Scott Adams, the mind behind Dilbert, passes away at 68

Dilbert creator Scott Adams has died at the age of 68 after a long fight with metastatic prostate cancer, ending a life that was as complicated as it was influential.

His former wife, Shelly Miles, confirmed his death, saying Scott Adams spent his final days in hospice care at his home in California.

Scott Adams had known for months that time was not on his side. He had spoken openly about how aggressive the cancer was and how it had spread through his body. Even near the end, Adams tried to keep control of his story, sharing final thoughts about life, work and gratitude with those who followed him.

For millions of readers, Adams will always be the man behind the famous comic strip, the office comic that turned everyday workplace frustration into something sharp, funny and painfully real. Dilbert started small in 1989, but it didn’t stay that way.

A Final Message From Scott Adams pic.twitter.com/QKX6b0MFZA

— Scott Adams (@ScottAdamsSays) January 13, 2026

Over the years, Dilbert grew into one of the most recognizable strips in the world, appearing in thousands of newspapers and spawning books, a TV show and a huge online following. For a whole generation of workers, Dilbert was how they laughed at bad bosses, pointless meetings and corporate nonsense.

Scott Adams: Rise and Fall

Scott Adams built Dilbert while working corporate jobs himself, sketching ideas on notepads and whiteboards. That hands-on office life is what gave Dilbert its bite. Later, Scott Adams also became one of the first cartoonists to really use the internet, pushing Dilbert online long before most others.

But Adams was not without controversy. In 2023, Dilbert was pulled from many publications after comments he made online caused outrage. Scott Adams stood by what he said, and Dilbert later returned as a subscription-only strip.

Still, the legacy is hard to ignore. Dilbert changed how people saw office culture. Adams made millions laugh, and sometimes wince, at the truth of modern work.

In the end, Scott Adams leaves behind Dilbert, his family, and a career that left a permanent mark on pop culture.