Arguably DC Comics' top hero, Batman is a man with no powers fighting against the odds in a world filled with gods and monsters. But to make up for that, he has trained himself to be in peak physical and mental condition. Batman is widely regarded as the worlds' greatest detective as well as one of the world's top hand-to-hand combatants. And it doesn't hurt that he's ridiculously rich.
It's long been joked that Batman's superpower is how wealthy he is. In reality, it's not a joke. The man has enough money that he can virtually do whatever he wants, but he chooses to run around in tights at night punching clowns with mental health issues. There are probably better ways to help Gotham.
10Focus On Wayne Enterprises
When the Waynes were killed in that alley, they left something other than a young boy behind. They also left a major company that Bruce Wayne grew up to run and turned into one of the most profitable overall businesses in the world.
But if Bruce didn't have such busy nights, he could have built Wayne Enterprises into something even more important. Gotham needs good jobs more than a guy who is too into bats playing superhero.
9Build More Affordable Housing
For the most part, Gotham seems like a pretty rough town with a lot of down on their luck people. It's not hard to imagine that there are more than a few residents who have some serious housing issues to deal with.
Bruce could have put both time and money into developing an array of safe, affordable housing options. There's a standard community development theory that states that other sociological issues can be helped, if not solved, by dealing with housing concerns. Punching people is not part of that.
8Literally Clean Up Gotham
The entire point of Batman is symbolically cleaning up Gotham. In this context, it means defeating all of the loudly dressed criminals causing havoc around the city and putting them in some sort of containment facility.
But Bruce's money would have been better spent on literally cleaning up the city. It always seems to be covered in a thick layer of garbage and filth. Bruce could have definitely afforded to pay for some legitimate clean-up efforts.
7Finance A Better Mental Health Facility Than Arkham
While some of Batman's enemies end up in run-of-the-mill prisons, the most twisted members of his rogue's gallery end up in Arkham Asylum. Theoretically, this place is supposed to help these people deal with their mental health issues. But it doesn't.
Arkham has just become a high-tech holding facility for people made of clay. Bruce would do well to either upgrade Arkham or invest in a much better mental health facility. Some of his "supervillains" genuinely need help.
6Support More Charities
Bruce Wayne is known to be a philanthropist in Gotham. He has spent millions of dollars on various charities that help the poorest and most vulnerable members of the community. At the same, time he can afford to do more.
There has to be a wide range of social services and charities in Gotham that need a lot more support. And it has been well established that Bruce Wayne has more than enough money to help them help more people.
5Build More Mass Transit
Gotham is a massive city with rough estimates putting its population at approximately 10 million. Keeping in mind that its layout looks like it was created by an Absinthe fiend on a three-week bender, it's not hard to imagine that the city has some serious traffic problems.
As such, one great thing that Bruce Wayne could do for Gotham with his money would be to invest in some updated mass transit options. It could be a huge boon to residents all over town.
4Research Cures For His Villains' Ailments
A surprising number of Batman's villains are suffering from insanely specific conditions or diseases. A prime example would be the various iterations of Clayface who go through some pretty crazy transformative processes to end up where they are.
Putting some money into helping them would go a long way to getting them out of the criminal lifestyle sooner. Mr. Freeze got into the game to help his wife. Bruce probably could have paid to solve that problem years earlier.
3Provide Better Resources To The GCPD
Batman and his family of caped crusaders aren't the only lines of defense for Gotham. There's also an actual police force whose job it is to keep the peace. They've just been forced into a position where they had to accept the help of a group of vigilantes.
Gotham needs a police force that is properly equipped and appropriately trained to deal with the unique conditions and threats they face. Bruce Wayne certainly could have helped provide both of those things.
2Bribe His Villains To Stop
This one might be thinking a little outside of the box but it's certainly worth considering. A large majority of Batman's enemies do what they do for money as well as the power, clout, and respect that comes with it.
Bruce could just straight up pay them all to stop. If all Riddler or Penguin want is to be rich and powerful, give them each a few million dollars to stop whatever nonsense they're up to. It could literally be that easy.
1Go On A Legitimate Vacation
Bruce Wayne lives life at a ludicrous pace. He's up all day doing Bruce Wayne stuff and is then up all night being Batman. The most confusing thing about Batman is how he finds time to sleep and how he doesn't die from exhaustion.
The guy needs a break. It's incredibly likely that he has never been on a vacation since putting the cowl on. And being beaten into a coma definitely doesn't count. Bruce could probably use a few days on a beach somewhere, or just hanging out in the bullpen at the Daily Planet and flicking peanuts at Clark.