History Main / TheBarnum

* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pt_barnum Phineas Taylor Barnum]], an American showman, businessman, and entertainer famous for founding one of the circuses that merged to form the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, as well as putting forward various hoaxes. He [[BeamMeUpScotty did not]], however, say, "There's a sucker born every minute." That was actually said by a [[http://www.historybuff.com/library/refbarnum.html rival of Barnum]] when they got into what could only be described as a "hoax war."

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* ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'': Nabiki Tendo. An excellent example of the unprincipled type, having actually been [[WordofGod described by the author]] as having "no maidenly heart". This gets [[{{Flanderization}} really extreme]] as the series progresses, culminating in her [[spoiler: ruining her own little sister's wedding because she believes that inviting Ranma's other fiancees and his rivals will bring in more cash as wedding presents]]. {{Fanon}} often bumps her into a HighSchoolHustler, but this is arguable, as her schemes tend to mostly be limited to quickly taking advantage of situations, and her ongoing "business" is mostly limited to selling a large amount of soft-porn prints and images, some non-working merchandise or unreliable information, using blackmail or swindling opportunities, and investing in stocks. On occasion she has employed schemes with [[ManipulativeBastard several stages of efficient outrageous planning to them however, and she is an expert actress]]. Mostly, in a series populated by {{Made of Iron}} {{Jerkass}}es with SuperStrength, she survives through a combination of knowing when to get when the getting's good, and sticking to taking advantage of people who would never actually attack her (Akane, Tatewaki, Ranma..), and not being so irritating to those who would that a cheated customer considers it worth their time to just kill her. This accidentally happened with Shampoo and Kodachi in the manga, and Ukyo at least initially attempted to threaten and beat her up, but Ranma came to her rescue, whereafter his paramours apparently decided to leave her alone.
* Kaiki from {{Bakemonogatari}} waxes philosophical for entire episodes, in the shows trademark fashion, about why he tricks people, what it is like to be tricked, and what the capability to be trick says of the human condition.

* Miroku in ''Manga/{{Inuyasha}}'', in spite of being a Buddhist monk, is an adept and inveterate con artist whose favorite trick whenever he arrives in a town is to size up the largest and most wealthy-looking house, declare that he senses it's haunted by evil spirits, and offer to "exorcise" them in exchange for a meal and a bed for the night. If there's a pretty young girl in the household he's also been known to selflessly volunteer to stay with her all night to protect her. He's done it so often that when one house he's "exorcised" ''actually was haunted'', his companions were nothing short of shocked.

* Phoncible P. ("Phoney") ComicBook/{{Bone}}.
* ComicBook/TomPoes: Joris Goedbloed, a [[CunningLikeAFox cunning fox]] who also appears in Marten Toonder's other comic book series ''Panda''.
* ComicBook/{{Urbanus}}: The scoundrel Jef Patat tricks Urbanus and other villagers often. By the time they understand what has happened it's usually too late.

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* Dogbert in ''ComicStrip/{{Dilbert}}''.
--> "That's outrageous! Idiots shouldn't have money!"
** His rationalization for his behavior is also amusing.
--> '''Dogbert:''' I only scam people who would do the same to me if they were smarter.
--> '''Dilbert:''' So you use arrogance to cancel guilt?
--> '''Dogbert:''' It's a good system.

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* Swindle of the [[WesternAnimation/TheTransformers Combaticons]].

* Vincent Kennedy [=McMahon=] has been called the modern day PT Barnum, yet this probably applies better to all the wrestling promoters who preceded him for building the Kayfabe wall that he essentially tore down. Depending on who you talk to, the biggest wrestling fans always suspected that the game was staged and just didn't care, giving the promoters no reason to stop their charade of claiming it was completely authentic competition. Conversely, said "smart" fans despise [=McMahon=] for tearing down the wall and turning wrestling into "sports entertainment" - though in many cases the disdain comes from making WWE more about the theatrics than the in-ring action.
** By today's business standards, [=McMahon=] is probably the ultimate example of this trope considering that WWE still inflates attendance figures, manipulates merchandise sales, and has skillfully deflected declining television ratings.
* The 19th-century gambler & con artist "Canada Bill" Johnson was fond of saying, "It's immoral to let a sucker keep his money."
* Common attitude among ancient Greek sophists — philosophers, who traveled around Greek cities teaching for money (mostly philosophy, rhetorics, politics) or working as mediators (e.g. in court). They tended to be relativists, believing that law was merely a consensus between people and that justice didn't exist. Now they are mostly remembered as instructors in deception, being hated by Socrates, and "sophism" meaning LogicalFallacy.

