History Main / EveryManHasHisPrice

* The allied Spy unit in ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert3'' can buy the loyalty of enemy units, who switch sides permanently.

This occurs when a character or group of characters in a narrative are repeatedly able to use their money as "persuasion" for anyone in their way, with little to no resistance from those being bribed. Whether it's getting past the guards at the SupervillainLair or [[WillTalkForAPrice retrieving vital information from the local townsfolk]], these characters always find that money is the universal negotiator. This act of shameless coercion is obviously based on the StockPhrase and heroes and villains alike, it seems, are never shy about finding out what "every man's" price is.

** ''Manga/StoneOcean'': The [[TheAlcatraz Green Dolphin Street Prison]] has the inmates running on a hierarchy within prison walls, prisoners occasionally use money to bribe guards and get pass other prisoners to use the phone, and would resort to extortion from other inmates who weren't able to pay back money they borrowed.

* ''ComicBook/Agent47BirthOfTheHitman'': Diana gets Savi's thugs into turncoating to work for her by offering them lots of more money that what Savi offered.

* In ''Fanfic/PokemonResetBloodlines'', Professor Oak suffers severe financial problems, which sometimes force him to do things he doesn't like to keep his lab afloat and continue his research work. This is established as early as the second chapter, when he's forced to give starter Pokémon to a pair of twins when their father ([[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections who is an important politician]]) threatens to cut his funds.

* PlayedForLaughs in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12446027/23/With-Sprinkles With Sprinkles]]''. Everytime Xander does something that the crew of the [[Series/{{Firefly}} Serenity]] say is impossible, he passes Mal a roll of gold coins, causing the captain to either buy Xander's blatantly false excuse or make one up. Xander pulling off a WallCrawl? Must be a malfunction with the gravity controls. Xander pulls [[{{Hammerspace}} far too much out of his pockets]]? Nothing wrong with having deep pockets.

** Of course, what Cody wants is for the Eagle and her eggs to be safe and he knows telling [=McLeach=] will ensure that will not happen. [=McLeach=] realizes that he doesn't care about the eggs, he just wants the Eagle and wants the to kill the eggs to have the last poached eagle of her species. Cody wants both... additionally he wants his own freedom. So [=McLeach=] releases Cody, telling him that the Eagle was shot this morning and it was on the radio. Cody, with this knowledge, goes straight to the nest, only to learn that the eggs and the eagle are safe... but true to his word, [=McLeach=] didn't give him what he wanted. [=McLeach=] followed this trope so well, the audience didn't realize it.

** He does note however, that some people - like the Interpol agent who takes a personal interest in him - can't be bought with money.

* ''Film/TheCountOfMonteCristo2002'' shows Monte Cristo's servant driving a wagon up to the manor of a Parisian. He tells the owner that he is there to purchase the man's huge ancestral estate, and is laughed at heartily--until the servant opens the back of the wagon, out of which pour coins, huge gems and other treasure. Cut to the man driving off with the wagon, and the servant with deed in hand.

** In ''Literature/CaptainVorpatrilsAlliance'', Tej's father questions her about what it would take to coopt Ivan into using his lineage to the Arqua family's benefit. Tej explains that Ivan has no ambition, thinks ambition dangerous and that what he wants is comfort (which of course he already has too much to risk). The same is asked of Simon and Ivan is amazed at the idea that Simon could be purchasable. In fact, Simon was purchasable in a way; Simon didn't think the project would hurt Barrayar, was interested in getting an ally for Barryar's future covert-ops, had a personal interest in keeping the ObnoxiousInLaws from interfering in Ivan's new marriage, and he was [[ItAmusedMe just plain bored.]]
** ''Literature/{{Memory}}'' demonstrates that other bribes besides the normal money, sex, power, revenge, etc, are quite common by telling an [=ImpSec=] war story of how an agent was assigned to get an elephant because a foreign diplomat had asked for that as the price of his favor in negotiations. Simon says he could not tell whether or not it was a joke but an elephant was requested and an elephant was given. In the end he decided the diplomat really ''did'' want the elephant, as he meticulously cared for it personally and took it home with him when he left.

