Scott Adams, the American cartoonist best known for creating the workplace comic strip Dilbert, has died of cancer at the age of 68.
His ex-wife Shelly Miles shared the news on Tuesday during a livestream of his podcast, Real Coffee with Scott Adams, telling viewers that he had recently passed away.
From office satire to global phenomenon
Adams launched Dilbert in 1989, centring the strip on a capable but constantly frustrated engineer and the absurdities of corporate life. The humour clearly struck a nerve: over the years, the comic grew into a worldwide hit, appearing in more than 2,000 newspapers across 65 countries.
Dilbert later expanded beyond the comics pages into best-selling books, an animated TV series, and even a video game, turning Adams into one of the most recognisable names in newspaper cartooning.
In 1997, he received the National Cartoonists Society’s Reuben Award, as well as the organisation’s Newspaper Comic Strip Award, cementing his status in the industry.
Career derailed by racist comments
Despite his success, Adams’ career took a sharp turn in 2023 when numerous outlets, including The Washington Post, dropped Dilbert after he was accused of making racist remarks about Black Americans.
On one of his broadcasts, he described Black Americans as a “hate group” and suggested that white people should “get the hell away from Black people,” comments he made while reacting to a poll from a conservative organisation.
The backlash was swift. Many newspapers cut ties with Dilbert, and Adams found himself at the centre of a fierce public debate. He later said he had been using hyperbole to make a point, insisted he disavowed racists, and argued that coverage of his comments had ignored the full context. Nonetheless, the fallout significantly reshaped how he and his work were viewed.
Tributes and a final message
Following news of his death, US President Donald Trump paid tribute to Adams on his social platform, Truth Social. Trump described him as a “Great Influencer” who had “bravely fought a long battle against a terrible disease,” and noted that Adams had publicly supported him at times “when it wasn’t fashionable to do so.”
On Adams’ own podcast, a visibly emotional Shelly Miles opened the latest episode by confirming that he had died, before reading a message he had prepared in advance.
“I had an amazing life, I gave it everything I had,” the message said. Adams asked that anyone who felt they had benefited from his work “pay it forward” as best they could.
“That’s the legacy I want,” he wrote. “Be useful, and please know I loved you all to the very end.”
Beyond Dilbert: books and late-life illness
Aside from his comic strip, Adams wrote a number of self-help and persuasion books, including:
- How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big
- Win Bigly
- Loserthink
- Reframe Your Brain
He also trained as a hypnotist, a skill he often referenced when discussing influence, persuasion and human behaviour.
In May 2025, Adams revealed that he had prostate cancer, which later spread to his bones. In the months before his death, he received end-of-life care at home.
On 1 January this year, he spoke candidly to his audience about his prognosis, saying there was little chance of recovery. He explained that he had lost feeling in his legs and was dealing with ongoing heart failure, which at times made it difficult for him to breathe.
“You should prepare yourself that January will probably be a month of transition, one way or another,” he told listeners, hinting that he did not expect to have much time left.
Adams leaves behind a complicated legacy: a hugely influential comic strip that captured the frustrations of office life for millions, and a later chapter marked by controversy and intense public scrutiny over his words and views.