* TheWizardOfOz is portrayed as this in Theatre/{{Wicked}}, although he tricks people into believing he's magical for political power rather than money.

* ''MSFHigh'': Fenris. She runs quite a bit of businesses, and hates any class where she can't sell things. As for what she sells, well Donovan discovered some interesting characteristics about his sword.

SubTrope of ConMan. Compare the (usually adolescent) HighSchoolHustler. Closely related to HonestJohnsDealership. May have contributed to the emergence of RepulsiveRingmaster.

Compare the (usually adolescent) HighSchoolHustler. Closely related to HonestJohnsDealership. May have contributed to the emergence of RepulsiveRingmaster.

* Kuroji Shitodo from the ShootEmUp game ''[[VideoGame/LenEn Len'en Project]]''. [[AmbiguousGender They]] don't feel remorse for exploiting peoples' greed and short sightedness, but actually does that to get money to support themself and their younger siblings.

* Kuroji Shitodo from the ShootEmUp game LenEn. [[AmbiguousGender Them]] doesn't feel remorse for exploiting peoples greed and short sightedness, but actually does that to get money for their irresponsible younger siblings.

* Dr. Facilier from ''WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog'' is The Barnum mixed with actual, infernal magical power, thanks to his Friends on the Other Side. He wins people over with his [[EvilIsSexy incredible charisma,]] plays on their insecurities or desires, and then uses the power of a contract with them [[ManipulativeBastard to manipulate them to his own ends.]]

* Dr. Facilier from ''ThePrincessAndTheFrog'' is The Barnum mixed with actual, infernal magical power, thanks to his Friends on the Other Side. He wins people over with his [[EvilIsSexy incredible charisma,]] plays on their insecurities or desires, and then uses the power of a contract with them [[ManipulativeBastard to manipulate them to his own ends.]]

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* Dr. Facilier from ''ThePrincessAndTheFrog'' is The Barnum mixed with actual, infernal magical power, thanks to his Friends on the Other Side. He wins people over with his [[EvilIsSexy incredible charisma,]] plays on their insecurities or desires, and then uses the power of a contract with them [[ManipulativeBastard to manipulate them to his own ends.]]
* Honest John from ''Disney/{{Pinocchio}}'' -- he swindles Pinocchio twice due to his gullibility and it had been suggested that he had been doing that for years.

* Great Uncle Stan Pines from ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'', owner of the Mystery Shack, museum for countless oddities- all fake. One of his 'attractions' is the Bag of Mystery, which causes any money put in to mysteriously vanish. He claims that all of the myths surrounding the town are just cooked up by guys like him to shill clueless tourists. [[spoiler: Though the ending of season one and the season two premiere reveal that he does know about the journals and the strange things that happen in Gravity Falls. He knows better than to use anything truly paranormal for the Shack, though, because A) that stuff tends to be dangerous, and B) as shown in ''Boss Mabel'', people are fooled by his cheap tricks but [[WeirdnessCensor refuse to believe their eyes]] when confronted with a real monster.]]

* Sir Humphrey Appleby of ''YesMinister'', Sir Humphrey had a cynical motto for everything ("Gratitude is merely the lively expectation of future reward"; "The Official Secrets Act exists to protect officials, not secrets"), and was always cool -- except when some honesty broke into his perfect world. A more positive take on Sir Humphrey is that he and the Civil Service are providing effective (or at least stable) government, and performing damage control when elected politicians pander to their electorate without regards to their own political survival.

* Del Trotter from ''OnlyFoolsAndHorses'' was one of this, to the point that similar characters in other shows and real life have been referred to as "a bit of a Del Boy" by the media. He was pretty unscrupulous about what he sold to people and even short-changed his own brother on occasion.

* Kaptah in Mika Waltari's ''TheEgyptian'' turns into one of these later in life.

** By today's business standards, McMahon is probably the ultimate example of this trope considering that WWE still inflates attendance figures, manipulates merchandise sales, and has skillfully deflected declining television ratings.

