Bounties are one of the most vital and recognizable parts of One Piece’s worldbuilding. Much like in real life, bounties are listed on the wanted posters of pirates, whether they’re heroes in villains, as an incentive for people to try to find them and hand them over to the World Government, although the moments when people actually succeed in doing so are notably rare.

More than worldbuilding, of course, bounties are used as a major source of powerscaling both in-universe and out. While it’s hardly a perfect tool, as many characters will have bounties far higher or lower than their power level would suggest, generally speaking, the strongest characters in One Piece, more often than not, will have some of the highest bounties in the entire series. A few characters, for the most part, are the best examples of how that works, and each one is plenty worth highlighting.

10 Loki

First Appearance: One Piece Chapter 1130

Loki is the prince of Elbaph and, ironically, the most notorious figure on the island. Ever since he was a child, Loki caused chaos across Elbaph with his deadly pranks, and his villainy reached its peak 14 years ago when he killed his father, King Harald, to obtain a legendary Devil Fruit, although it’s been implied that there’s more to the story than what’s been told.

Loki hasn’t had a proper showing at the time of writing due to being imprisoned in the Underworld, but it’s been said that Loki caused a lot of chaos on the seas after killing King Harald, and it got to the point that Loki earned the tenth-highest bounty in One Piece at 2.6 billion Berries. Shanks being the only one to stop Loki makes it clear that his bounty wasn’t an accident, and hopefully, he’ll get a proper showing in due time.

9 “Straw Hat” Monkey D. Luffy, “Surgeon Of Death” Trafalgar Law, And Eustass “Captain” Kid

First Appearances: One Piece Chapter 1, Episode 1; One Piece Chapter 498, Episode 392

Monkey D. Luffy, Trafalgar Law, and Eustass Kid are three of the most noteworthy pirates of the new generation. Luffy, of course, is the protagonist of One Piece, but Law has been a major character since allying with Luffy at Punk Hazard, and when Kid ed in at Wano, the three of them made waves for leading an operation that resulted in Kaido and Big Mom being dethroned as Emperors.

Luffy, Law, and Kid were always at the center of some of the biggest conflicts in One Piece, and after defeating Kaido and Big Mom, Luffy, Law, and Kid are tied for having the ninth-highest bounty in One Piece at three billion Berries, with Luffy even being named a new Emperor for defeating Kaido. Law and Kid’s futures are up in the air, but when it comes to Luffy, his bounty can only get higher from here on out.

8 Buggy The “Genius Jester”

First Appearance: One Piece Chapter 9, Episode 4

Buggy is the first major villain Luffy fought in One Piece and one of the few to be a recurring character. While Buggy is one of the weakest characters in the story, due to a combination of luck and misunderstandings, he constantly finds himself thrust into a position of power with countless people mistaking him to be a powerful mastermind, and that’s recently reached its peak when Buggy took all the credit for starting the crime syndicate Cross Guild and was named an Emperor.

Despite its relative infancy, Cross Guild has become one of the deadliest organizations in the world, and with Buggy being credited for its founding, Buggy currently has the eighth-highest bounty in One Piece at 3.189 billion Berries. It’s one of the clearest examples of a bounty not matching someone’s strength level, but Buggy, of all people, earning a bounty that high is nonetheless impressive.

7 Dracule “Hawkeye” Mihawk

First Appearance: One Piece Chapter 49, Episode 23

Dracule Mihawk is a former member of the Seven Warlords of the Seas and the man regarded as the world’s strongest swordsman. After the Warlords were disbanded, Mihawk started the crime syndicate Cross Guild alongside Crocodile, but due to a series of circumstances, Buggy became seen as the leader and was subsequently declared an Emperor, thus making Mihawk a Yonko Commander as far as the public is concerned.

Between his rivalry with Shanks, his high-ranking position in Cross Guild, and his legendary status as the world’s strongest swordsman, Mihawk has always been one of One Piece’s strongest characters, and sure enough, Mihawk currently has the seventh-highest bounty in One Piece at 3.59 billion berries. Defeating Mihawk has been Zoro’s ultimate goal for decades, and with a bounty that high, Mihawk is sure to give him the fight of his life.

6 “Blackbeard” Marshall D. Teach

First Appearance: One Piece Chapter 223, Episode 146

Marshall D. Teach, better known as Blackbeard, is a former member of the Whitebeard Pirates and one of the major villains in One Piece. After killing a crewmate to steal the powerful Dark-Dark Fruit, Blackbeard began a lengthy plan to recruit Impel Down’s most notorious inmates to his crew and steal Whitebeard’s Tremor-Tremor Fruit, and doing all of that allowed him to become one of One Piece’s Four Emperors following Whitebeard’s death at the Paramount War.