* In the ''Series/TheManFromUncle'' novelization ''The Dagger Affair,'' the AffablyEvil THRUSH leader Ward Baldwin that Waverly, Solo and Kuryakin are temporarily allied with makes the point that not all prices are in money. For example, Waverley's price is furthering certain moral ideals and one that can never be met by THRUSH. He notes that even in THRUSH, money is the lowest price; the elite get paid in power. He goes on to say that men who ''truly'' have no price are inherently unpredictable and dangerous in the extreme--like the potential threat to all life on earth that they have allied to defeat.

* In ''Literature/TheCodexAlera'' this idea is acknowledged with regards to the Grey Tower, a reportedly impenetrable prison meant to hold powerful magic users. The men assigned there are some of the most reputable and hard to bribe men in the service. Add to that, anyone who tries, the guard can turn, report the attempted bribe and be paid double it by the government. So, while every man has a price, the government just makes sure they are the highest bidder.
* A variation of this features in in the ''Series/DoctorWho'' spin-off Literature/PastDoctorAdventures novel ''Mission: Impractical'', when bounty hunters Sha'ol and Karthakh make it clear more than once that their honour prevents them accepting bribes from their targets to abandon their current contract. However, when Niccolo Mandell offers them double their current fee to not go after the Sixth Doctor until he's finished the job Mandell has asked him to help with, Karthakh accepts that "bribe" as they're essentially getting paid to do nothing, since it's more practical for them to wait until the Doctor's finished his current job and has gone somewhere where it's easier for the assassins to get at him.

** The contraband smuggler Red is reluctant to try sneaking a rock hammer to Andy, but agrees when promised ten dollars (eight for the hammer and two more as interest).

* ''Literature/CradleSeries'': Reigan Shen is the richest man in the world, so bribery is often his first option--though even he does have a budget, and he sometimes encounters people with a price too high for him. He is rather proud when he bribes Eithan Aurelius, a man who '''hates''' him, to [[spoiler:throw one of the most important tournaments in the world]]. We see this event from Eithan's point of view, and it comes off rather differently: He's pretty sure he was going to lose anyway, his allies will be able to carry on without him, and he'll be able bleed Reigan for an absurd amount of money in the meantime. In fact, due to the gifts Reigan gives Eithan, [[spoiler:Eithan is able to foil one of Reigan's later assassination attempts against a rival faction. And Eithan was right; one of his personal disciples wins the tournament anyway]].

** This was subverted by Diane in one episode, but she came ''very'' close to succumbing. When it was clear than an employer offering her a new job likely wanted sexual favors from her (he asked Sam, who was acting as a reference, whether he had seen her naked) she grabbed the phone and yelled at him:

** There is a very well done moment in the episode "In the Pale Moonlight" where Sisko has to bribe Quark to cover up the crimes of someone involved in a covert mission. Quark accepts, [[NotSoDifferentRemark smugly pointing out that this trope cuts both ways]]: Quark is openly willing to let criminals go free for money, but Sisko is willing to do the same if the cause is important enough. The only difference is where they set their price. Sisko looks [[YourApprovalFillsMeWithShame really uncomfortable]] through the entire scene.

** In one memorable episode, Michael tries to bribe a foreign official, who responds by pulling a gun on Michael and ''immediately'' tries to have Michael arrested. After Michael gets away, they then have Fiona approach the official by pretending to be a CIA agent trying to catch Michael, and offers to "cover expenses" if he plays along with their sting. Michael comments that convincing someone that they can make money by doing the right thing even works on the incorruptible.
* ''Series/MarriedWithChildren'': Mr. Shimokawa (Marcy's boss) collects American classic "junk" and wants to add Al's car into the collection. Marcy will gain her so desired promotion if she persuades Al to sell it. (They can't get another car of that kind because half had been recalled and the other [[TheAllegedCar dissolved in rain]]) When Al finally agreed, Mr. Shimokawa commented he knew every man had his price. Al said every woman had it as well. Marcy had to make a sensual dance and Mr. Shimokawa offered the promotion because of how sexy she was. She then [[SubvertedTrope subverted the trope]] by beating her boss and calling it her resignation.

