History Main / MoneyIsNotPower

* In Volume 3/Episode 4 of ''LightNovel/RollOverAndDie'', Satils, the previous slave owner of Milkit, has Milkit kidnapped because she cannot stand to see one of her former slaves having a happy life. She tortures Milkit until Flum manages to find them. When Satils mentioning her church connections do not dissuade Flum, she attempts to bribe Flum. Flum makes it clear that no amount of money is worth all the torment she inflicted upon Milkit, and she proceeds to torture Satils to death.

* In ''[[Comicbook/GrantMorrisonsBatman Batman RIP]]'', the Black Glove mock Batman that they have more money than even him, making them completely untouchable with no court they cannot bribe. They learn the hard way their money offers no protection from either [[spoiler:ComicBook/TaliaAlGhul or ComicBook/TheJoker who track down and kill them all]].

* Tywin thinks that he can buy out his problems but there's things that his money can't buy in ''FanFic/BequeathedFromPaleEstates'' :

* ''Creator/JohnRingo'' did this several times in ''Literature/BlackTideRising'', where people who were rich and powerful before the ''Main/ZombieApocalypse'', continue to think that they can simply (as one character puts it) "whip out the [=AmEx=] Black" and continue to get whatever they want. The most egregious case was a Hollywood producer who couldn't quite believe that he couldn't order everybody around and demand anything that he wanted. Interestingly, a few other characters cater to this belief and treat them as if they were still rich and powerful. The main characters quickly disabuse them of this belief.

* In ''VideoGame/MaxPayne 3'', when Max reaches the innermost part of the dilapidated Imperial Palace Hotel, he finds [[spoiler: Dr. Fisher [[OrganTheft harvesting the organs]] of GangBangers and regular people rounded up by an [[PoliceBrutality aggressive SWAT team]] that sold them to a crooked paramilitary organization, which hired Fisher for the sole purpose of performing the extractions.]] When Max confronts him, he insists he did it [[spoiler: to save the lives of people in need of organ transplants]], but when Max doesn't buy that explanation, [[spoiler: Fisher]] gives an armful of money to Max so he can look the other way. Max lets the money drop to the floor, and when [[spoiler: Serrano, who had been antagonizing Max up until that point]], comes into the room, Max steps back and [[spoiler: allows [[DoWithHimAsYouWill Serrano to stab Fisher with a scalpel.]]]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* Inverted in ''WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog'', where Dr. Facilier notes that while he has magic, money is what gets you real power. Logically enough, he spends the movie trying to use black magic to steal a fortune.

* ''OGPU Prison'' by Creator/SvenHassel. Wounded German soldiers are [[ColdEquation divided into two categories]]; those likely to survive who'll be evacuated, and those who are too injured to bother with who'll be [[AFateWorseThanDeath left for the advancing Soviet Army]]. A supplies officer in the latter category tries to buy an evacuation ticket off the former with diamonds he's got on hand and a BigFancyHouse he owns in Berlin. They all think he's mad and laugh at him, causing the officer to break down crying, as "he suddenly realised how poor he was."

Compare ScrewTheMoneyIHaveRules and WorthlessYellowRocks. Contrast EveryManHasHisPrice (you can get people to do anything if you spend ''enough'' money), BribeBackfire (when money ''does'' have power, but the attempt to use it has greater negative consequences than not having done so) and the even bigger contrast CrimefightingWithCash where a character's money supply is so great it counts as a superpower in the war against crime.

** Late in the manga a former low-ranked member of Raoh's army has amassed economic power (in food and resources) thanks to his mind, and uses it to order around some other survivors of Raoh's army and become a local leader and oppress people. When Kenshiro shows up, he tries to bribe him too... And ends up killed for his crimes.

* In Volume 3/Episode 4 of ''LightNovel/RollOverAndDie'', Satils, the previous slave owner of Milkit, has Milkit kidnapped because she cannot stand to see one of her former slaves having a happy life. She tortures Milkit until Flum manages to find them. When Satils mentioning her church connections do not dissuade Flum, she attempts to bribe Flum. Flum makes it clear that no amount of money worth all the torment she inflicted upon Milkit, and she proceeds to torture Satils to death.

