History Main / MockMillionaire

* In "Den fineste Chevy'n" ("The Prettiest Chevy") by Halva Priset ft. Maria Mena, a mechanic is planning to meet his grlfriend's well-off family and [[MockMillionaire pass himself off as a finance guy]] because they would otherwise reject him for being a hillbilly. However, he never gets to try because he goes for some LiquidCourage, and ends up in a lake when he tries to [[DrunkDriver drive there under the influence]].

* On ''Series/TheRookie', the cops figure out the identity of a killer in a pack of rich kids by the fact that while he's in photos with a large amount of luggage, he's always wearing the same two outfits all the time. It turns out he's broke and playing up the rich image to win over "investors" to a scam.

* ''LightNovel/RebuildWorld'': Due to Sheryl wearing an extremely expensive dress Akira gifted her, Katsuya mistakes her for being rich. Sheryl goes along with this to manipulate him for information in a HoneyTrap. Preparing to fit in at feasts and parties to increase her connections, Sheryl's EvilMentor Viola teaches her proper etiquette and composure, along with having her buy more expensive clothes to go with it. This furthers Katsuya's LovingAShadow impression of her, and the training also results in her crush Akira being uneasy over how she's less affectionate with him, which contributes to him being more willing to bathe with her. Sheryl being this has consequences when [[spoiler:it gets used by Inabe to manipulate Katsuya into working for him, saying Sheryl's a ruined patrician being blackmailed by Akira, which contributes to Katsuya's MurderTheHypotenuse FreakOut against him.]]

* ''LightNovel/RebuildWorld'': Due to Sheryl wearing an extremely expensive dress Akira gifted her, Katsuya mistakes her for being rich. Sheryl goes along with this to manipulate him for information in a HoneyTrap. Preparing to fit in at feasts and parties to increase her connections, Sheryl's EvilMentor Viola teaches her proper etiquette and composure, along with having her buy more expensive clothes to go with it. This furthers Katsuya's LovingAShadow impression of her, and the training also results in her crush Akira being uneasy over how she's less affectionate with him, which contributes to him being more willing to bathe with her. Sheryl being this has consequences when[[spoiler:it gets used by Inabe to manipulate Katsuya into working for him, saying Sheryl's a ruined patrician being blackmailed by Akira, which contributes to Katsuya's MurderTheHypotenuse FreakOut against him.]]

* ''Virgin Night'': Hiroki tries to pass himself off as a scion of a family of business bigwigs in "Nadeshiko Innocence", because he's so utterly ashamed of the fact that he's nearly the polar opposite (it may be implied in the beginning that he's a {{Ronin}}, but he might also or instead be a StarvingArtist in training, given all the sketches of Nanako), and can't bring himself to "afflict" Nanako with the truth.
* ''Manga/TheWorldGodOnlyKnows'': [[{{Tsundere}} Mio]] is well-known to be the pampered daughter of a rich businessman with her own butler... or at least she was until her father died and her family lost everything. This is [[PlayedForDrama not very good for her financial, or emotional, well being.]]
* Ayame in ''Manga/SilverSpoon'' is from a perfectly ordinary family who just got rich by some circumstances, but she acts like an arrogant {{Ojou}}, with [[OjouRinglets all the]] [[NobleWomansLaugh associated tropes]]. She acts normally with her parents though.

* In ''Manga/HaventYouHeardImSakamoto'', Hayabusa and his father pretend to be a rich family for the latter's date with a well-to-do woman, and keep the illusion by renting suits and eating at a French cuisine restaurant.

* On the CW drama ''All American'', Asher is one of the usual Beverly Hills rich kids who look down on Spencer, a resident of the inner city. In one episode, Asher is pressured into hosting a party at his huge mansion, telling the gang to be careful of things like an expensive car and not make a mess for his parents. During the party, the car accidentally rolls out the driveway and is damaged. As the partygoers leave, Spencer talks to Asher on how he recognizes the man's reaction: [[SpottingTheThread "You ain't got no pictures of your family hanging anywhere in this house. You always seem to be forgetting your wallet. And you let everyone else pay for this party. Ain't hard to spot somebody with no money, man."]] Asher confesses he was rich but his dad lost it all in a bad deal. They've been hiding it from the others so he can stay at his school and he and his father rent out the guest house of the mansion's real owners. Spencer helps Asher get the car fixed before anyone knows and will keep his secret as Asher sighs on how "I don't know how long I can keep this up."

* Hyacinth Bucket ([[CatchPhrase who will remind you]] [[ItIsPronouncedTroPAY it's pronounced "bouquet", dear]]) of ''Series/KeepingUpAppearances'' seeks to cultivate an image of wealthy sophistication. In truth, they're solidly middle class, and her husband is a government employee who is not highly salaried, but it doesn't stop her from sneering at those whom she deems "economical". Some of her exploits include convincing her HenpeckedHusband Richard to buy a giant country manor instead of a small cottage, and stealing a Rolls-Royce just so she can parade about in it to random strangers.