* In the ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' episode where Creator/OwenWilson is the guest host, [[AsHimself he plays himself]] going to [[Creator/{{Pixar}} Pixar Studios]] to record his lines for the upcoming ''Cars 4: the Spinout'', and he slowly realizes that Lightning [=McQueen=] has been turned into a creep who hits on any and all female cars around him, and there's even a scene where he hits on some (heavily implied to be) underage high school girls, and another where he goes to court for a sexual harassment charge. When Creator/LarryTheCableGuy (not played by Larry himself) is brought in to put him at ease, the script calls for Lightning to openly admit he seduced Mater's sister and called him the "R-word" [[note]]the word in question is retard, which is now considered an offenssive slur because it demeans people who have a mental disability[[/note]] because of [[DrunkOnPower "Power"]], which when Wilson says he will no longer record his lines because Pixar is going out its way to destroy a beloved children's cartoon character. However, when the producer shows him a copy of the contract, Wilson sees that that he'll be paid a hefty sum for just that one session, never mind the rest of the script, because, according to the producer: "Creator/{{Disney}} [[Series/WandaVision had]] [[Series/TheFalconAndTheWinterSoldier a]] [[Film/BlackWidow2021 very]] [[WesternAnimation/WhatIf2021 good]] [[Film/ShangChiAndTheLegendOfTheTenRings year]]." Wilson goes back to the recording boot and keeps recording lines showing that fame turned Lightning from cocky race car to sex obsessed freak.

* In ''Theatre/KnickerbockerHoliday'', the Councilmen distribute hush-money to people who ask troublesome questions, including each other.

* The Diplomat unit in the original ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}}'' could buy off enemy units. When the government type is Democracy, it is a quite efficient way to weaken the enemies' resistance.

## Absolutely '''will''' call a penalty that completely negates any legitimate forms of scoring points such as a touchdown, field goal, or safety. At this point, the game will call alert you that the ref is bribed, and the only way to fix this is to bribe the ref yourself, or kill the referee and incur a 15 yard penalty from the new ref who replaces him.

* In ''VideoGame/MegaManMaverickHunterX'', Chill Penguin says that Sigma has met his price for joining his Maverick rebellion. He does not say what Sigma gave him, but does add that working for Sigma is a million times better then piddling around in the South Pole.

* The moral system in ''VideoGame/SaintsRowTheThird'' isn't based on good or evil but rather if The Boss would accept a bribe over mayhem. The game starts with Johnny expressing that they have gone soft since becoming a franchise which The Boss replies that franchise gives them a lot of money. By the fourth game they dropped the gangster life and used their P.R. to become president instead.

** Stuff like this is actually good business practice. You still have to pay your employees overtime (which is expensive). Minor benefits (such as free meals) make employees much more agreeable to working extra from time-to-time.

* ''Webcomic/MagickChicks'': At the end of the comic's final volume, Mel makes up with [[spoiler: Cerise]] and [[EasilyForgiven lets her off the hook]] [[KarmaHoudini after everything she's done.]] Faith calls bullshit, demanding that [[spoiler: Cerise]] answer for her crimes... until Tiffany offers her a bribe:

'''Tiffany:''' ''[rolls eyes]'' Sigh... Tell you what: be lenient, and I'll talk to Tiffany Winters about giving you a DVD recording of her morning yoga workout. M.M.A.A's honor.\\

