The wealthy old man in “A Christmas Carol” was Scrooge, whose full name is Ebenezer Scrooge. He is the central character of Charles Dickens’s 1843 Christmas novella and begins the story as a wealthy but miserly London businessman.
Scrooge is famous for his hatred of Christmas, his harsh treatment of his clerk Bob Cratchit, and his refusal to help people in poverty. On Christmas Eve, he is visited by the ghost of his former business partner, Jacob Marley, followed by the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come. Their visions force him to confront the consequences of his greed and isolation.
By the end of the story, Scrooge changes dramatically. He becomes generous toward Cratchit’s family, supports charity, and reconnects with his nephew Fred. His transformation made the surname “Scrooge” a lasting English-language byword for a selfish or miserly person.
The character is sometimes confused with Scrooge McDuck, the Disney comic character. McDuck was named after Dickens’s character but is a separate fictional figure.