* Creator/JorgeLuisBorges prologue to Thorstein Veblen's '' [[RichInDollarsPoorInSense Theory Of The Leisure Class]]'' shows us a harsh critique of Argentinean Society:

* Creator/JorgeLuisBorges prologue of Thorstein Veblen's '' [[RichInDollarsPoorInSense Theory Of The Leisure Class]]'' (The reader can find more about this book at ConspicuousConsumption, RealLife) shows us a harsh critic for Argentinean Society:

* One of the murderers in ''Manga/DetectiveConan'' pretends to be the daughter of a rich family so that her friends like her. She works very hard to personally afford to take them hiking, camping, and even to Hawaii. Turns out her friends and her boyfriend know, are only using her for her money, and are planning to suck her dry. [[spoiler:She ends up killing her so-called 'best friend' and blames it on her boyfriend.]]

* In one ''ComicStrip/ShermansLagoon'' arc, in order to impress his classmates in a high school reunion, Sherman has Hawthorn help him pose as a CEO. Things go sour when Hawthorn takes the ruse too far and starts selling fake stock for a fake company.

'''Hawthorn:''' Here's where the reality kicks in.
* In one ''ComicStrip/FoxTrot'' story arc, Jason, after receiving a sudden windfall and realizing that, combined with the rest of his savings, he is now has the equivalent of over a million Turkish lira, starts acting like a millionaire for a while. He drops the act after spending his entire stash.

* Al's first wish in Disney's ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'' amounted to this, though it might be a borderline case. After all, depending on how the Genie's magic worked, Al really ''is'' a millionaire after his wish is granted.

* "Literature/TheNecklace" by Creator/GuyDeMaupassant is about a woman who borrows a friend's diamond necklace for a party to pretend she's well-to-do but then loses it and spends the rest of her life trying to pay for a new one only to be later told it was fake.

[[caption-width-right:300:[[BaitAndSwitch Wait a minute!]] [[PopCultureUrbanLegends Where's her monacle?]]]]

* Joon Yorigami from ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' certainly plays the part. She may dress in fancy outfits and make a big deal of flaunting her ill-gotten wealth, but she also constantly runs herself into debt due to her spending it on pointless tat. Rather fittingly, this makes her NotSoDifferent to her sister Shion, who due to carrying bad luck on her can never hang onto any money herself for long.

* In ''TheToweringInferno''Harlee Claiborne (Fred Astaire) plays an elderly conman trying to swindle a rich widow by pretending to be rich as well. She reveals that she knows, but wants to marry him anyway- then she dies in the titular inferno.[[/folder]]

* Recurring through-out ''VideoGame/SevenSins'', which encourages fraud for it's own sake, [[SpoofAesop then rewards the character with sex, money, fame and power]].

* ''VideoGame/StoryOfSeasonsPioneersOfOliveTown'': Lovett, the local gourmet, lives in one of the town'ts nicer houses and is one of the better-dressed residents. However, once inside, the house consists of two rooms: an ornate dining room and living room combo, and a tiny bare room that functions as both his kitchen and a bedroom. The bed in the room has bunch of PauperPatches, which can also be spotted on the back of the man's coat.

* In a comic version of ''[[MickeyMouse Mickey's Rival]]'', Mortimer turns out to be one of these.

* ''Film/RushHour2''

* Joon Yorigami from ''VideoGame/TouhouProject'' certainly plays the part. She may dress in fancy outfits and make a big deal of flaunting her ill-gotten wealth, but she also constantly runs herself into debt due to her spending it on pointless tat. Rather fittingly, this makes her NotSoDifferent to her sister Shion, who due to carrying bad luck on her can never hang onto any money herself for long.

* In the various iterations of ''Series/DragonsDen'', entrepreneurs often show up valuing their business in the millions, only to be called out by the investors for having no more than a few thousand (or less!) of actual revenue to show for it.

* In the various iterations of Series/DragonsDen, would-be entrepreneurs will often show up valuing their business in the millions, only to be called out by the investors for having no more than a few thousand (or less!) of actual revenue to show for it.

* Many families and individuals do, in fact, live well beyond their means in order to create an image of living "the high life." Unfortunately, doing so for even relatively short periods of time tend to lead to massive debt (and possibly bankruptcy). The concept of "keeping up with the Joneses" can lead to this when taken to its logical extremes.
** This is well documented in [[http://www.thomasjstanley.com/publication/the-millionaire-next-door/ The Millionaire Next Door]], specifically the concept of Under Accumulators of Wealth. Also known as "Big Hat, No Cattle".