* In ''Webcomic/ErrantStory'', Sarine's preferred method of dealing with people with whom she needs something really fast with a minimum of fuss is to bribe them with LostTechnology that, as an elven ranger, is frequently just one of her personal belongings. After one instance, she notes that she's going to quickly run out of bribery material at her current rate.
* Rex from ''Webcomic/LatchkeyKingdom'', as a talking dog and the Royal Guard, feels patronized when Willa tries to bribe him with a StockFemurBone. He's willing to overlook her breaking into the Castle when given a Special Scratch-n-Sniff Issue of Maydog Magazine (featuring double entendre and innuendo!), though.

-->'''Maximilien:''' Everyone you know... Everything you do... can be bought and sold. The price of loyalty is always changing.

* During Creator/GrantMorrison's run on ''Comicbook/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica'', Comicbook/LexLuthor recruited mercenary Comicbook/TheFlash villain Mirror Master as part of his Injustice League. Mirror Master ultimately quit the team; his loyalties were always to the highest bidder, and Luthor was ultimately outbid... by [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Bruce Wayne]]. Also a rare usage of this trope as a PetTheDog moment, Luthor couldn't outbid Wayne because Wayne was giving the money to Mirror Master's favorite charity: an orphanage he grew up in.

* In ''Videogame/MadnessProjectNexus2'', the Mercenary Origin in Arena Mode has the unique ability to pay dazed enemies a small amount of money to fight for him. Better yet, this ability works on everyone, including [[GiantMook GOL3Ms]].

** This is discussed in ''Videogame/AssassinsCreedIII'', where after Connor learns this trick from Sam Adams he states that it feels wrong to rely on bribery and dishonesty.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* During Creator/GrantMorrison's run on ''Comicbook/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica'', Comicbook/LexLuthor recruited mercenary Comicbook/TheFlash villain Mirror Master as part of his Injustice League. Mirror Master ultimately quit the team; his loyalties were always to the highest bidder, and Luthor was ultimately outbid... by [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Bruce Wayne]].
** Also a rare usage of this trope as a PetTheDog moment, Luthor couldn't outbid Wayne because Wayne was giving the money to Mirror Master's favorite charity: an orphanage he grew up in.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* Early in the ''Franchise/YuGiOh'' anime and manga, Kaiba was known to use both bribery and blackmail to get what he wanted. (In the manga, he even admitted he got his three Blue-Eyes White Dragons cards this way.) Mokuba intended to do the same thing in the manga (he was far more evil in that version than he was in the anime, at least early on). Kaiba mellowed on this a little as the series progressed (he stopped using methods that were outright illegal, but he still tended to use his wealth to his advantage).
** Of course, as bad as Kaiba was, his adoptive father was ''much'' worse. To Gozuburo's thinking, money was the answer to everything, and there was nothing that couldn't be bought. (That was a big factor that led to Kaiba taking him down the first time, come to think of it.)
* This Trope was inverted in the episode of ''Anime/YuGiOhGX'' that featured one-shot character Anacis. An incredibly wealthy man (among his possessions were a gold-and-gem-encrusted Duel Disk and a submarine with a private dueling arena) he was also a very shallow and arrogant man who thought anyone could be bought. Unfortunately for him, his attempt to recruit Judai into his new project through bribery (even though the amount he offered was the equivalent of over a million dollars) failed; [[ScrewTheMoneyIHaveRules Judai's loyalty to Duel Academy and his allies was more important than money.]]
* In the AlternateUniverse of ''Franchise/CodeGeass'', Creator/BenjaminFranklin was bribed by the British Empire with titles of nobility. He then betrayed the American Revolutionary movement. With the information provided by him, the British army organized an ambush where UsefulNotes/GeorgeWashington was killed, thus bringing the American Revolution to a screeching halt.
* Used constantly in the 3rd chapter of ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'', ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders Stardust Crusaders]]'' by [[CoolOldGuy Joseph Joestar]]. Like in the example image of the trope, there are many times when Mr. Joestar solves problems by throwing money at them. [[spoiler: Including, but not limited to, buying a car to trade for camels, buying an airplane, bribes, a ''goddamn submarine'', and buying a car in the middle of a life or death fight to use as a getaway vehicle. Not to mention all the hospital visits.]]