Blackbeard has always been one of the most dangerous and unpredictable forces in One Piece, and following the major shake-ups in the world with Kaido and Big Mom’s defeats, Blackbeard currently has the sixth-highest bounty in One Piece at 3.996 billion Berries. Blackbeard is only going to get more involved with the story at this rate, and as he does, there’s no telling how high his bounty will rise.

5 “Red-Haired” Shanks

First Appearance: One Piece Chapter 1, Episode 4

Shanks is a major figure in One Piece and the man who inspired Luffy to become a pirate, even giving Luffy his trademark straw hat. Since that day, Shanks has become an Emperor and has been paying close attention to Luffy’s actions, and while he’s one of the more noble figures in One Piece, his true motives remain a mystery to this day.

As one of the Four Emperors, Shanks is one of the strongest characters in One Piece, and sure enough, Shanks currently has the fifth-highest bounty in One Piece at 4.0489 billion Berries, which is also the highest of the current Emperors. It’s unlikely for Shanks’ bounty to increase at this point, but even so, there’s no denying that he stands among the top of all One Piece characters, both for his bounty and his overall power.

4 “Big Mom” Charlotte Linlin

First Appearance: One Piece Chapter 651, Episode 571

Charlotte Linlin, better known as “Big Mom”, is a former Emperor and a major villain in One Piece. After getting her start as a member of the infamous Rocks Pirates, Big Mom became one of the ruling figures in the New World, even before the Emperors were formally established, and she held that position of power up until she was defeated by Law and Kid at Wano and stripped of her title.

Big Mom had always been one of the strongest figures of One Piece’s old generation, and sure enough, Big Mom currently has the fourth-highest bounty in One Piece at 4.388 billion Berries. With Big Mom no longer an Emperor and it being unclear if she’s even alive, her bounty is unlikely to increase anytime soon, but even so, it’s unlikely to be sured by anyone anytime soon, as well.

3 “King Of The Beasts” Kaido

First Appearance: One Piece Chapter 795, Episode 736

Kaido is a former Emperor and a major villain in One Piece. Once an apprentice for the Rocks Pirates, Kaido spent decades gathering power until he could become one of the Four Emperors, and his power is so great that he’s referred to as the world’s strongest creature, although just like Big Mom, Kaido was defeated at Wano thanks to Luffy and was stripped of his title.

Kaido is easily one of One Piece’s biggest villains, essentially being the overarching antagonist of the entire post-timeskip era until the end of the Wano arc, and going right along with that, Kaido currently has the third-highest bounty in One Piece at 4.6111 billion Berries, which was also the highest bounty of any active pirate following Whitebeard’s death. Like Big Mom, Kaido's unknown status has probably stagnated his bounty, but nonetheless, it’s an incredibly impressive feat that won’t be sured anytime soon.

2 “Whitebeard” Edward Newgate

First Appearance: One Piece Chapter 234, Episode 151

Edward Newgate, better known as “Whitebeard”, is a former Emperor and rival to Gol D. Roger. After Roger’s death, Whitebeard was regarded as the strongest man in the world and the man closest to One Piece, and while Whitebeard had no interest in One Piece, when he died at the Paramount War, he used his last breath to confirm that the One Piece was real, restarting the Great Pirate Era as the New Age.

As one of the few characters who could match Roger’s power, Whitebeard is one of the strongest characters in all of One Piece, and sure enough, Whitebeard currently has the second-highest bounty in One Piece at 5.046 billion Berries. Granted, Whitebeard’s bounty is no longer active due to his death, but the fact that he had such a high bounty still showcases why he was seen as such a powerful figure while he was alive.

1 Gol D. Roger

First Appearance: One Piece Chapter 1, Episode 1

Gol D. Roger, more commonly known in-universe as “Gold Roger”, was one of history’s most notorious pirates and the man who would become known as the legendary King of the Pirates. After sailing to Laugh Tale and solidifying his title, Roger, long since stricken with a terminal illness, turned himself in, but before he was killed, he challenged the world to find his legendary treasure, the One Piece, thus kickstarting the Great Age of Piracy.

No pirate has ever been more infamous than Roger, and as such, it goes without saying that Roger currently has the highest bounty in One Piece at 5.5648 billion Berries. It’s a true testament to how legendary a figure Roger was in One Piece, and it’s the sort of feat that’s bound to not be sured until the very end of the story.