* ''ComicBook/VForVendetta:'' This is the final fate of RichBitch Helen: losing all of her money and power. Her husband (who was in charge of the Norsefire party's SinisterSurveillance) is dead, having just killed her lover (an up-and-coming street rat, who she was grooming to become the chief of Norsefire's goons). The total collapse of the Norsefire party leaves her on the streets. She desperately flings herself onto the first guy she recognizes as a former party member, trying to seduce him by claiming that with her, they'll seize power. He no longer cares about any of it, and leaves her screeching.
* ''ComicBook/{{Maus}}'' features one of the rare occasions where the person on the receiving end of this trope is sympathetic. Vladek's father-in-law, a Jewish millionaire in Nazi-occupied Poland, tries to bribe himself and his wife out of the Holocaust. Unfortunately, smuggling two middle-aged Jews to safety in 1940 is simply too much risk for anyone, no matter how great the reward. In one of the saddest scenes of the story, Vladek tries to bribe one of his relatives, a Jewish ghetto policeman, into sparing his father-in-law from deportation. Unfortunately, the relative takes the bribe, and just ships the old man to his doom.

* ''ComicBook/BatmanNoMansLand'' plays with this; in the sealed-off Gotham, all barter is for basic survival necessities, so anyone who flashes around [[WorthlessYellowRocks paper money or jewels]] and expects results is treated as an idiot by most people. However, while ''money'' may not be power, the ''trade'' that it used to represent is more important than ever, and those who master the new currencies (tinned food, batteries, servitude etc.) become very powerful. ComicBook/ThePenguin becomes the most powerful man in Gotham this way, and is famous for being the only major trader who will accept traditional valuables as payment, but only because he has a pipeline to the outside world and enough resources to survive until the No Man's Land is lifted and the economy returns to normal.

* In the ''Anime/YuGiOh'' fic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/4096894/1/YuGiOh-Soul-of-Silicon Yu-Gi-Oh! Soul of Silicon]]'', corrupt businessman turned warlord Gansley learned this, but was able to adjust thanks to [[BigBad Daala]].

* ''FanFic/NeverHadAFriendLikeMe'': [[OriginalCharacter Amanda]] is forced by [[AbusiveParents her parents]] into a playdate with [[{{Jerkass}} Remy]] [[SpoiledBrat Buxaplenty]]. Remy learns about Norm, and tries to pay Amanda for his lamp. Even if [[spoiler: Norm hadn't already been freed from his lamp]], Amanda is still annoyed by Remy's offer. Later, when Remy poofs up a genie, and [[JackassGenie he proceeds to twist his wishes for fun]], Remy tries to bribe the genie into granting his wishes exactly, but he is laughed at, since genies can wish up their own cash.

** He constantly sinks money into the Crown but has increasingly little to show for it besides more debt. Tywin can't get Cersei, Robert nor Joffery under control.

* ''Fanfic/FateKill'': Shirou confronts Bach, who commits the atrocity of selling girls into slavery to people who enjoy torturing and killing girls. Bach tries to offer money to be left alone, and is shocked when Shirou points out his crimes cannot be paid for with mere money.

* In ''Film/DontLookUp'', most, if not all, of the survivors on the SleeperShip are [[spoiler:President Orlean's wealthy allies, titans of finance and industry.]] People who have relied on money and personal connections throughout their entire lives and have no practical skills for survival or scientific knowledge. As such, they can only stand helpless and (literally) naked [[spoiler:as a pack of alien predators close in on them seconds after they disembark. And even if they could fight the predators off, they are all clearly past fertile age, meaning their society would last only a couple of decades at most. Given it was their greed and arrogance that doomed human civilization back on Earth, it might count as LaserGuidedKarma. Also Jason Orlean is shown to have somehow miraculously survived the impact, but he's a rich dimwit and he looks utterly lost as he takes in the devastation around him, so he'll probably die of thirst or starvation soon anyway.]]
* ''Film/TwentyEightDaysLater'': Mark talks about the early days, when people were trying to escape the country.

* In ''Film/DickTracy'', Big Boy Caprice tries to buy off Tracy. It doesn't work -- Tracy just pretends to be interested long enough to entrap Caprice, and then tells him that now he has added attempting to bribe an officer of the law to the ''very'' long list of crimes Tracy will arrest him for. (In fact, in the novelization, the other mob bosses in his group initially question if it's even possible.)

