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6[[quoteright:260:[[Platform/AppleMacintosh https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gold_mac_laptop.jpg]]]]
7[[caption-width-right:260:Because [[GoldMakesEverythingShiny high-end laptops alone]] don't scream "I'm stinkin' rich!" loud enough.]]
8
9->''"I'd build a big tall house with rooms by the dozen,\
10Right in the middle of the town.\
11A fine tin roof with real wooden floors below.\
12There would be one long staircase just going up,\
13And one even longer coming down,\
14And one more leading nowhere, just for show"''
15-->-- ''Theatre/FiddlerOnTheRoof'', "If I Were a Rich Man"
16
17If you can imagine a luxury, rich people have purchased it.
18
19In a nutshell, conspicuous consumption is any extravagant spending that has no real purpose other than just to show off someone's wealth. Sometimes this leads to a vicious cycle of "keeping up with the Joneses", when two well-off people or families each feel that they need to buy more things to show they're just as wealthy as the other, sometimes with SerialEscalation (even if what is bought is SimpleYetOpulent).
20
21Any way you look at it, these people are just spending money for the hell of it. You aren't buying a luxury car, you're buying a gold-plated one. You don't just have a private jet, you have a private aircraft carrier (and not for your [[PrivateMilitaryContractors private army]] either).
22
23Yes, there can be at least somewhat understandable reasons to spend a lot of money. If you see an expenditure for a reason like these, it's ''not'' this trope:
24* Sometimes it's just a bigger and better version of a thing you need anyway. You need a car, and they buy leather-upholstered luxury cars.
25* Sometimes it's expected, or even required, for cultural reasons. [[ErmineCapeEffect It wouldn't do for royalty to dress like slobs]].
26* Sometimes what these people ''do'' actually requires a large expense. A CEO of a [[MegaCorp multinational corporation]] often negotiates multi-million dollar deals with other executives that need to be done in person, so he/she needs a private jet to accomplish that. Similarly, a rock star who is hounded by crazy fans may need a large entourage of bodyguards on every outing.
27* Sometimes someone [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney is trying to buy him/herself out of trouble]].
28
29This can apply just as often in RealLife as in fiction, but with fiction, some of the spending can even defy reality, thus overlapping with {{Fiction 500}}. Also common among the NouveauRiche (often leading to AFoolAndHisNewMoneyAreSoonParted).
30
31It also is often the case that a MockMillionaire will use Conspicuous Consumption to portray themselves as super-rich; after all, they wouldn't be throwing that kind of money around unless they had a lot more in the bank, right?
32
33A retailer that targets this demographic is UpMarketing.
34
35A SuperTrope to BlingBlingBang, EverythingsSparklyWithJewelry, BillionaireWristband, GemEncrusted, PimpedOutCape, PimpedOutDress, PrettyInMink, BigFancyHouse, LuxuriousLiquor, MaidCorps, GoldMakesEverythingShiny, GlamRap, ItsSnowingCocaine, IfIWereARichMan, PooledFunds, FormalFullArrayOfCutlery, SnootyHauteCuisine.
36
37Compare ExecutiveExcess, MoneyFetish, UpperClassTwit, {{Egopolis}}, SerialEscalation, BlingOfWar, CityOfGold, and SuspiciousSpending. This trope also goes very well with AwesomeButImpractical, as the stuff that costs the most frequently has the least practical use;[[note]]Case in point: the 24-carat gold-plated Macbook in the page image would scratch and dent incredibly easily, as gold is a notoriously soft metal and much less durable than aluminium, which most Macbooks are made of, or plastic, which most other laptops and computers are made from.[[/note]] the point isn't to ''use'' it (since anyone can afford something useful), but to show off that you can ''afford'' it. See WickedWastefulness for when this trope is portrayed as wasteful.
38
39Contrast AffluentAscetic and BankruptcyBarrel.
40
41Compare ''and'' contrast SimpleYetOpulent, where an item is obviously high-quality but not ostentatious or tacky.
42
43Not to be confused with CrazyConsumption or the VictorianNovelDisease. For purchases that are conspicuous in terms of an investigation, see SuspiciousSpending.
44
45In economics, this type of product is known as a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veblen_good Veblen good]], named after American economist Thorstein Veblen. Such a good sees higher demand by the market the more the price rise, which violates the normal assumed behavior of products.
46----
47!!Examples
48
49[[foldercontrol]]
50
51[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
52* ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'':
53** In some of the ancillary material to ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'', some Zeon officers have personalised Mobile Suits that include ostentatious gold trimmings. [[SissyVillain M'Quve]], for example, has a customised Gouf with such trimmings that is only mentioned in the [[AllThereInTheManual Mobile Suit Variation]] series.
54** Similarly, the MSV series also mentions the personalised Zaku-II of Vice-Admiral Dozle Zabi, which has a deeper green than regular Zakus and also has gold trimmings on it. This might also cross over with ErmineCapeEffect, though, since Dozle is part of the ruling Zabi family in addition to being a FrontlineGeneral.
55** In ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing'', Dorothy Catalonia seems to have a thing for gold-plated vehicles: a limousine, a space shuttle, and a truck.
56* Double subverted in the ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'' {{Yonkoma}} spinoff, ''My Heroine Academia''. The rest of the girls of Class 1-A assume that Momo Yaoyorozu, a girl so rich that she drinks teas that cost 50,000 yen per cup and has 10,000 yen towels (roughly $500 and $100, respectively), has a fancy case for her smartphone made out of gold or jewels, but in reality, it's a simple plastic case; she just buys a new one whenever the case gets scratched. Ochaco Uraraka, whose family is so poor she can't even afford a smartphone, is appropriately shocked.
57* Aria from ''Manga/SeitokaiYakuindomo'' comes from a family that is rich that her mansion has a room made of solid gold.
58* In ''Anime/SpeedGrapher'', there was a Euphoric who literally eats diamonds. If she eats enough, she becomes a walking, talking diamond.
59** In another example, Suitengu smokes cigarettes literally rolled in 10,000-yen bills.
60* Zigfried von Schroeder from ''Anime/YuGiOh'' has a fancy castle, an army of maids, private jets, and swimming pools filled with fresh milk... to hide the fact that his life of luxury is in jeopardy since [=SchroederCorp=] is going broke.
61[[/folder]]
62
63[[folder: Art]]
64* ''Art/TheArnolfiniPortrait'':
65** Completed in 1434, many things scattered about the room hint that the depicted couple is wealthy: her PimpedOutDress and jewelry, the oranges by the window[[note]]they would have been very expensive and difficult to import at the time[[/note]], the Oriental rug, and the rich, heavy bed fabrics.
66** Makes sense in a cultural context: The geography of the Low Countries doesn't easily allow for a traditional aristocracy based on ownership of agricultural land. Instead, highly influential merchant families dominated urban centers, and by the time of the Dutch Golden Age 200 years later, this mercantile economy had evolved into an early form of Capitalism. Within these smaller "domains", displays of artwork and other valuable objects became the way for wealthy people to show off their status.
67* ''Art/VenusAndCupidGentileschi'': The price of lapis lazuli pigments, necessary for both creating an oil paint and a fabric blue this rich, was exorbitant at the time. Then there's the gold embroidery on the velvet (an expensive cloth) pillow and curtain. If you add to it that Cupid has a fan made of exotic peacock feathers, you get to the conclusion that the illustrated room is quite luxurious. Enough to house deities, in fact.
68[[/folder]]
69
70[[folder:Comic Books]]
71* ''ComicBook/AlanFord'' played for laughs in ''Do-Re-Mi'': a millionaire buys an original Paganini violin and as soon as the transaction is complete he promptly [[ExtremeOmnivore eats it whole, strings included]], in front of the horrified store owner. According to what he says, it's his habit.
72* ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}}'': In ''Recap/ObelixAndCo'', Obelix becomes rich from selling menhirs to the Roman economist Preposterus. At the suggestion of Preposterus, Obelix gets some "smarter clothes". Said clothes turn out to be [[ImpossiblyTackyClothes hideously garish]]. Once the rest of the village is caught up in the craze, all the other menhir entrepreneurs start wearing these hideous clothes as well.
73** Preposterus markets the menhirs as status symbols since they have no other use. A narration box warns the reader that this concept might be hard to understand since in modern times, [[SarcasmMode no one would dream of selling something completely useless]].
74* ''ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}'' owns a gun that seems to be '''made''' of this trope; [[BlingBlingBang it's solid gold and the bullets he uses for it are diamonds]], he calls it [[CompensatingForSomething the Compensator]].
75* ComicBook/RichieRich had gold-plated, gem-studded ''everything''. Conspicuous consumption is the ''only'' joke in his comics: mundane gadgets festooned with precious metals and minerals, landscaping feature like hedges and swimming pools shaped like dollar signs, the immense size of the Rich estate (requiring multiple ZIP codes, needing its own transit system), and so on, ''ad nauseum''. On at least one occasion Richie pointed out to his mother how impractical much of this was, such as in the case of a washcloth so encrusted with jewels that you [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome scratch your face when you try to wash with it]].
76* Two Creator/CarlBarks stories ("Hound of the Whiskervilles" and "The Status Seeker") show the [[ThriftyScot miserly]] Scrooge clashing with the other wealthy snobs of Duckburg because he ''doesn't'' use his wealth this way; to his surprise, it's not how much money you have that impresses people but how you flaunt it, which is not his style at all.
77** This trope is actually a recurring plot in the Italian Disney comics, where John Rockerduck appears more often than Flintheart Glomgold. A common setting is the Duckburg Millionaire's Club, who occasionally expel Scrooge because they consider his thrifty personality to be against club standards.
78* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'':
79** One of [[Characters/MarvelComicsMaryJaneWatson Mary Jane Watson]]'s own self-acknowledged flaws is a tendency for this. Having been born poor and wanting to be fashionable and successful she tends to splurge when she makes money, traveling first class and buying expensive stuff and going to fancy places. Which continued even after she and Peter married, and it became a problem when the couple faced lean times, such as when Jonathan Caesar ended her fashion career, or during Mark Millar's run on ''Marvel Knights'', where attempts by her to improve her savings led to dodgy investments. Peter did struggle with his since growing up poor made him austere, it also made him feel guilty about not being able to provide all this for MJ on his own, yet at the same time being a little too passive and accommodating to make this a big issue, and too supportive to make her feel guilty about spending on herself from her own hard-earned money.
80** ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManRenewYourVows'' #19 actually does have her experience some CharacterDevelopment where she and Peter take a cruise vacation, and MJ drags him to a fancy dinner where they interact with snobby fellow travelers. By the end of the issue, after MJ had earlier told Peter to let it slide, she unloads on them for their ingratitude to Spider-Man and Spinneret (their alter-egos who saved them) and then she and Peter take a cheaper road-trip that is more romantic and peaceful, with MJ starting to adopt some of Peter's taste for austerity.
81** In ''ComicBook/SpiderGirl'' Mayday who takes after her father in his tastes and lifestyle attitude in her early years often avoided her mother's love for shopping and her fashion tastes with MJ noting that Mayday never seemed to like her taste in clothing. After a while, Mayday does start to have her taste rub off on her, and in one time-travel issue, Mayday on meeting the young version of her mother aside from noting how beautiful she was at her age, is bemused when the first thing teenage MJ does is insist that they go shopping so she can dress better:
82--->'''Mayday''': "Now ''you'' [[SomethingOnlyTheyWouldSay sound like my mother]]."
83* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman'' [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1942 Vol 1]]: When she's first seen the self professed Queen Atomia's servants are piling precious gems in front of her and the drum-like arms of her throne are hollow things filled with diamonds and emeralds.
84* ''ComicBook/DoctorDoom'' once outraged [[ComicBook/IronMan Tony Stark]] by off-handedly mentioning that he owned several Rembrandts but had one burned because it displeased him. He's also been shown to enjoy lavish meals prepared by master chefs all by himself (though on at least one occasion when he didn't feel like dessert he instructed his chef Pierre to "bestow it on some deserving peasant family").
85[[/folder]]
86
87[[folder:Fan Works]]
88* In the ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'' fanfic ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/31456490 The Artist's Garden at Madripoor]]'', Steve and Natasha go to [[Series/TheFalconAndTheWinterSoldier Madripoor]] in order to acquire the component they need for the [[Film/AvengersEndgame Quantum Tunnel]] from the [[JudgeJuryAndExecutioner Power Broker]] who resides in a [[BigFancyHouse large upscale building]] containing an art gallery filled with priceless works of art. The Power Broker, [[SamusIsAGirl who Steve is shocked to discover]] is [[FallenHero Sharon]], meets with them wearing [[SimpleYetOpulent a form-fitting, low-cut, sequined white dress]] and diamonds which Steve describes as worth more money than he's ever owned his whole life. When she invites Steve and Natasha in to talk, Steve takes note of how elegant the place is. She also uses the building to host lavish parties.
89* ''Fanfic/BurnTheWitchMiraculousLadybug'': This bites Lila in the butt after she sets up a FakeCharity, conning Rose and several others into donating to it. Once the deception is exposed, Chloe casually points out that the other girl has been filling her wardrobe with all kinds of designer styles that she couldn't ''possibly'' have been able to afford with her allowance alone.
90* ''Fanfic/TheKarmaOfLies'': Lila takes advantage of this mentality; when she goes to withdraw the money she's stolen from [[spoiler:the Agreste emergency account]] as eurobonds, she makes sure to do so at a location that's popular with rich kids prone to flaunting their wealth in this fashion. This lets her pass herself off as another SpoiledBrat that's RichInDollarsPoorInSense.
91* ''Fanfic/KarmasABitch'':
92** Lila fantasizes about using her ill-gotten gains from the scam she's running with Zoe to add some designer clothing to her wardrobe, along with buying herself the latest technology -- and a fancy car once she's old enough to drive.
93** Zoe, [[{{Foil}} by contrast]], defies this; she's careful to avoid making too many expensive purchases at once in order to avoid drawing unwanted attention and awkward questions about how she's able to afford such things.
94* In ''Fanfic/ANorthernDragoness'', the Great Sept of Baelor is projected to have an obscene cost of two and a half million dragons - twice what the Sept of Remembrance, which was heavily fortified and included barracks for the Faith Militant, cost. Most of the money is budgeted to go towards charity, for which Baelor is famous, but a lot of it is also meant to be spent in high-quality materials, splendid salaries for all workers, and a lot of rituals Baelor insists must be carried out on each stone.
95* ''Fanfic/NotTheIntendedUseZantetsukenReverse'': Defied. Soma has the ability to [[MagicalCounterfeiting generate pennies by getting injured]] and then heal his own injuries, but as Kazuya points out, other than the whole thing of having a ton of American pennies in ''Japan'' being odd, it's a known fact that the three of them (he, Soma, and Naoki) are strapped for cash, so while buying better quality food is an acceptable expense, buying a console definitely isn't.
96* Pyrrha's parents in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12909945/22/Professor-Arc-Student-of-Vacuo Professor Arc: Student of Vacuo]]'' used her winnings to buy "a mansion, cars they never drive, and gold jewelry they never wear". Apparently, they're so in debt that she'd have to win six grand tourneys and the Vytal Festival to pay it all off, and even then, only if they didn't buy anything else. Pyrrha admits to Ilia that being treated as their cash cow is why she hates her parents.
97* ''Fanfic/ToughLove'': Charlie reveals to Bella that the Cullens are close to going broke because they keep spending on luxury cars and designer clothes. He did some research and found out their Aston Martin cost $35,000 more than Carlisle's annual salary, and their Lamborghini cost almost $100,000 more than that.
98* ''Fanfic/TwoLetters'': Marinette bitterly notes that while Mayor Bourgeois always refused any of Ladybug's suggestions to improve Paris' security or enact any countermeasures or defenses against Hawkmoth, he was more than happy to spend plenty of money on his latest vanity projects... or on things like diamond-encrusted cellphone cases for his SpoiledBrat of a daughter. As a result, she's not particularly sympathetic when she learns that he's been paying the new Ladybug to endorse him... and keeps having to pay more and more so that he's not outbid by his political rivals.
99* {{Subverted|Trope}} twice in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13545968/1/Wilhuff-Tarkin-Hero-of-the-Rebellion Wilhuff Tarkin, Hero of the Rebellion]]'':
100** During the drought on Tatooine there's a rumor that Jabba imposed a water tax so he could bathe in it. It's however quickly pointed out he'd never do that... Because Jabba would never bathe.
101** Tarkin's office is noted to be large but relatively undecorated, and much less lavish than the one of a commodore Galen Erso had previously met. Erso had actually expected it to be smaller and more spartan, and guessed it was as modest as Tarkin could afford due his rank.
102* ''FanFic/ThyGoodNeighbor'': Cyril does this by ''accident'' upon going from [[VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}} Yharnam]] to [[Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire Westeros]], simply because of the vast technology difference between the GaslampFantasy Yharnam and MedievalStasis Westeros. By his own standards, he lives a comfortable and modestly wealthy life, but in Westeros, things like glassware, wrought iron fences, porcelain, and sugar are all big luxury items in their own right, and put together are a level of opulence that would be the envy of most kings. They're also very surprised that Evetta considers salting roads to de-ice them to be routine, since they consider salt to be too valuable to waste in that way.
103[[/folder]]
104
105[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
106* In Disney's ''WesternAnimation/{{Pocahontas}}'', Ratcliffe envisions himself wearing [[BlingBlingBang a suit of armor made of solid gold, beset with gemstones]].
107* In the {{Novelization}} of ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'', according to Mei, Tyler "always had to have the latest video game, the most expensive sneakers."
108[[/folder]]
109
110[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
111* In ''Film/AddamsFamilyValues'', Debbie seduces and marries Fester. They move into an expensive and gaudy mansion. Debbie is roasted by Morticia for her bad taste.
112-->'''Morticia''': But Debbie, ''pastels''?
113* A long sequence in ''Film/{{Apocalypto}}'' highlights the conspicuous consumption of the Mayan royalty to construct their ostentatious buildings. The damage this causes to the environment and their peasants is shown to be terrible. The nobility is also shown to be covered practically from head to toe in jade jewelry. In the DVD commentary, director Creator/MelGibson uses the name of the trope frequently to point out his thinly-veiled commentary on modern society.
114* Brazilian BasedOnAnAdviceBook movie ''Até que a Sorte nos Separe'' ("Til Luck Do Us Part") has a guy who won the lottery 15 years prior finding out his fortune is basically gone after years of spending in things the bank makes sure to make a {{montage}} of: yearly travels both stateside and on the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reduced_gravity_aircraft Vomit Comet,]] buying a yacht that sunk after 30 minutes (without insurance!), celebrating a birthday in a private rock festival, having the wedding anniversary in a French castle... HilarityEnsues when he has to hide it from his wife who is still fond of spending because she can. (Note that this fate often befalls people who win the lottery in real life. It just usually happens a lot faster.)
115* ''Film/BiggerThanLife'' is a {{Melodrama}} UnbuiltTrope that criticizes this mentality in TheFifties (the decade with which it is highly associated). A poor-struggling family goes on a shopping spree to feel good about themselves and the result is a day of excitement and exhilaration followed with anxiety and guilt about living beyond their means.