* During Creator/GrantMorrison's run on ''[[Comicbook/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica JLA]]'', Comicbook/LexLuthor recruited mercenary Comicbook/TheFlash villain Mirror Master as part of his Injustice League. Mirror Master ultimately quit the team; his loyalties were always to the highest bidder, and Luthor was ultimately outbid... by [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Bruce Wayne]].

* In ''{{ComicBook/Violine}}'', the Zongo customs official takes the bribe after being offered enough money.
* ComicBook/XMen foe the Juggernaut is known and feared for being an unstoppable, invulnerable villain who crushes anything in his path. However, one surefire way to stop him (assuming he's working as a hired gun, and not pursuing a personal vendetta) is to offer him more cash than his current employer is offering.
* Zig-zagged and subverted for laughs in ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'' story "Everything Must Go." Mojo Jojo is having a yard sale of all his weapons and robots. Ms. Keane is eyeing one of his robots but notices its rather steep price tag ($2 million). Mojo vehemently defends his pricing saying it was labor intensive and he's even selling it at a loss. Ms. Keane offers 75 cents for it. Mojo takes it.

---> '''[=McLeach=]''': Everyone's got his price. All I gotta do is offer him whatever he wants... and then not give it to him.

---> '''[=McLeach=]''': I didn't make it all the way to the Third Grade for nothing!

[[folder: Professional Wrestling]]

* Similarly, the Probe Team unit in ''VideoGame/SidMeiersAlphaCentauri'' can take over enemy units by spending a certain amount of money, although it seems that this involves a bit of mind control as well. Probe Teams can also do this to whole bases (cities), as well.
** Moreover, the Economic Victory condition amounts to buying the loyalty of ''every single base on Planet''. Naturally, you need scads upon scads of [[EnergyEconomy energy]] [[GlobalCurrency credits]] to do this.

* The ''VideoGame/FireEmblem'' series is pretty famous when it comes to convincing people to turn traitor on their former friends to work for you but there are many characters in the series that specifically only side with you if you can dish out a couple grand to buy their loyalty. In ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening Awakening]]'' the mercenary class' description flat out says they only fight for money.

* In the ''Pokemon'' short film ''WebVideo/PokemonApokelypse'', which is a parody of DarkerAndEdgier, Team Rocket has basically overrun Kanto society with this trope. Giovanni even has a BriefcaseFullOfMoney. Unfortunately, even in this messed-up universe, [[ScrewTheMoneyIHaveRules Ash still has standards.]]

'''Duckula:''' Australia? Bondi Beach...Woolamaloo...kangaroo stew...yes. Done!

* Arab-American stand-up comedian Ahmed Ahmed relates a story wherein he - at the insistence of his agent - auditioned for the part of "Terrorist #4" in a movie. He proceeded to the audition and played the part as over-the-top as he could, hoping to troll the casting director. The next day his agent informed him that he got the part. He at first refused, believing it would only contribute to negative stereotypes. He was then informed that he would be paid $30,000 for a week's worth of work, at which point he promptly signed on.

* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire''. Tyrion Lannister believes this, coming as he does from the richest family in Westeros. Unfortunately he makes an enemy of his own sister the Queen Regent who is able to outbid him in power and wealth.

** ''Film/CasinoRoyale2006'' has a local sheriff whom both [=MI6=] and the BigBad will want to influence. Bond's contact, [[MagnificentBastard Mathis]], decides not to start a bidding war and instead [[TakeAThirdOption forges evidence that they had successfully bribed the sheriff]] and leaks the evidence to the [[TheStarscream deputy sheriff]], whom Mathis had bribed at a relatively cheap price. It's not always the highest bidder who wins.