** This is a major theme in the later sections of the book. Because of how the world has been turned upside down by the ZombieApocalypse, people who had previously held high-paying, "important" positions like stock brokers, celebrities, and professional athletes find themselves having to be retrained so they can actually do something useful. At one point, it's mentioned that a formerly wealthy woman who held a white collar job before the end of the world is now taking a class on useful skills -- being taught by her former maid.
** The tale of the "celebrity party fortress" brings it down home even harder: money will buy you no survival in the ZombieApocalypse if you are TooDumbToLive, like broadcasting the location of your zombie proof fortress over the Internet and showing how you are partying in style during the apocalypse while surrounded by millions of people who are desperate to keep themselves and their families safe from the zombies. In practically no time after the broadcast starts, thousands of people show up outside to demand entry and safety, and when they're refused, they begin to attack. The fortress falls in ''minutes'' to the desperate people, (because while the fortress might be ''zombie proof'', that's not going to stop ''people'' from blowing off the doors) and the mercenaries hired to protect their rich clients [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere decide that their lives are worth more than their pay and run away]].

* ''Creator/JohnRingo'' did this several times in ''Literature/BlackTideRising'', where people who were rich and powerful before the ''Main/ZombieApocalypse'', continue to think that they can simply (as one character puts it) "whip out the [=AmEx=] Black" and continue to get whatever they want. The most egregious case was a Hollywood producer who couldn't quite believe that he couldn't order everybody around, and demand anything that he wanted. Interestingly, a few other characters cater to this belief, and treat them as if they were still rich and powerful. The main characters quickly disabuse them of this belief.

* ''Series/HouseOfCardsUS'': Frank Underwood states that he went into the public sector because he values power over money. He prefers to surround himself with people who also seek power over money, as their loyalty can't be bought. He comments on this, when he analyses where he thinks his nominal ally and former Press Secretary, the lobbyist Remy Danton, has gone wrong.

** [[spoiler: In ''Granite State'', Walt being a fugitive from the law means he can't deposit or hide his money, nor send it to Skyler, without attracting the attention of the feds who will just take it from him. While Ed is honest enough to help Walt escape, he isn't honest enough that he won't try and keep Walt's money for himself. Walt Jr. is so disgusted with his father, he won't accept a dime from him. Walt is so isolated and lonely, he straight up burns some of his money at one point]].

** The show really shows that gold alone does not guarantee power. The Lannisters are able to stay in power not just because they are the richest house in Westeros, but due to Tywin's cunning, ruthlessness and strong leadership, with him calling gold "just another rock". This becomes a plot point in Season 4, when it's revealed that the Westerland mines have been dry for years, and the Lannisters themselves are actually bankrupt, though Tywin was able to maintain the illusion that all was well with their finances for some time.
** When Baelish doubts Ned Stark for antagonizing the Lannisters because gold, not soldiers, is what wins wars, Ned retorts that by that logic, it makes no sense that Robert is king and not Tywin Lannister. (The "joke" being that Robert Baratheon, not Tywin Lannister, is king.) Ned is proven wrong in that the Lannisters and the Tyrells are major powers thanks to their gold and resources, and the support and loans from the Iron Bank can bring a nearly defeated contender (Stannis) BackFromTheBrink. Ned, however, is also right in that neither the Lannisters or Tyrells can ''openly'' rule even after defeating their opponents, because they still need the appearance of legitimacy (i.e. a King named Baratheon who is descended from the Rebel King who won the Iron Throne). The Lannisters (who are wealthy and have a reputation for "paying debts") also suffer the consequences of Bad PR and poor heirs since the Iron Bank has faith in Tywin Lannister, the Hand of the King, but has none whatsoever in any of his descendants, while Stannis can count on relative youth and dependability.
** Peter Baelish, who is an embodiment of a nascent CorruptCorporateExecutive, is also seen as a "money grubber" by the High Lords of Westeros, and ultimately the word of a teenage daughter of a High Lord counts for more than that of a longtime successful finance minister.

* The Apostle Judah Mathew insists all his opponents be paid as much as he is, he will even give them his pay day, for he has that which monetary gain can never attain: [[HolierThanThou Power From Above]].