116* Done in ''Film/BladeRunner2049'' to highlight the wealth of [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Niander]] [[BigBad Wallace]]. In a dystopian future where space is at a premium, clean water is a luxury (even Officer K can only afford a shower for five seconds at a time, at least if he wants it mostly non-toxic), and trees are so rare that a toy wooden horse the size of your hand is worth as much as a real one, the Wallace Corp is not only ''[[EvilTowerOfOminousness massive]]'' but consists mostly of huge, empty rooms, and Wallace's office consists of a platform paneled and furnished in wood that's ''surrounded'' by crystal-clear water. Wallace is ''blind'', so he can't even appreciate the luxuries that he surrounds himself with.
117* This is the whole point of ''Film/BrewstersMillions''. Brewster is challenged by a deceased millionaire relative to spend $30 million on ridiculous stuff so he can inherit the man's $300 million fortune.
118* ''Film/{{Casino}}'': Expected since it takes place in Las Vegas, but especially anything to do with Ginger, from her {{c|ostumePorn}}lothes and her [[PrettyInMink furs]] to her BigFancyHouse and her vault full of [[EverythingsSparklyWithJewelry jewels]].
119* ''Film/DoctorStrange2016'': Early on in the film, we see that Stephen Strange has a selection of very expensive watches at his home. This occurs before the accident that robs him of any precision in his hands, whereupon he immediately starts throwing money at even the ''slightest'' possibility that he can get his career back. Christine notes that he's always spent money as fast as he can make it.
120* The protagonist of ''Film/FightClub'' had a neat apartment with all the latest furnishings as a sign of his financial opulence. The whole place then gets torched in a fire [[spoiler:which he set himself]].
121* The title characters in ''Film/FunWithDickAndJane'' are very much concerned with what the neighbors think -- and what the neighbors think is that it's best to show off one's wealth. This intersects ''brutally'' with their poverty.
122* After the Lufthansa robbery in ''Film/{{Goodfellas}}'' the CaperCrew is told to lay low and not spread their money around, but one can't resist the temptation of a pink Caddilac and a mink coat for his old lady. All four are later found full of bullet holes.
123* In ''Film/InTime'', time is literally money, so the rich show off their wealth by just doing everything very slowly.
124* ''Film/JamesBond'':
125** Franz Sanchez from ''Film/LicenceToKill'' has a [[RightHandCat Right Hand Iguana]] with a diamond necklace. His BigFancyHouse also qualifies.
126** In ''Film/{{Casino Royale|2006}}'', Le Chiffre's fine clothes, yacht, and platinum inhaler are all testaments to his immense wealth.
127* ''Film/JewelRobbery'': Teri is obsessed with getting the Excelsior diamond; it's worth about $50,000.
128* The Marquis de Gramont in ''Film/JohnWickChapter4'' spends almost every scene he's in flaunting his ridiculous wealth, whether it be buying out an entire theater to watch a performance by himself or having a massive private art gallery to admire. Ironically, he's actually a pretty cheap bastard when it comes to spending money on anything but himself, constantly trying to shortchange Mr. Nobody and threatening Caine's daughter to ensure his compliance (though Caine likely wouldn't have accepted otherwise). Mr. Nobody even lampshades that the Marquis can "clearly afford" his exorbitant finder's fee for tracking John Wick as the man attempts to negotiate it down in their first meeting.
129* ''Film/{{Justice League|2017}}''/''Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague'': When meeting Deathstroke on his yacht, ComicBook/LexLuthor serves himself some ''Goût de Diamants'' ("Taste of Diamonds" in French). It is the most expensive Champagne (and alcohol overall) in the world, it costs about ''$1.2 million for a single bottle'' - the alcohol itself doesn't contain diamonds of course, the bottle is encrusted with diamonds. [[Fiction500 Lex can afford it]], of course.
130* Howard and Linda in ''Film/{{Krampus}}'' drive a {{Hummer|Dinger}}, own [[GunNut a ton of guns]], and live a very lavish "rich redneck" lifestyle reminiscent of the Robertsons from ''Series/DuckDynasty''. They're also living well beyond their means and facing financial hardship, and they express jealousy of the relative financial stability of their comparatively down-to-Earth (if somewhat BourgeoisBohemian) relatives, the Engels. The film also opens with a scene of a chaotic Black Friday shopping spree where people are viciously fighting each other for hot consumer items that are on sale.
131* ''Film/{{Laura}}'' actually got a [[DeletedScene scene cut from the original run]] due to the consumption going against wartime rationing.
132* In ''Film/MadMaxFuryRoad'', the three head warlords, [[BigBad Immortan Joe]], [[EvilGenius The People Eater]], and [[TheBrute The Bullet Farmer]], all make a big show of their wealth and status in the post-apocalyptic wasteland. Whereas most have a simple tricked-out car and primitive explosive weapons, Immortan Joe has two Cadillacs fused together into an impressive monstrosity and about two or three magnums, as well as a mobile soundstage in his fleet. The People Eater has a (mostly) intact three-piece suit and a giant limousine that also acts as a mobile oil rig. The Bullet Farmer has a tricked out all-terrain vehicle and a massive amount of guns and ammunition, so much so that he uses bullets as teeth and to form a judge's wig. All of these are used to impress their followers, ensuring even more fanatical devotion.
133-->'''Collin Gibson, production designer''': ''In a world where there's barely one of anything, to show you he had power, he's the man who's got two of everything.''
134* In ''Film/MapsToTheStars'', past-her-prime actress Havana Segrand is ''quite'' vocal about how expensive it is to maintain her Hollywood lifestyle: after a shopping spree on Rodeo Drive, she publicly moans "I can't believe I just spent eighteen thousand dollars!"
135* ''Film/{{Melancholia}}'' features an extravagant wedding at a castle as the world ends. The director actually contacted a wedding planning service and let them go wild.
136* In ''Film/{{Mermaid}}'', Aleksandr has decked out his apartment with the finest furnishings including multiple remote-controlled systems. It's a general theme of the movie, with Russia embracing capitalism in all of its facets.
137* ''Film/OceansEleven'': In ''Ocean's 13'', Al Pacino's character receives a gold-plated and diamond-encrusted cell phone as a gift. He's obviously been desiring one for a while. This is FlawExploitation by the protagonists, who have put an app on the phone that allows them to hack his security system, something that no other person would be able to go near with a personal device.
138* ''Film/Parasite2019'' has the Park family eating jjapaguri, or ram-don (a mix of instant noodle brands), but topped with expensive sirloin steak. While it makes for a handy metaphor for class stratification, the fact that they can't stand eating crappy junk food unless something expensive gets involved, along with the fact that mixing steak and instant noodles is probably missing the point of both, also reflects this trope pretty well.
139* ''Film/TheReplacements2000'' has the striking players' attempt at gaining sympathy from the public derailed when one payer remarks on how expensive the insurance is on a Ferrari.
140* In ''Film/{{Scarface|1983}}'', Tony Montana spends the second half of the film in a [[BigFancyHouse hideous, gaudy mansion]] with various signs of his ill-gotten wealth. In particular he has a spinning, neon-lit globe in his lobby (boasting "The World Is Yours") and a pet tiger.
141* ''Franchise/StarWars'':
142** ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'': Chancellor Palpatine's office on Coruscant. It's huge and empty and on a city planet like Coruscant, it would have been mind-numbingly expensive to rent or buy that real estate. It is a subtle display of his wealth and power that he can have a huge office and not need to fill it with anything. The Expanded universe took it even further by revealing that after becoming Emperor he moved into the even ''larger'' and ''more'' empty-yet-decadent Imperial Palace... Which for ''ultimate'' bragging rights used to be the Jedi Temple.
143** ''Film/TheLastJedi'': Canto Bight is a haven for rich socialites and gamblers, so that city is dripping with luxuries.
144** ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'': Jabba The Hutt runs a criminal empire on Tatooine, where most people are slaves, farmers, peasants, and thieves struggling to make a living in the sandy wastes. Jabba by contrast lives in a cool, air-conditioned palace where he's perpetually entertained by dancers, musicians, scantily-clad slave women, his personal jester, lavish meals that he [[JabbaTableManners gobbles down greedily,]] and a small collection of monsters he regularly feeds people to for his amusement. He's constantly in need of new droids because he keeps having his old ones destroyed (read: tortured to death) for petty reasons, like a toddler breaking his toys. When he plans to execute our heroes, he does so in a massive sand barge that roars over the barren planet blaring loud music and serving exotic drinks. Even Jabba's design as a grotesque, morbidly obese slug who can barely move under his own power is designed to indicate the worst excesses of greed, gluttony, and selfishness.
145* [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] in ''Film/TheSting''. After Hooker pulls off a big con at the start of the film, he takes out a woman with a promise of showering her with luxuries during the evening (Specifically, [[DownplayedTrope that he will spend $50 on her]]). However, he blows the entire take on a single (rigged) roulette spin and she leaves in disgust at the wasted evening. It also immediately identifies Hooker as the one who was responsible for pulling the con and sets the villain after him, and worse, his partner Luther.
146* In ''Film/TroubleInParadise'', the filthy-rich Mariette spends 125,000 francs on a diamond-encrusted handbag. Lily, one of the two con artists out to swindle her, is disgusted. (Of course, Mariette also refuses her corporate board's demand to cut employee salaries.)
147* ''Film/ZabriskiePoint'' by Creator/MichelangeloAntonioni, deals with the omnipresence of this in America, from the giant billboards, advertising, the display in the malls and the tacky and insipid proposed commercials for the real estate project that Allen's company wants to install. The finale likewise focuses on [[spoiler:the destruction of all the household objects in the house, which is played as a kind of liberation]].
148[[/folder]]
149
150[[folder:Jokes]]
151* When the Soviet Union collapsed and the economy liberalized overnight, lots of nouveau riche also appeared overnight. After decades of stolid imposed Soviet modesty, the nouveau riche were ready to show off, and tons of jokes appeared among Russians poking fun at their utter tastelessness and boorishness. [[http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/25ctfnTxKWHFfm8jys2hbg9/10-jokes-that-make-russians-laugh A BBC article]] about Russian jokes:
152-->Late 1990s. Two New Russians meet in the street. One says to the other: “Hey, look, I bought a new tie. Paid $200.”\
153“You idiot. Just around the corner you can get the same tie for $500.”