** ''Magazine/WhiteDwarf'' magazine #42 article "Irilian". Almost everyone in the town of Irilian can be bribed. The article lists each NonPlayerCharacter's "bribe level" (the minimum amount necessary to bribe that character). If the PlayerCharacter pays more money, the chance of successfully bribing the {{NPC}} increases: each additional payment equal to the bribe level increases the success chance by 20%.

** Greasus Goldtooth is apparently rich enough to bribe any enemy into incompetence thanks to controlling and extracting a considerable tax on anyone using the Warhammer equivalent of the Silk Road, which runs through his territory. This includes most royal guards and is actually ''one of his special abilities''.

* When ComicBook/LexLuthor in ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' assembles an 'Injustice League' of various criminals, they succeed in capturing Franchise/{{Batman}}, who then proceeds to, among other things, bribe Ultra-Humanite with an [[BriefcaseFullOfMoney outrageous sum]]. It works. Humanite takes the bribe...[[AntiVillain and donates it to public broadcasting]]. Franchise/{{Batman}}, meanwhile, brings down the whole league from the inside. So even [[BigBad supervillains]] have their price...

** 1. Overlook penalties for pass interference, quarterback kill dirty plays, and cheap hit kills after a play has ended.
** 2: Will call out [[FelonyMisdemeanor completely nonsensical]] penalties on the opposing team.
** 3: Absolutely '''will''' call a penalty that completely negates any legitimate forms of scoring points such as a touchdown, field goal, or safety. At this point, the game will call alert you that the ref is bribed, and the only way to fix this is to bribe the ref yourself, or kill the referee and incur a 15 yard penalty from the new ref who replaces him.

* Aversion: American officials are ''LEGENDARILY'' hard to bribe. In fact, trying to bribe one is a very good way to get yourself in extremely deep shit. Zealous I.R.S inspections are a good deterrent.
** American [[UsefulNotes/AmericanPoliticalSystem politicians]] are another story (mostly for the purposes of getting reelected, through contributions to their political campaigns and/or parties and/or allied Political Action Committees, although a not insignificant number have engaged in straight-up pocket-lining).
** It works the other way, too - campaigning politicians promise all kinds of handouts to the people (which they may or may not follow through with), and ones in office pay subsidies to many industry groups. All to buy loyalty at election time, regardless of what the long-term economic consequences may be.

* ''VideoGame/XCOMApocalypse'' allows you to "make reparations" to the various organizations that make up Mega-City. You can give them money to change their attitude from openly hostile to neutral, or from neutral to allied (which costs a lot more). Even the Cult of Sirius, who are all but allied with the ''aliens'' can be made neutral for a short time (they'll become hostile the second you attack the aliens, which is kind of your job, so...). It's entirely possible and, given your budget, ''expected'', to raid other organizations, steal their valuable stuff, sell whatever you don't need, and then buy your way back into their good graces.

* ''VideoGame/PennyPunchingPrincess'' has this as its main gimmick. Almost any enemy can be tricked into not fighting you if you throw enough money at them. The most recent enemy you bribed can then be used to fight for you as a limited form of SummonMagic.

* ''VideoGame/MutantFootballLeague'' allows each team to bribe the referee once per game half. A bribed ref will perform three main functions:
** 1. Overlook penalties for pass interference, quarterback kill dirty plays, and cheap hit kills after a play has ended.
** 2: Will call out [[FelonyMisdemeanor completely nonsensical]] penalties on the opposing team.
** 3: Absolutely '''will''' call a penalty that completely negates any legitimate forms of scoring points such as a touchdown, field goal, or safety. At this point, the game will call alert you that the ref is bribed, and the only way to fix this is to bribe the ref yourself, or kill the referee and incur a 15 yard penalty from the new ref who replaces him.