** Professor Monty Bladder, [[TheGhost mentioned]] in ''Discworld/AHatFullOfSky'', appears to be one, since the advertisement for his Three Ring Circus declares "See The Egress!" He had a man with a dictionary standing by to prove people had got exactly what they paid for.
*** This one was actually done by P.T. Barnum in real life as well.

* Captain Hector Barbossa of ''PiratesOfTheCaribbean'' definitely fits the bill, as a trickster who seemed nothing but content with his own cruel, selfish, and dishonorable schemes. Jack Sparrow also qualifies, at one point tricking a man who saved him from hanging into joining the crew of the Flying Dutchman and subsequently trying to "harvest" another ninety-nine to save his own skin.

* ''WebVideo/HotBikiniBeans'' features a character named Hinkler with a loud visual style and buffoonish GetRichQuickScheme tendencies.

* Great Uncle Stan Pines from ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'', owner of the Mystery Shack, museum for countless oddities- all fake. One of his 'attractions' is the Bag of Mystery, which causes any money put in to mysteriously vanish. He claims that all of the myths surrounding the town are just cooked up by guys like him to shill clueless tourists. [[spoiler: Though the ending of season one and the season two premiere reveal that he does know about the journals and the strange things that happen in Gravity Falls.]]

* Don Draper on ''MadMen'' will happily sell any product, if there is money in it. In the first episode he comes up with a new ad campaign for Lucky Strike cigarettes after promoting safer cigarettes is outlawed. [[BasedOnATrueStory Don Draper is based off of the character who invented the Marlboro Man]] His solution being, Lucky Strike: It's Toasted, Lucky Strikes' slogan in RealLife.

* The relic-seller above is probably an [[{{Expy}} expy]] of the Pardoner from ''Literature/TheCanterburyTales'', only with a SympatheticPOV.
* Crowley from ''{{Good Omens}}'' -- a demon whose job it is to tempt people to sin, but can't force them to do anything they don't chose to, and often what people chose to do on their own [[HumansAreBastards is worse than anything he comes up with]].

* In ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 4}}'', you can meet a man in the South Boston area not far from the Castle who sells "charge cards" for 110 caps each. He claims the cards are accepted in all the major shops in the Commonwealth and can be used as an alternative for caps. Of course, the cards ''were once'' valid before the Great War but are now absolutely worthless and no shop anywhere will accept them, and he won't accept returns if you go back to him. In other words, he's a con man. As if the con weren't fairly apparent from the start, [[TooDumbToLive he even calls you a "retard" under his breath regardless of whether or not you accept his offer, foolishly giving away his cover as a scammer]]. The only way to get your money back is to kill him, or better still if you have the Junk Jet on you, load the charge card into it and [[BoomHeadshot "forcibly return it" to him]], ensuring a good [[LaserGuidedKarma Laser Guided]] KarmicDeath.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 4}}'', you can meet a man in the South Boston area not far from the Castle who sells "charge cards" for 110 caps each. He claims the cards are accepted in all the major shops in the Commonwealth and can be used as an alternative for caps. Of course, the cards ''were once'' valid before the Great War but are now absolutely worthless and no shop anywhere will accept them, and he won't accept returns if you go back to him. In other words, he's a con man. As if the con weren't fairly apparent from the start, [[TooDumbToLive he even calls you a "retard" under his breath regardless of whether or not you accept his offer, foolishly giving away his cover as a scammer]]. The only way to get your money back is to kill him, or better still if you have the Junk Jet on you, load the charge card into it and [[BoomHeadshot "forcibly return it" to him]].

* In ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 4}}'', you can meet a man in the South Boston area not far from the Castle who sells "charge cards" for 110 caps each. He claims the cards are accepted in all the major shops in the Commonwealth and can be used as an alternative for caps. Of course, the cards ''were once'' valid before the Great War but are now absolutely worthless and no shop anywhere will accept them, and he won't accept returns if you go back to him. In other words, he's a con man. As if the con weren't fairly apparent from the start, he even calls you a "retard" under his breath regardless of whether or not you accept his offer. The only way to get your money back is to kill him, or better still if you have the Junk Jet on you, load the charge card into it and [[BoomHeadshot "forcibly return it" to him]].

* Oddly averted in ''Barnum! In Secret Service to Tte USA'': P.T. Barnum here may be a bit of a flim-flammer, but he gets most of his joy from entertaining the crowd rather than conning them