154* And the one where a new Russian gets sideswiped by a car, losing an arm, and is more worried that he lost his Rolex than his, well, arm.
155* Lewis Black had [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ij5OnYOmkcM an extensive bit]] about real-world examples of this around the time of the Enron scandal. It ends with his own idea of how to one-up them by hiring an "executive ball washer", which amazingly ''isn't'' sexual.
156-->"That's my personal BALL WASHER! What did you guys buy? Another car?! Hahahahaha!"
157[[/folder]]
158
159[[folder:Literature]]
160* ''Literature/AmericanPsycho'': The yuppie characters go to fancy restaurants, order impractically extravagant food, and then [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodSandwich don't actually eat it]].
161* ''Literature/ABrothersPrice'': When Jerin [[spoiler: is shown the husband's quarters in the palace]], he learns that the princesses' late husband Keifer planned to have the floor ripped out and replaced by the most expensive marble, and have the ceiling gold-plated. Fortunately, he died before he got around to actually doing it - the princesses didn't approve of so much luxury, as they're aware that they're already living in much more comfortable surroundings than their subjects.
162** Nobility tends towards this, with expensive outfits that are only intended to be worn once.
163* ''[[Literature/TheExpanse Caliban's War]]'': Jules-Pierre Mao manages to exaggerate this trope within the confines of a near-future sci-fi universe, directly flipping almost every established economic constraint in the series. To establish a baseline, most characters wouldn't even be able to buy a rust bucket of a ship with their life savings. For Mao, though… apart from his company, which has some kind of presence on almost every inhabited rock in the solar system, he also owns a dedicated racing spacecraft for one of his daughters to use, a small fleet of pleasure yachts, and a private space station dedicated ''solely'' to docking those yachts. The one pleasure yacht we see, the ''Guanshiyin'', features gold and wood accents everywhere (Earth has [[EarthThatUsedToBeBetter long since been paved over]]), sweeping curves throughout its architecture (most ships [[BoringButPractical are boxy to maximize storage space]]), multiple safety redundancies, and an ornate mural on the outer hull in a location that almost no one will ever see.
164* ''Literature/CaptivePrince'': One of the greatest shows of wealth in the Veretian court is to contract a [[HighClassCallGirl high-class escort]] "Pet", decked out in the most luxurious clothes and jewels the patron can afford. Their sexual services are almost secondary to their role as a status symbol.
165* ''Literature/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory'': One of Grandpa Joe's anecdotes of the legend that is Willy Wonka is the story of how an Indian prince commissioned the chocolatier to build an entire palace out of chocolate for him -- and he intended to live in it! The prince didn't see the folly of his ways until the hot Indian summer rolled around and the castle melted around him.
166** Note that Wonka himself is an aversion to this trope. Though he says repeatedly he's rich, it says in the book that most of his fortune is used to maintain his business, research new candies, and care for the Oompa-Loompas. In fact, in the above anecdote, Grandpa Joe says Wonka was absolutely ''shocked'' at the prince's declaration that he'd live in the chocolate palace.
167* ''Citizen'': In this series by David Drake and John Lambshead, the protagonist actually thinks that this trope can be a good thing: Encouraging the ultra-rich to spend large amounts of money on expensive and frivolous things is an easy way for wealth to be redistributed back into the lower social classes without the need for figurative or literal class warfare (this assumes that some poor people will be hired at a decent wage to produce/deliver the expensive items the rich man is buying to flaunt his wealth).
168* ''Claudius the God'': In this sequel to Robert Graves's ''Literature/IClaudius'', Claudius has a strategy meeting with his ministers to decide how to restore the Roman treasury after Caligula has bankrupted it. Claudius also includes his friend Herod Agrippa (the archetypal Scoundrel with a Heart of Gold), who is probably the world's foremost expert on raising loans and staving off debts. Herod explains that conspicuous consumption can actually be a useful debt management tool:
169-->Whenever I ran short of money in my needy days, I always made a point of spending whatever I had left on personal adornment: rings and cloaks and beautiful new shoes. This sent my credit up and allowed me to borrow again.
170** By the same token, he suggests, a few ostentatious displays of public prosperity can be made relatively cheaply and will go a long way towards restoring faith in the economy; such as by using the marble Caligula imported to build a new temple to himself to instead re-do the facades of the existing temples; or by gold-plating the entrance ways of the Circus Maximus, which will look rich but only cost a few hundred gold pieces.
171* ''Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian'': In "Literature/AWitchShallBeBorn", Salome goes in for this.
172* ''Literature/DarkFuture'': There's a lot of this, with the cosmetic genetic enhancements offered by [=GenTech=], including up to five implanted sets of teeth to replace your own as they wear out, but Gavin Mantle, winner of the ZBC Blotto Lotto prize of 100 million dollars goes on a spree of spending to live up to this including a [[GoldMakesEverythingShiny gold-plated Rolls Royce shaped like a penis]], a huge mansion shaped like a pair of breasts with a swimming pool [[GemEncrusted the bottom of which is covered in gemstones]] and a small army of personal {{Sexbot}}s turns the dial up a touch more.
173* ''Literature/TheDiabolic'': The only reason actual human employees are ever used. Robots and servitors can do anything, but hiring humans with free will who demand money and might turn on you is a sign of power and prestige.
174* ''Literature/TheDivineComedy'': The fourth circle of Hell is shared by hoarders and wasters rolling big rocks to smash into each other while the hoarders criticize the wasters (and vice versa). Creator/LarryNiven's take on ''Inferno'' implies the big rocks are gigantic diamonds.
175* ''Literature/DrGretaHelsing'': Leonora Van Dorne wears SimpleYetOpulent designer wardrobes, accented with a single piece of authentic Ancient Egyptian jewellery -- a different one each time. A qualified Egyptologist, she knows just how precious and irreplaceable each piece is, but does it anyway.
176* ''[[Literature/CiaphasCain Duty Calls]]'': Amberley Vail is undercover as a blue-blooded {{Socialite}}. One of the ways she reinforced her cover was to rent the penthouse suite of the most exclusive hotel on the planet and demand they replant the suite's roof garden with her favorite flowers.
177-->Nothing convinces people you've more money than sense quite as effectively as indulging a ludicrously expensive whim.
178* In ''Literature/FireAndBlood'', Ser Rickard Thorne and Prince Maelor Targaryen fled King's Landing while disguised as peasants. They went into an inn and Thorne paid for the services with silver which is something a mere peasant should not have. Their cover was blown by a greedy stable boy and got them killed.
179* ''Literature/TheGreatGatsby'': Also deconstructs the American Dream and TheRoaringTwenties into teeny, tiny pieces. Gatsby regularly throws the biggest parties just to show off, in hopes of attracting the attention of his childhood crush. In one notable scene, a guest enters his impressive library and wonders if all the books are fake. He examines them and sees that all of the books are quite real, but none of their pages have been cut. It's an entire library of unread books, just for show.
180* ''Literature/HeWhoDrownedTheWorld'': After becoming King, TheUpperCrass Lord Zhang spends most of his time feeding his appetites as extravagantly as possible, to such an extent that he has the leaves in his garden gilded. [[TheManBehindTheMan His wife]] contemptuously thinks that he'd guzzle the dregs from a wine jug if someone told him they were expensive.
181* ''Literature/TheHistoryOfMiddleEarth'': The House of the Heavenly Arch is one of 12 kindreds of the Elven city of Gondolin, and possibly the wealthiest of them; not only do they wear clothes in many bright colors (“heavenly arch” refers to a rainbow), but their helms, weapons, and even their shields are all adorned with gems.
182* ''Literature/LightVerse'': Mrs Lardner, a wealthy {{Socialite}}, often throws parties at her home, displaying jeweled objects from distant corners of the world and the distant past. Her collection includes glasses, [[BlingBlingBang daggers]], and watches.
183-->Her house was a showplace, a veritable museum, containing a small but extremely select collection of extraordinarily beautiful jeweled objects. From a dozen different cultures she had obtained relics of almost every conceivable artifact that could be embedded with jewels and made to serve the aristocracy of that culture. She had one of the first jeweled wristwatches manufactured in America, a jeweled dagger from Cambodia, a jeweled pair of spectacles from Italy, and so on almost endlessly.
184* ''Literature/MartianTimeSlip'': Water is scarce on Mars, so Arnie Kott is proud of his steam bath, which wastefully lets run-off soak into the sand instead of preserving it.
185* ''The Midas Plague'': In this Creator/FrederikPohl creation, the US went through a period of severe shortages, which strongly inculcated a strong "thou shalt not waste" ethic in the population, followed by a period of cheap fusion energy, and automatic production, which created huge surpluses. But people couldn't "waste" things, so they had to consume them, which leads to an inversion of consumer culture, where "poor" people have higher consumption quotas that they have to meet.
186* ''Literature/{{Nibelungenlied}}'': Features buhurts (spellings vary), jousting tournaments in which the knights wear fine clothing instead of armor. Even with blunted lances, this clothing will usually be ripped to shreds, thereby demonstrating the knight's talent for conspicuous waste.
187* ''Literature/NorthangerAbbey'': General Tilney gives Catherine a tour of all the improvements he's made to the Abbey, having fitted it out with a number of very expensive Regency mod cons. Contemporary readers would have recognized the expense involved in replacing all the windows with the newly-invented sash windows, the hyacinths were ''very'' expensive, and hothouses (with their attending maintenance staff) would be a huge domestic expense in any era.
188* ''Literature/{{Persuasion}}'': This is the root of the Elliots' financial troubles. Sir Walter thinks he has to live up to the style of a baronet, which means buying expensive, flashy things until he runs into such deep debt he's forced to rent out his estate to an admiral. This brings Anne's sea-captain ex-fiance back into her life.
