has', Adams told his audience. 'It has also spread to my bones'. Things got worse quickly. By December, he couldn't feel anything below his waist. The cancer had paralysed him. He was living on painkillers and marijuana just to cope with the pain.
In November, Adams publicly begged Trump to help him get access to Pluvicto, a cancer drug. Robert F Kennedy Jr saw the plea and responded. Adams did get the treatment, but it couldn't stop what was coming. Adams entered hospice care on 12 January 2026. He died the next day.
A Final Message From Scott Adams pic.twitter.com/QKX6b0MFZA
— Scott Adams (@ScottAdamsSays) January 13, 2026
A Complicated Legacy
Miles read out a final message Adams wrote on New Year's Day. In it, he revealed something surprising: he had converted to Christianity, even though he'd never been religious. 'I'm not a believer but I have to admit the risk-reward calculation for doing so looks attractive', he wrote. 'So here I go. I accept Jesus Christ as my lord and saviour'. He wrapped up his message with a request: 'If I got any benefits from my work, I'm asking that you pay it forward as best as you can. That's the legacy I want'.
How he is remembered will likely depend on which Scott Adams people focus on: the cartoonist who skewered corporate stupidity so precisely that Dilbert became shorthand for office life, or the commentator whose racist remarks and unwavering Trump support burned through decades of goodwill in a matter of days. For millions of people who have sat in cubicles under clueless managers, the satire he created will remain instantly recognisable—even as the man behind it leaves a far more divisive mark.