* In ''VideoGame/MaxPayne 3'', when Max reaches the innermost part of the dilapidated Imperial Palace Hotel, he finds [[spoiler: Dr. Fisher [[OrganTheft harvesting the organs]] of GangBangers and regular people rounded up by an [[PoliceBrutality aggressive SWAT team]] that sold them to a crooked paramilitary organization, which hired Fisher for the sole purpose of performing the extractions.]] When Max confronts him, he insist he did it [[spoiler: to save the lives of people in need of organ transplants]], but when Max doesn't buy that explanation, [[spoiler: Fisher]] gives an armful of money to Max so he can look the other way. Max lets the money drop to the floor, and when [[spoiler: Serrano, who had been antagonizing Max up until that point]], comes into the room, Max steps back and [[spoiler: allows [[DoWithHimAsYouWill Serrano to stab Fisher with a scalpel.]]]]
* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'' during the GoldenEnding: One of the [[BigBadEnsemble main villains]] [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Devin Weston]] cheats the heroes out of their payment and tries to put a hit on one of them, thinking he can get away because he is so rich and powerful (though to be fair, he does own his own small army of Merryweather guards). [[spoiler:[[AxCrazy Trevor]] goes after him in his luxurious and heavily guarded mansion, kills all his guards and imprisons Weston inside his own car's trunk. Weston tries to bargain with Trevor by offering money and employment in exchange for sparing him and gets increasingly desperate as he realizes that Trevor doesn't really care about money since not only is he already rich from all the heists and crimes he's done by that point, he really hates Weston and no fortune in the world can save him from his inevitable death]].

* ''Webcomic/UnicornJelly'': The Arks off the dying world would probably be tailored for the rich and powerful... IF there were enough damn space for a bunch of useless snobs. As the Arks are barely functioning on unknown precursor technology that has not been improved for over 500 cycles, there simply isn't enough weight support for more than a skeleton crew of the fittest soldiers and the thinnest assassins, a handful of ''the thinnest and not smartest'' scientists, and a few dozen children for colonization because their weight is by far the lightest. In fact, the heroes only get to board because ''one of them accidentally slaughtered a dozen kids''. No amount of money, or even political power, will make up for the ability to float the ark off a planet that's up next for asteroid target practice.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' episode "Furniture and Meat", Finn and Jake go to the Wildberry kingdom to spend all of their excess treasure. Jake quickly goes nuts when he realizes he can get away with just about anything by tossing around money. He finally bites off more than he can chew when he offers Wildberry Princess money if she lets him sit on her head. She gets so angry and embarassed that she orders Finn and Jake's arrests and confiscates their loot.

* Before UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, the German Reichstag was divided over how to fund the state budget. The German state argued amongst itself until World War I, when state expenditures exploded... and the Reichstag couldn't agree on what taxes to implement to fund them. So the German state created vast sums of new money by refusing to tax even a fraction of the amount it was spending. State spending was massively reduced after the war's end, but the German Parliament continued to be deadlocked on how to reduce the deficit. The result was a ludicrously quick economic recovery from the war, as fewer people saved money and everyone spent virtually all their income as soon as they got it, raising the inflation rate still further. By 1923, inflation was increasing every single day, all faith in the currency evaporated. The economy collapsed once it got to the point where it took literal wheelbarrows of Reichmarks buy a loaf of bread.

* UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler and the Nazi Party were helped into power, in part, by wealthy industrialist backers. Once Hitler assumed power, he did what he wanted and was glad to nationalize a factory he thought wasn't doing what it should. When it became clear that Nazi Germany was going to lose UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, Hitler's final act was going to be bringing Germany lower than Dark Ages poverty by blowing up every bridge, every farm house, every factory, etc. across the country. This plan was so insane that the general assigned to the plan never implemented it.
* In the aftermath of communist revolutions, the elite classes find themselves [[EatTheRich dispossessed of their wealth and often executed]] by the new ruling class of communist aparatchiks. In the early years of Maoist China, many landlords found themselves humiliated, imprisoned and brutally executed by Mao's forces. Fidel Castro happily nationalize the property of Cuba's elite, forcing many of them to emigrate to Florida. In Stalin's Russia, the class of independent farmers created by the New Economic Policy, known as kulaks, were shuttled off to Siberia (if they were lucky), with the commissars taking their land for collectivization.