189* ''Literature/PrideAndPrejudice'': Lady Catherine de Bourgh. After visiting both Lady Catherine's estate of Rosing. and Darcy's at Pemberly, Elizabeth draws a contrast--the decorative style at Rosings ''is'' grand, but it's also too obviously chosen to show how much money Lady Catherine can spend, not for its actual taste.
190* ''Literature/TheRiseOfKyoshi'': Since the Earth Kingdom is more corrupt than usual in Kyoshi's era, this shows up a lot. Nobles use a lot more land than they need, import foreign animals for their grounds, and even specifically use ugly paints simply because they are known for being expensive. They even manage to do this with the stones of the buildings themselves; in a country where a significant portion of the population [[DishingOutDirt can build a structure straight out of the ground]], it's considered high-status to ship in rocks quarried from as far away as possible.
191* ''[[Literature/XWingSeries Rogue Squadron]]'': The novels have [[SimpleYetOpulent a subtle one]]. When an Imperial agent visits a director, the director's room is spacious but otherwise threadbare. But looking closer, they're in a CityPlanet where space is at a premium. Having that much space and not actually using it is the very definition of conspicuous consumption.
192** Other ''Star Wars'' novels (now under the ''Legends'' banner) mention that the three largest palaces on Coruscant (the galactic capital) belong to the Emperor, Darth Vader and [[TheDon Prince Xizor]] in that order. Of them, both the Emperor and Xizor fill their palaces with artwork to show off their wealth and status. Vader, on the other hand, opts for a SimpleYetOpulent approach: his palace is almost bare in comparison, the only sign of his wealth is the fact the spartan chairs and tables are made of a very expensive and durable wood.
193* ''Literature/TheSatyricon'': Written by the Ancient Roman author Petronius, and is full of this. In the chapter describing the banquet of Trimalchio, a heavy silver platter is dropped by one of the household slaves, and the wealthy Trimalchio commands that the platter be left on the floor and swept out with the rest of the garbage. Between courses, the guests have their fingers washed with wine instead of water. The narrators are obviously party-crashers, but no one cares.
194* ''Literature/SewerGasAndElectric'': A corporate executive prepares for his upcoming date by ordering, among other things, a $50,000 ''ten-pack of condoms''.
195* ''Literature/TheStarsMyDestination'': Almost everyone can teleport themselves, so the rich show off their wealth by "conspicuous transportation"--traveling the old-fashioned way (which not only shows that they're rich enough to afford it but also ''important'' enough to make people wait for them). At one point a character arrives at a party by steam locomotive, on a track laid just for the occasion.
196* ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'': Occurs frequently. The currency in this setting is "spheres", small glass beads with chips of gemstone in them. However, one of the reasons gemstones are valued is that they are the only things capable of holding the titular Light for more than a few minutes. Therefore, the rich often use spheres for illumination, as Stormlight illumination is brighter and more steady than firelight. This, of course, doubles as a way of showing off how many spheres they have. Unusual for this trope in that this is actually ''more'' cost-efficient than the "poor" alternative - candles and torches are consumed and must be replaced, but a sphere can be recharged for free in the next highstorm.
197* ''Literature/{{Temeraire}}'': The setting's [[OurDragonsAreDifferent sapient dragons]] generally wear their wealth in lieu of traditional {{Dragon Hoard}}s and treat their jewellery as SeriousBusiness. Temeraire's pride and joy is a platinum breastplate worth ten thousand 19[[superscript:th]]-Century pounds[[labelnote:*]](i.e.: nearly a million pounds in modern-day currency)[[/labelnote]], while Iskierka fights with her captain over her desire to deck him out in {{Impractically Fancy Outfit}}s that drip with jewels and cloth-of-gold.
198* ''Literature/TheTwilightSaga'': The Cullens all wear designer clothes and drive brand-new cars despite living in a backwoods town. According to the author this is done on purpose, [[FridgeLogic because for some reason making shows of wealth helps them keep a low profile]].
199* ''Literature/WaywardChildren'': Jill Wolcott wears expensive, diaphanous pastel gowns for everything, including walking through muddy streets. As the [[VampireVannabe adopted "daughter"]] of a VampireMonarch, money is absolutely no object -- if she ruins one, it'll be fixed or replaced before she even thinks to look.
200* ''Literature/WillSaveTheGalaxyForFood'': It's explicitly noted that this trope is the only reason spaceships still exist in a world where instantaneous teleportation is the most common way to get around; every transporter booth is identical, but spaceships can go all-out on the first-class accommodations.
201* ''Literature/WhoMovedMySoap'': The narrator defends his doing this as a way to inspire faith in his (sham) company.
202* ''Literature/WolfHall'':
203** Cardinal Wolsey was known for enjoying a very lavish lifestyle. His loyal protege Thomas Cromwell glosses over the excess by either not thinking much about it, joking about it with Wolsey by pricing him by the yard, or saying that he's a public man and should keep up an appropriate appearance. Few others are so circumspect. Cromwell at one point chides Mary Tudor for making a crack about it, but he does eventually admit to himself that it was a bit much.
204** This becomes a habit of Cromwell's when he becomes truly wealthy-- not just because he's Henry's right hand but because he uses his position there to exercise his financial skills to the utmost (and by dissolving some wealthy monasteries, that too). His kitchens are so good that his cook complains city officials are disguising themselves as beggars to get leftovers, he throws big Christmas parties, and he decks out his sisters-in-law, nieces, and any other woman in his house in the best clothing that money can buy. Him being a former wool merchant, he knows exactly how much it's worth and notes the price of every fabric by the yard.
205* ''Literature/XWingSeries'': Ysanne Isard's office on Coruscant manages to look the height of opulence despite being very spartan, as despite being a large, high-ceilinged room it only contains carpeting and a simple but elegant desk and chair. On the extremely densely populated CityPlanet, space is at a considerable premium and wasting that much room is the height of decadent luxury.
206[[/folder]]
207
208[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
209* ''Series/BlakesSeven''. An episode taking place in President Servalan's palace was filmed in a stately home of England and this trope was used as a {{handwave}} -- rather than the usual DomedCity, Servalan has had a reconstruction of a "pre-Atomic" BigFancyHouse built on the ruins of the old. A member of her administration comments bitterly, "We could have built two cities for what it cost to build that absurdity."
210* ''Series/BrooklynNineNine'': Jake was like this in the first season, with an old car that required a lot of expensive maintenance, multiple massage chairs, and a DJ turntable. Despite having a reasonable job and a rather cheap rent-controlled apartment, he was deep in debt--the banker laughed when he asked for a loan.
211* On ''Series/ChappellesShow'', one ''MTV Cribs'' parody sketch had an insanely rich celebrity (Dave Chapelle himself) who ate dinosaur eggs and sprinkled diamonds on his food because it made his "doody twinkle".
212* The ''Series/ColdCase'' episode "Lottery" is about a murdered lottery winner who spent most of the money on ridiculous things. The mystery is about who killed him and what happened to the last $100,000.
213* In the season 3 ''Series/{{Community}}'' episode "Course Curriculum Unavailable", [[NoodleIncident Troy somehow got a lot of money and spent it on an ATV]].
214-->'''Annie''': "Troy, you can't bring that in here!"
215-->'''Troy''': [[ComicallyMissingThePoint "Yes, I can. It's all-terrain, dummy!"]]
216* On ''Series/DowntonAbbey'' Martha Levinson does a major one of these: if it's not the furs, then it's the pearls and jewelry; if it's none of the above, then it's the seriously posh car that is very fancy for the time, with white wheels (even Robert is impressed) and her "generous" income that proves it. This woman is stinking rich!
217* ''Series/EretzNehederet'': The MoneySong "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUMl58i4m0w Gaza's sky is black but Qatar is always sunny]]" features the leaders of Hamas living it up in a luxury hotel in Qatar while Gaza is being bombed, [[MoneyToThrowAway tossing money around]] and spending it on expensive food, sports cars, and hiring porn star Mia Khalifa to hang out with them.
218* In ''Series/TheExpanse'', a summit between the UN and MCR takes place on Earth in a large, mostly empty hall with big windows that let in plenty of sunlight. There are also large flower arrangements and a buffet featuring plenty of fresh fruit on clear display. This is all done so that the UN can thumb its nose at the MCR delegation, showing the Martians that, in spite of their superiority complex over Earth, none of them will ever get to see such luxuries on Mars in their lifetimes.
219* ''Series/GameOfThrones'':
220** The Lannisters are the wealthiest noble family in the Seven Kingdoms and not afraid to let everyone know it. They put gold and jewels on everything and boast about being able to buy anything and their ability to pay debts. [[spoiler:It's ultimately revealed to be a subversion: their gold mines have run out and the War of Five Kings wiped out both their savings and the only thing they had left of any value; an obscene debt owed them by the Iron Throne and House Baratheon. Now that they've taken the throne and eliminated House Baratheon, they're flat broke and have nothing left save two slummy port towns and the family heirs. They continue to spend lavishly with loaned money to make themselves appear prosperous and powerful, knowing the instant someone tries to call in their debts this will become common knowledge and the entire family is ''screwed'']].
221** The merchant-prince Xaro Xoan Daxos has a sumptuous mansion filled with gold artwork. [[spoiler:It's ultimately a subversion, as Xaro's vault is empty. His lavish lifestyle is a con to make him appear wealthy. Although it could be considered a double subversion; as Danny points out the gold and gems decorating his estate represent a massive fortune by themselves]]. It's played with in his rival the Spice King; while he makes a show of sleeping in and having many servants, his estate is far plainer (more like a typical Westerosi Noble) and most of his wealth is explicitly tied up in his trading fleet.
