'Dilbert' creator Scott Adams dies after cancer battle, accepts Jesus Christ in final days

Political commentator and "Dilbert" creator Scott Adams claimed to have accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior before he died Tuesday at 68, following a prolonged battle with prostate cancer.

Adams' ex-wife, Shelly Miles Adams, announced his death in a live stream Tuesday morning and read his final statement, which noted that he had decided to convert to Christianity in his final days.

"My body failed before my brain," Adams said in the statement he penned on Jan. 1 in preparation for his death, noting he was "of sound mind as I write this."

Adams wrote that "many of my Christian friends have asked me to find Jesus before I go." Noting he is "not a believer," he acknowledged that "the risk-reward calculation for [accepting Jesus] looks attractive."

"I accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, and I look forward to spending an eternity with him. The part about not being a believer should be quickly resolved if I wake up in Heaven. I won't need any more convincing than that. And I hope I am still qualified for entry," he wrote.

Adams went on to express gratitude for what he described as "an amazing life," adding, "I gave it everything I had." He exhorted his readers to "be useful, and please know I loved you all to the very end."

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

— Scott Adams (@ScottAdamsSays) January 13, 2026

Born June 8, 1957, in Windham, New York, Adams graduated from Berkley Business School and drew from his own experiences as a corporate worker at Pacific Bell to launch "Dilbert" in 1989, a comic strip that satirized office culture and appeared in more than 2,000 newspapers around the world at its peak.

After years of drawing the comics in the early morning before he went to work, he was ultimately able to become a full-time cartoonist in 1995.

Adams also authored numerous books about self-improvement, including Reframe Your Brain: The User Interface for Happiness and Success and How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big.

Adams began to rise in prominence for his political commentary when his popular podcast "Real Coffee with Scott Adams" launched in 2018, where he often expressed right-leaning political views, even though he identified as a lifelong liberal who rarely voted.

Some newspapers dropped "Dilbert" in 2023 after Adams was accused of making racist comments regarding a Rasmussen poll that found only 53% of black Americans agree with the statement, "It's OK to be white."

"If nearly half of all blacks are not OK with white people ... that's a hate group," Adams said at the time, and urged white Americans to "get the hell away from black people."

He was also strongly critical of China's role in the fentanyl crisis in the United States after his stepson, Justin Miles, died from a fentanyl overdose at age 18.

Adams' final statement echoed what he said during the Jan. 4 episode of his morning podcast when he revealed his intention to embrace Christianity because it would mean he would "wake up in Heaven if I have a good life."

"I do believe that the dominant Christian theory is that I would wake up in Heaven if I have a good life," Adams said at the time.

Echoing the famous philosophical argument known as "Pascal's Wager," Adams said, "I'm now convinced that the risk-reward is completely smart. If it turns out that there's nothing there, I've lost nothing, but I've respected your wishes, and I like doing that."

"If it turns out there is something there, and the Christian model is the closest to it, I win," he added.

Adams' assertion that living a "good life" plays a role in one's eternal destiny drew concern from some Christians, though such sentiments align with new research showing that many self-identified Christians think doing "good things" for others is enough earn them a place in paradise.

Adams went public with his metastatic prostate cancer diagnosis in May 2025, and originally intended to take his own life last June before finding a treatment that made his pain tolerable for the next seven months.

Adams was a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump, predicting in 2015 that he would win the presidency. In November, Trump personally intervened when Adams appealed to him for help expediting treatment with the FDA-approved drug Pluvicto after his provider, Kaiser Permanente of Northern California, allegedly "dropped the ball."

Trump issued a statement praising Adams upon the announcement of his death.

"Sadly, the Great Influencer, Scott Adams, has passed away," Trump said in a TruthSocial post. "He was a fantastic guy, who liked and respected me when it wasn’t fashionable to do so. He bravely fought a long battle against a terrible disease. My condolences go out to his family, and all of his many friends and listeners. He will be truly missed. God bless you Scott!"

Vice President JD Vance also expressed condolences.

"Scott Adams was a true American original, and a great ally to the President of the United States and the entire administration," he said. "My prayers go to Scott and all of you who loved him. We lost one of the good ones but we'll never forget him."