-->'''Bane:''' ''[to Stryver]'' Leave us.\\

* Discussed at the end of ''ComicBook/{{Transmetropolitan}}'', when the BigBad has all his crimes exposed to the public. It's noted afterwards that he's using his considerable wealth to avoid legal prosecution... but he's only got so much money, and with the absolutely massive number of people that now want him dead, it's really [[KarmaHoudiniWarranty only a matter of time]] before he either bankrupts himself through constant bribes or has the bad luck of encountering somebody who cares more about their hate for him than cash.

* The story of King Midas is about a man who wishes everything [[MidasTouch he touches turns to gold]]...only to realize the hard way can't eat gold, nor can he hug the golden statue that was once his daughter.

** One of the SerialKiller Jin-e's victims tried to bribe him into leaving him alone, but Jin-e doesn't care about money, only about the fun from killing people and having interesting fights.

* Metori Saiko from ''Manga/TheDisastrousLifeOfSaikiK'' is introduced as a snobby heir to one of Japan's largest corporations, who thinks he can buy everyone off to do anything he wants. However, after the arc where the main characters get stranded on an island after their boat sinks, he gets some character development.

* When the Soviet Union fell, a small number of businessmen in Russia took control of recently privatised state-owned companies and basically carved up the nation's economy into personal fiefdoms. The President at the time, Boris Yeltsin, couldn't do much within the law to stop them, and they became the famous oligarchs of UsefulNotes/TheNineties. When UsefulNotes/VladimirPutin, who didn't much care for concepts like "rule of law" or "democracy", came to power he kindly reminded these very rich men that they may have the cash, but he had the guns. Contrary to popular Western imagination, the oligarchs are no longer major political power players in Russia, but more like nobles under a medieval absolute monarchy; they get to keep their money and prestigious positions, but only at the pleasure of Tsar Vladimir.
* China's in a similar position right now. After the Cultural Revolution, there was a diffusion of power throughout the CCP and limited free markets were allowed, leading to the rise of homegrown millionaires and billionaires who wielded significant influence. However, current President Xi Jinping has overseen an unprecedented level of centralisation and is considered the most powerful Chinese leader since [[UsefulNotes/MaoZedong Mao]]. He's demonstrated that he can and will simply depose, imprison and confiscate the assets of any wealthy party elite or businessman he feels like, even the heads of some of China (and the world's) biggest corporations (which unlike in Russia aren't even nominal independent of the state).

* One of the themes of the ''Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy'' are villains who aren't motivated by pure greed, but by some greater philosophic, if terrible, goal.
** In the first movie, Falcone says he runs the city with "power you can't buy... the power of fear." (Although this power doesn't save him when scarier people start to show up...)
** In the second, the Joker burns his cash payment from the mob and then kills the mob boss who paid him. In general, money won't get you anywhere with Batman's enemies, any more than it would with Batman himself.

* ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'': Corporate mogul John Daggett gets hit in the face by this trope when [[DragonWithAnAgenda Bane]] stops doing what he's told.

** This is a theme with all the villains in the Dark Knight saga. In the first movie, Falcone says he runs the city with "power you can't buy... the power of fear." (Although this power doesn't save him when scarier people start to show up...) In the second, the Joker burns his cash payment from the mob and then kills the mob boss who paid him. In general, money won't get you anywhere with Batman's enemies, any more than it would with Batman himself.

* In ''Film/DontLookUp'', [[spoiler:most, if not all, of the survivors on the SleeperShip are President Orlean's wealthy allies, titans of finance and industry. People who have relied on money and personal connections throughout their entire lives and have no practical skills for survival or scientific knowledge. As such, they can only stand helpless and (literally) naked as a pack of alien predators close in on them seconds after they disembark. And even if they could fight the predators off, they are all clearly past fertile age, meaning their society would last only a couple of decades at most. Given it was their greed and arrogance that doomed human civilization back on Earth, it might count as LaserGuidedKarma. Also Jason Orlean is shown to have somehow miraculously survived the impact, but he's a rich dimwit and he looks utterly lost as he takes in the devastation around him, so he'll probably die of thirst or starvation soon anyway.]]