222** Olenna discusses the importance of a spectacular presentation at the royal wedding with Tyrion in Season 2 and with Margaery in "Two Swords".
223* In ''Series/TheGildedAge'', the Russells are not old blood, so they have to use their fantastic wealth to make an impact on New York society. Their new Beaux-Arts mansion is built of bright limestone walls, elaborate gilding and marble in every room, and furniture from every court in Europe or an exact replica thereof. Even their footmen are dressed in elaborate blue and gold livery that stands out everywhere they go.
224* The ''Series/{{Life}}'' season 2 episode "Jackpot" is about a murder among a support group of lottery winners. One of them lives in a party bus inhabited by paid hangers-on, and ''Series/{{Chips}}'' actor Eric Estrada.
225* On ''Series/{{Lost}}'', several characters, especially evil tycoon Charles Widmore, make a show of drinking the fictional [=MacCutcheon=] whiskey, a bottle of which costs several thousand dollars.
226* ''Series/MySuperSweetSixteen'' was all about this.
227* ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' noted this in the short film ''[[http://www.archive.org/details/Designfo1956 Design for Dreaming,]]'' made in 1956 to advertise GM's Motorama expo. As the heroine and her man drive away in their fabulous Firebird II, Mike Nelson quips, "Conspicuous consumption makes our love stronger!"
228* In ''Series/{{The Office|US}}'' Michael Scott manages to do this in the absence of actual wealth. When Oscar examined his finances to explain his debts he ended up dividing his spending into three categories, of which the third was the largest: Things that he needed, things that he didn't need, and things that no one, anywhere, ever needed.
229* ''Radio/OurMissBrooks'': In "Madison Country Club", Miss Brooks brags about how much she spends on travel, food, champagne, and clothes to society matron Mrs. Grabar. Miss Brooks thinks that Mr. Conklin is poking fun of the faculty; in reality Conklin was soliciting a donation from the wealthy philanthropist.
230* On ''Series/ParksAndRecreation'' Tom and Jean Ralphio start their own entertainment company after Jean Ralphio gets a lot of money. They primarily spend the money on extravagant furniture and hire pro basketball players and beautiful women to just hang around the office (since nobody in the company is doing any actual work). They even give everyone who visits them a free iPad. Naturally, the business fails.
231** The ''entire town'' of Eagleton does this. They fill their pools and water their lawns only with imported bottled water and literally pave their streets with gold. Naturally, their town ends up going bankrupt and requires Pawnee to bail them out. [[UngratefulBastard This doesn't stop them from resenting the entire town of Pawnee.]]
232* On ''Series/RaisingHope'' Virginia's cousin Delilah gets married, and Virginia recalls how when they were teenagers early in TheNineties, they talked about the kind of weddings they wanted. Delilah wanted a dress with an ''extremely'' long train, which was to be held up by Music/MichaelJackson. She got exactly that when she finally ''did'' marry, and Burt "stole" Delilah's wedding to give Virginia the nice wedding she wanted but (due to...[[TeenPregnancy unforeseen circumstances]] that forced her and Burt to have a simple courthouse wedding) never got. (They repeated their vows quietly in the back while Delilah and her new husband made theirs, danced discreetly to their first dance, and did the cake-cutting from the other side of the cake.) It seems Delilah cared more about being a bride than about being a wife.
233* ''Series/SchittsCreek'': Although they are now broke, the Roses still have their expensive wardrobes and memories, which include stories of lavish parties, jewelry, multiple houses, yachts, globe-trotting and a private jet. The very fact that Johnny bought the town as a long-forgotten gag gift illustrates their former spending habits.
234* Chanel Oberlin of ''Series/ScreamQueens2015'' has no problems flaunting her wealth. Her insanely enormous wardrobe is replaced regularly. She recounts a story about a party her dad held for her, which seems to be a monument to how rich they are: he bought her a foreclosed [[BigFancyHouse Mc Mansion]] for the party and filled the pool with a caviar slurry, before setting the house on fire. The fire department was, in fact, strippers who put the fire out with champagne.
235* ''Series/SiliconValley'':
236** Hooli is a big perpetrator of this. After Jared defects to Pied Piper, Gavin offers Big Head a promotion, pretty much in retaliation for this (and Richard turning down a $10 million buyout in favor of Peter Gregory's offer of a $200,000 5 percent investment) and given an annual salary of $600,000 a year. One character refers to him as the [=VP=] of spite.
237** Discussed by Monica who tells Richard that the standard [=MO=] for billionaires is to throw a bunch of money some times millions into no other purpose other than humiliating their rivals.
238** Bachmann ''rents out Alcatraz'' to throw a lavish party, just so he could invite all the people who said he'd never amount to anything. But the kicker is that not only did he get the money for it by scamming Big Head, Big Head had actually already squandered his fortune, [[AFoolAndHisNewMoneyAreSoonParted leaving them both heavily in debt]].
239* ''Series/{{Succession}}'':
240** In season 1, Tom tries to teach Greg "how to be rich," and it amounts to spending ridiculous amounts of money for weird food and paying to stand by yourself in the VIP section of clubs. Greg finds it all very unpleasant. In season 3, Greg's peer-pressured into buying a $40,000 watch even though he clearly doesn't want it, reasoning that he just uses his phone to check the time. Later, he clumsily tries to impress a girl by pretending to check the time on his expensive watch.
241** In season 3, Kendall throws a 40th birthday party that is supposed to be the blowout of the season. He rents out a huge space, decorates it lavishly, and invites every celebrity he can contact, all simply to show off.
242* ''Series/{{Thanks}}'': After Cotton makes money by selling tobacco to all the people of Plymouth, he replaces his regular pilgrim clothes with a gaudy red and gold outfit that clearly costs a lot more than the drab clothes everyone else wears.
243* ''Series/UnbreakableKimmySchmidt'': Jacqueline, the wealthy housewife, spends this way. In one of her first appearances, she offers Kimmy a bottle of exotic water. When it's declined, she throws the unopened bottle away as if it's been used.
244[[/folder]]
245
246[[folder:Music]]
247!!In General:
248* GlamRap is the hip-hop subgenre responsible for the average person's stereotypical image of some obscenely-wealthy "gangsta" showing off his gold-plated rims, diamond-encrusted swag, and beautiful women that service him daily and nightly within his opulent mansion. The fact that this is one of the only subgenres of hip-hop with mainstream popularity is a bit of a [[BerserkButton sore spot]] for fans of other, more underground subgenres who have to contend with people claiming that all rap is Music/LilWayne or Music/SouljaBoy.
249
250!!By Artist:
251* Music/BillyJoel's ''Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)'' is a criticism of blue-collar and lower-middle-class New Yorkers who are prepared to literally [[HeroicRedRingOfDeath work themselves to death]], in order to be seen to keep up with the Joneses. A notable example in the song is a cripple who can't drive buying himself a Cadillac.
252* Music/BarenakedLadies [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] this trope with "If I had a Million Dollars", stating what they would buy their love if they were rich, including really expensive ketchup, a monkey, and [[Music/MichaelJackson the bones of the Elephant Man]].
253* "Minnie the Moocher", made famous by Cab Calloway (with a little help from WesternAnimation/BettyBoop), especially the second half;
254-->''She had a dream about the king of Sweden;\
255He gave her things, that she was needin'.\
256He gave her a home built of gold and steel,\
257A diamond car, with the platinum wheels.''
258* Music/CrowdedHouse's "Chocolate Cake" poked fun at American excess in general:
259-->Can I have another piece of chocolate cake?\
260Tammy Baker must be losing her faith, yeah\
261Can I buy another cheap Picasso fake?\
262Andy Warhol must be laughing in his grave
263* "Golden Tears", a No. 1 country hit from 1979 by the trio Dave and Sugar, about a poor girl who marries a rich man and now has everything she ever wanted ("''From a Chevy to a Lincoln/From paper shades to curtain/From neon lights to crystal chandeliers''") ... except love.
264* Future Perfect's appropriately named "Excess":
265-->You wanna be liked because you just don't know why\
266It's a flash of the cash and a glint in the eye\
267I better be next while the rest of you die\
268Doesn't she look great in that dress\
269Gotta say yes to excess
270* "Two-Story House" by Music/GeorgeJones and Tammy Wynette, their No. 2 duet country hit from 1980. The song had an ironic twist to it, because they were singing about their own failed marriage, and lamented that they had everything else -- from the finest china and furniture, gold fixtures and marble countertops and so forth -- except love and respect for one another.
271* "Life's Been Good To Me So Far" by [[Music/TheEagles Joe Walsh]] details numerous examples of conspicuous consumption associated with a stereotypical [[HeavyMeta 1970s "rock star" lifestyle]]. Some of them are made even more egregious by the fact that he doesn't or can't even use the goods or services in question.
272-->I have a mansion, forget the price\
273Ain't never been there, they tell me it's nice.\
274I live in hotels, tear out the walls\
275I have accountants pay for it all.\
276\
277My Maserati does one eighty-five\
278I lost my license, now I don't drive.\
279I have a limo, ride in the back,\
280I lock the doors in case I'm attacked.
281* Music/{{Lorde}}'s "Royals" is about how pop music glamorizes conspicuous consumption, but in the end, who needs it?
282-->''But every song's like gold teeth, Grey Goose, trippin' in the bathroom.\
283Bloodstains, ball gowns, trashin' the hotel room,\
284We don't care, we're driving Cadillacs in our dreams.\
285But everybody's like Cristal, Maybach, diamonds on your timepiece.\
286Jet planes, islands, tigers on a gold leash\
287We don't care, we aren't caught up in your love affair.''
288* Pretty much everything bought by the narrator in Music/MitchBenn's "Too Much Money", but in particular the car that "does thirty gallons a mile" just to make the point he can afford to ''keep'' paying for it.
289* Music/{{Nickelback}}'s "Rock Star" is one long ode to just what the singer's going to buy when he's successful.
290* "Gangnam Style", by Music/{{Psy}}, is about out-of-control conspicuous consumption and overpriced coffee in Seoul's trendiest district.
291* "Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love)" by Music/WaylonJennings, is about Waylon suggesting to his wife that they abandoned the "successful life they're living" and go "back to the basic of love". In on part of the song he talk about trying to living a fancy lifestyle and always feeling the need to be "keeping up with the jones" may not be such a good thing for their relationship:
292-->So baby, let's sell your diamond ring\
293Buy some boots and faded jeans and go away\
294This coat and tie is choking me\
295In your high society, you cry all day\
296We've been so busy keepin' up with the Jones\
297Four car garage and we're still building on\
298Maybe it's time we got back to the basics of love
299* Music/WeirdAlYankovic's [[Music/DareToBeStupid "This Is the Life"]] is about how mind-blowingly rich the singer is, all the ridiculous things he does with his vast amounts of money (including filling his bathtub with Perrier, paying someone to chew his food for him, and buying boxes of individually monogrammed Kleenex), and how much he loves it.
300-->You're dead for a really long time\
301You just can't prevent it\
302So if money can't buy happiness\
303I guess I'll have to rent it!
304** "[[DigitalPiracyIsEvil Don't Download This Song]]" has a refrain near the end that constitutes this.
305--->''Don't take away money, from artists just like me. How else can I afford another solid-gold Humvee? And diamond-studded swimming pools - these things don't grow on trees!''
306[[/folder]]
307
308[[folder:Mythology & Religion]]
309* In the ancient Hindu epic the ''Literature/{{Ramayana}}'', several entire chapters are devoted to explaining the over-the-top splendor of Ravana's palace, of which everything constructed is constructed of rare metals and stones, and everything natural (i.e. gardens) is of only the finest, purest quality.
310* In Literature/{{the Bible}}, this practice was often railed against by the prophets, especially when fabulous wealth existed side-by-side with crushing poverty.
311* A recurring theme in Literature/TheBookOfMormon is that society faces total collapse when it reaches a point where people become divided into classes or social strata defined by the quality of the clothes they wear or the education they have access to. The wicked are often identified by their flaunting of wealth and/or power over the poor rather than helping them to acquire it. [[note]]This theme has one major advantage for recruitment/whipping worshippers into a frenzy: The historically literate will notice that the above can accurately describe ''all of human history''. But you'd be surprised how many people don't know this, so they tend to assume that [[SmallReferencePools now is more unequal than any other time in history, and that therefore the end times are near.]][[/note]]
312[[/folder]]
313
314[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
315* The former {{Trope Namer|s}}, ''Keeping Up with the Joneses'', was an early-20th-century strip about a family's obsession with social climbing, which naturally included frequent use of conspicuous consumption. The title characters, their neighbors, were [[TheGhost never seen]]. Also a case of GrassIsGreener.
316[[/folder]]
317
318[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
319* No one in the entire industry embodies this more than Wrestling/RicFlair. The big, gorgeous, feathery robes he wore out to the ring? A new one for practically every big headlining event. Same with customized gear and boots. And that's just the start. His boasts about riding around in limousines, chartered planes, driving highest-end cars, and having every stitch of clothing on his body be custom made and/or made by big-name tailors and costing thousands or tens-of-thousands are NotHyperbole. When he says he's spent more money on spilled liquor than an average fan makes in a year, he's not kidding.
320* Right up there as well was Wrestling/TedDiBiase in his Million Dollar Man persona, when it was actually enforced. During his heel heyday in the 80's and early 90's when {{Kayfabe}} was still enforced, the WWF gave him an expense account so he could travel by private jet, stay in five star hotels, and hire limos so that he would seem to be as rich as the company portrayed him.
321[[/folder]]
322
323[[folder:Radio]]
324* Spoofed in one sketch of ''Radio/JohnFinnemoresSouvenirProgramme'' when a man becomes a millionaire, much to a friend's complaint, because he's now coating everything he owns in a thick layer of chocolate (a play on "millionaire's shortbread"). While he admits this is impractical and disgusting, he has no plans to stop, vowing that if he wins the lottery again, he'll waste his money in even ''more'' ludicrous ways.
325[[/folder]]
326
327[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
328* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'':
329** A [[OurGiantsAreDifferent cloud giant]]'s standing in the [[FantasticCasteSystem Ordning]] depends on two things: how wealthy it is, and how well it's able to flaunt that wealth; to a Cloud Giant, money isn't worth much if you don't ''do'' anything with it. The most powerful cloud giants display their wealth in ostentatious ways like decorating their homes with ridiculously expensive works of art[[note]]''Volo's Guide to Monsters'' mentions such things as rare perfumes stored in crystal bottles with silver caps, and tapestries made entirely out of pearls[[/note]] and giving lavish gifts to their peers.
330** In an article in ''Magazine/{{Dragon}}'' about the economics of the ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'', Ed Greenwood says anyone doing this in Waterdeep will be regarded as a foolish spendthrift at best, and more likely as a conman or foreign spy trying to convince everyone he's rich as part of a scam.Waterdhavian nobles and merchants are far from miserly (in general) and live very well, but they tend not to flaunt their wealth ''too'' much, lest their rivals work out how well they're actually doing.
331* ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'':
332** This is common in Yu-Shan and the Underworld; since the former has prayer form into a substance that can be formed into practically anything, and the latter has items used in burial rites carry over as idealised (and sometimes magical) versions of themselves (such as a wooden cart painted gold becoming a magnificent golden carriage), excessive and blatant luxury is the norm.
333** Glowstones are shining rocks often used as {{Fantastic Light Source}}s. Most glow red or orange; yellow or white ones are uncommon and ones of other colors are extremely rare. This, combined with the fact that they can only be mined in very remote areas of the South, leads wealthy people throughout Creation to light their homes with colorful glowstones as a display of their wealth and connections.
334* ''TabletopGame/TheOneRing'': Adventuring {{Player Character}}s raise their Standing score by spending huge amounts of Treasure in their homelands "as a demonstration of their worth, affluence and loyalty to their culture".
335* ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'': Characters take social penalties against nobles if they're not wearing appropriately fancy clothes, which need to be accessorized with even more expensive jewelry so as not to "look like an out-of-place commoner".
336* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'': Orks use their own teeth as money, and as the Bad Moons have teeth that grow in quicker than all other Orks' they're generally the wealthiest Orks around and very proud of it. Bad Moon warlords thus make immense and conspicuous shows with their wealth. Their vehicles are covered in gold plate and gaudy paint and topped with colorful totems and glinting statues of Gork and Mork, and when on foot they strut around to show off their kustom weapons, jewelry and gem-studded piercings and retinues of grots carrying around the boss' extra weapons and immense chests filled with teef. This ''does'' often lead to bigger, harder orks within any of the clans to bash the teeth out of their faces and mug them of the rest, but that's just ork society working as intended.
337* ''TabletopGame/WarhammerFantasy'':
338** Imperial Gold wizards usually wear ostentatious robes heavily laden with golden embroidery and jewelry to display their skill and mastery of their art.
339** Affluential Marienburgers make a great effort to show off their wealth and income through expensive clothes and accoutrements, and even Marienburger armed forces make a point of wearing the most sumptuous and showy uniforms and armor they can afford to show off to foes and allies alike.
340** Bretonnians who are granted a special exemption from one of the country's reams of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumptuary_law sumptuary laws]] tend to flaunt their privilege. Some lords even grant "rewards" that they expect the recipient to enjoy to embarrassing excess, like permitting a commoner to wear red clothes in the hope that he'll drape himself head to toe in crimson.
341** The Skaven Clan Grutnik is very rich due to its extensive warpstone mining, and high-ranking members of the clan often sport their wealth by wearing the precious material as lacquered armor, jewelry, talismans, or even prosthetic eyes and teeth.
342** ''TabletopGame/WarhammerFantasyRoleplay'': Some [[CharacterClassSystem Careers]] require entrants to have expensive, high-quality clothing, jewellery, and other trappings of wealth to flaunt their means.
343[[/folder]]
344
345[[folder:Theatre]]
346* ''Theatre/CyranoDeBergerac''
347** Cyrano combines this with AFoolAndHisNewMoneyAreSoonParted: At Act I Scene IV, [[ImpoverishedPatrician Cyrano]] confides to [[TheWatson Le Bret]] that [[BuyThemOff the bag of crowns he used to pay the entrance fees of the Burgundy Theater]] was his parental bounty and so, he has no money for the rest of the month. Even when Le Bret scolds Cyrano for his folly, Cyrano calls this ''"a graceful act"''. This conduct explains better than anything why Cyrano is condemned to a PerpetualPoverty life.
348--->'''Le Bret:''' ''(with the action of throwing a bag)'' How! The bag of crowns?...\
349'''Cyrano:''' Paternal bounty, in a day, thou'rt sped!\
350'''Le Bret:''' How live the next month?...\
351'''Cyrano:''' I have nothing left.\
352'''Le Bret:''' Folly! \
353'''Cyrano:''' But what a graceful action! Think!
354** In Act II Scene I, we see Ragueneau’s Bakery, where Ragueneau is giving his pastries free to [[FalseFriend his friends, the starving poets]]... who in return give Ragueneau their poems and hear his own poetry (and they flatter him). Ragueneau buys a lyre made of pastry from one of his own apprentices, and when he shows it to his wife, Lise, she lampshades that is a silly consumption. Also, when a multitude of invaders comes to his bakery in Act II scene VII and break everything, he doesn’t ask them to pay the damages. This attitude explains why he is ruined in Act III.