* In the aftermath of communist revolutions, the elite classes find themselves [[KillThePoor dispossessed of their wealth and often executed]] by the new ruling class of communist aparatchiks. In the early years of Maoist China, many landlords found themselves humiliated, imprisoned and brutally executed by Mao's forces. Fidel Castro happily nationalize the property of Cuba's elite, forcing many of them to emigrate to Florida. In Stalin's Russia, the class of independent farmers created by the New Economic Policy, known as kulaks, were shuttled off to Siberia (if they were lucky), with the commissars taking their land for collectivization.

* In the aftermath of communist revolutions, the elite classes find themselves [[KillThePoor dispossessed of their wealth and often executed by the new ruling class]] of communist aparatchiks. In the early years of Maoist China, many landlords found themselves humiliated, imprisoned and brutally executed by Mao's forces. Fidel Castro happily nationalize the property of Cuba's elite, forcing many of them to emigrate to Florida. In Stalin's Russia, the class of independent farmers created by the New Economic Policy, known as kulaks, were shuttled off to Siberia (if they were lucky), with the commissars taking their land for collectivization.

* China's in a similar position right now. After the Cultural Revolution, there was a diffusion of power throughout the CCP and limited free markets were allowed, leading to the rise of homegrown millionaires and billionaires who wielded significant influence. However, current President Xi Jinping has overseen an unprecedented level of centralisation and is considered the most powerful Chinese leader since [[UsefulNote/MaoZedong Mao]]. He's demonstrated that he can and will simply depose, imprison and confiscate the assets of any wealthy party elite or businessman he feels like, even the heads of some of China (and the world's) biggest corporations (which unlike in Russia aren't even nominal independent of the state).

* This is often pointed out regarding Doomsday Preppers who stockpile gold or cash. In the event that there actually is a widespread collapse of civilization, money is not going to be nearly as valuable a commodity as food, medicine, or basic tools. A bag of gold coins isn't useful by itself -- it's only worth something because everyone agrees that it's worth something. A hammer and saw, a case of canned beans, or a box of clean bandages would be much more useful in a post-apocalyptic world than a bag of coins.

** In a similar vein, ''being'' a man of great wealth and resources does not mean that you're somehow bulletproof. Status as a Captain of Industry doesn't mean the right (wrong?) man [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim won't just shoot you]] down if you push him hard enough. [[spoiler: [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Leviticus Cornwall]] finds this out the hard and stupid way, after laughing at Dutch's offer to let him go in exchange for a payoff... [[WhatAnIdiot while the trigger-happy outlaw is standing ten feet away]]... [[TooDumbToLive fully armed]].]]

* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13877472/1/Reapers-Among-Fairies Reapers Among Fairies]]'': Princess Hisui E. Fiore's money and royal titles are meaningless when facing superhumans like Karin and Yuzu who don't give a damn who she is or how much money she has and will not hesitate to kill her for hurting their family. Hisui laments that she thought she was untouchable, but now she knows she never had any real power.

* In ''Film/DontLookUp'', [[spoiler:most, if not all, of the survivors on the SleeperShip are President Orlean's wealthy allies, titans of finance and industry. People who have relied on money and personal connections throughout their entire lives and have no practical skills for survival or scientific knowledge. As such, they can only stand helpless and (literally) naked as a pack of alien predators close in on them seconds after they disembark. Given it was their greed and arrogance that doomed human civilization back on Earth, it might count as LaserGuidedKarma. Also Jason Orlean is shown to have somehow miraculously survived the impact, but he's a rich dimwit and he looks utterly lost as he takes in the devastation around him, so he'll probably die of thirst or starvation soon anyway.]]

* The scene mentioned in Anime and Manga also happens in the live adaptation of ''Film/RurouniKenshin'', made more chilling by the fact that the person confronting Kanryu isn't Himura Kenshin the Rurouni, but Himura Battousai, only just keeping his homicidal impulses in check.
-->'''Kenshin:''' Do you know what money ''can't'' buy, Kanryu? It's what you're begging for right now. Your life.

* ''Film/Hercules2014'': [[spoiler:King Eurystheus]] tries to offer Hercules gold to leave him alone. Given he had confessed to killing Hercules' family and framing him for it, Hercules doesn't listen and kills him.

* ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'''s Battle of Trost has Mikasa confront a greedy merchant who insists on bringing ''all'' of his wares through a gate too small to accommodate them, risking the lives of all those around him. She delivers a ''brutal'' ReasonYouSuckSpeech to him, pointing out that her comrades are putting their lives on the line to help everyone evacuate.