355--->'''Another Apprentice:''' ''(also coming up with a tray covered by a napkin)'' Master, I bethought me erewhile of your tastes, and made this, which will please you, I hope.\
356''(He uncovers the tray, and shows a large lyre made of pastry.)''\
357'''Ragueneau:''' ''(enchanted)'' A lyre!\
358'''The Apprentice:''' 'Tis of brioche pastry.\
359'''Ragueneau:''' ''(touched)'' With conserved fruits.\
360'''The Apprentice:''' The strings, see, are of sugar.\
361'''Ragueneau:''' ''(Giving him a coin)'' Go, drink my health!\
362''(Seeing Lise enter):'' Hush! My wife. Bustle, pass on, and hide that money!\
363''(To Lise, showing her the lyre, with a conscious look):'' Is it not beautiful?\
364'''Lise:''' [[LampshadeHanging 'Tis passing silly!]]
365* In ''Theatre/{{Hadestown}}'', Hades praises the capitalistic innovations of Hadestown, including automobiles, foundries, and cathode screens, in an effort to impress Persephone with his riches and status.
366[[/folder]]
367
368[[folder:Video Games]]
369!!In General:
370* A lot of SimulationGames allow the player to purchase pointlessly expensive things because they can.
371** ''Videogame/{{Tropico}}'' allows the player to build a play gold statue of yourself along with other such needless expenses while your people starve and live in ramshackle houses.
372
373!!By Series:
374* ''VideoGame/CityBuildingSeries'': In ''Caesar III'' and ''VideoGame/{{Pharaoh}}'', the IdleRich in the highest-quality housing demand access to multiple varieties of fine wines and luxury goods (respectively), requiring an imported supply on top of whatever your city might create.
375* The Neokitsch style in ''VideoGame/Cyberpunk2077'' is all about this. It's the style of politicians, celebrities and trust fund kids, and frequently utilises materials like wood, ivory and natural fur, a true rarity in the ecologically devastated world where a bottle of water costs about twenty ([[FictionalCurrency Euro]])dollars. Also, plenty of [[GoldMakesEverythingShiny gold]], silver and platinum.
376* ''VideoGame/Dishonored2'' invokes this trope with Aramis Stilton, a self-made man who started out as a dirt-poor commoner and made his fortune mining silver. He became an incredibly rich and notable man, but the nobility still scorned and looked down on him, so Stilton did everything he could to try to impress and fit in with them, like filling his mansion with books he never read and instruments nobody played. It didn't work.
377* In ''VideoGame/{{EarthBound|1994}}'', Pokey Minch and his father have offices in the Monotoli building made entirely of gold.
378* An oil tycoon in ''VideoGame/EliteBeatAgents'' is prone to this.
379* PlayedForLaughs in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV''. A couple of instances, the [[PlayerCharacter Warrior of Light]] will try to purchase something to aid their friends in a storyline but is rebuffed because you've done enough. One character even notes that your gear costs about as much as to purchase a house and furnish it (which number in the ''millions''). In one Hildibrand mission, you can brag that you purchased subligars (re: ''underwear'') that cost more than a valuable kimono that's being sold.
380* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV'' parodies it with the in-game TV show "I'm Rich", including obvious parodies of people like Paris Hilton and others.
381** ''[[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIVTheBalladOfGayTony The Ballad of Gay Tony]]'' introduces Yusuf Amir, who spends his money on BlingBlingBang, HookersAndBlow, and ridiculous vanity projects like building the tallest skyscraper in Liberty City. Since he apparently has the money to buy ''anything'', the only use he has for the player character is to steal "the things they ''won't'' sell him", like military hardware.
382* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'''s multiplayer mode is centered around this trope. The game offers a vast array of exorbitant purchases for your character to show off his/her wealth. Of note is the gold-plated Luxor Deluxe private jet, which costs ''$10,000,000''.
383* In ''VideoGame/HarvestMoonFriendsOfMineralTown'', you can acquire golden lumber. Place it on your farm, however, and everyone in town will get angry at you for showing off. In ''VideoGame/HarvestMoonDS'', you can use it to make buildings... and it's the best material for doing so.
384* A RunningGag among the creators of ''VideoGame/KingdomOfLoathing'' is that the [[BribingYourWayToVictory players' donations]] go towards "solid gold Ferraris".
385* In the original ''VideoGame/{{Mercenaries}}''; Mattias Nilsson expresses a desire to spend his share of the bounty on General Song's head on a custom gold-plated Lamborghini with diamond-encrusted hubcaps.
386* Most stuff in ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' generally has some use in the game, but golden tools and diamond hoes are just plain conspicuous consumption. Tools and armour made of gold may have more enchantments stick to them, but their base attributes (damage dealt, blocks that can be mined, number of uses before depletion, etc.) are simply too low ([[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome gold is too soft to make good tools]]) to compensate for such a rare material. Hoes, meanwhile, all perform the exact same function, with the only difference being the amount of farmland they can create before breaking, so while a single diamond hoe will last much longer than a wood or cobblestone one, it's pointless when you can easily make all the wood or cobblestone hoes you want ''long'' before you find diamonds and replace them with a quick trip to a crafting table.
387* {{Deconstructed|Trope}} in ''VideoGame/MortalKombat1'': Johnny Cage loves to splash out with his Hollywood star income, arguing that part of being a movie star involves showing his wealth off. A $30,000 drone, an expensive antique vase, and [[AncestralWeapon Sento]] are among his purchases found in [[BigFancyHouse his mansion]]. However, as his soon-to-be-ex wife Cris points out, [[AFoolAndHisNewMoneyAreSoonParted he's spending far beyond their means]], and his insistence on playing up the stereotype is reflective of [[WhiteDwarfStarlet his denial that his career has been on the slump, and it's not likely he's going to recover]].
388* In the third act of ''VideoGame/PathOfExile'' the player visits the ruined city of the fallen empire. The empire was known for having indulged in a lot of Conspicuous Consumption shortly before its fall. It's nowhere more evident than in the Solaris Temple where everything is made from polished white stone, red fabrics, and covered in gold. The nature bound Ranger character even comments on how creepily unnatural it all looks.
389* Junya Kaneshiro's EstablishingCharacterMoment in ''VideoGame/Persona5'' is handing 3 million yen to a mistress after the party barges into his hideout, ostensibly as a means of "[[RetailTherapy stress relief]]" (he then blackmails the party into paying him that 3 million as compensation for causing him that stress). Turns out he's a [[RagsToRiches formerly-poor]] {{Yakuza}} [[TheDon don]] who's obsessed with gaudy displays of wealth as a means of making himself look tough and powerful. It becomes a ''[[GameplayAndStoryIntegration gameplay mechanic]]'' in his boss battle, where the player can throw out valuable items and attack Kaneshiro while he's busy fawning over them.
390* The Rich Boy and Lady Trainer classes in ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' often use expensive Full Restores to heal their low-leveled Pokémon when regular Potions would've healed said 'mons up to full health.
391* ''VideoGame/Psychonauts2'': The BigBad absolutely ''loves'' this, and his whole evil plan is to get unlimited wealth to flaunt obnoxiously. Even being able to live in a ritzy casino penthouse and carelessly leave leftover [[SnootyHauteCuisine caviar]] everywhere isn't enough for him, because he can't eat bucketfuls ([[NotHyperbole literally, as in carrying around a bucket full of caviar to snack on]]) of caviar whenever he wants, [[spoiler:like he did when he was the prince of Grulovia and his family used their position to enrich themselves at the citizenry's expense]].
392* ''VideoGame/ShovelKnight'' has the Ornate Plate, the most expensive set of armor in the game at a whopping $8000, which does ''absolutely nothing'' other than make you look rich and flashy (unlike every other armor that provides some sort of ability). Even it's description describes it as "Flashy! Acrobatic! Useless!" It also has the effect of letting you do flips, making you stick the landing from the catapult, leaving a trail of sparkles behind you, and getting a compliment from [[TheUsurper King Knight]]:
393-->...Although I must say, your armor is ''resplendent''. I can see you've picked up on my style!
394* In ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'' during the Smuggler Storyline, you run into a Republic spy on Balmorra who got busted for buying customized speeders beyond his salary.
395* In ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'', several of the purchasable items in the game (for example, [[https://wiki.teamfortress.com/wiki/Something_Special_For_Someone_Special Something Special for Someone Special]]) do nothing except show off that its owner has money to blow on a video game.
396* ''VideoGame/ToothAndTail'': The consumption of meat is implied to be this InUniverse. Several characters refer to grains and vegetables as 'the food of beasts', implying they ''can'' eat them. They simply refuse to because it's seen as uncivilized, instead preferring to starve -- or even go to war so they can feast upon the bodies of the fallen.
397* Jo'on Yorigami from ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' is a pestilence goddess whose power is explicitly to cause others to do this, usually [[GoldDigger for her own gain]]. She's even guilty of it herself, dressing in very modern and fashionable clothing, making very impulsive and extravagant purchases, and carelessly throwing away valuables in her attacks.
398* Being set in 1988, ''VideoGame/Yakuza0'' is all about showing off the riches of 80s Japan in the tackiest ways possible. Yakuza wear garish suits, Tokyo and Osaka are full of glimmering neon lights, and billionaires are made and gone in the constant fight for real estate. Kazuma Kiryu can even learn to toss entire handfuls of Cash Confetti as a means to avoid fights after being taught by Mr. Moneybags, a man who literally lives in his private jets (yes, plural) and travels the world. Both Kiryu and Majima can also purchase life-sized golden statues of themselves for 10 billion yen upon completing their Business Sidequest, with the game specifically telling the player that [[BraggingRightsReward they serve no function other than being a big garish decoration]].
399[[/folder]]
400
401[[folder:Webcomics]]
402* In ''[[http://www.commedia2x00.wordpress.com Commedia 2X00]]'', Mr. Pants' family has been earning royalties on their patent on pants for centuries. His sidekick/attendant is a solid gold robot named Goodz. Several early updates are spent in his treasure room, which includes things like a Polybius arcade machine, the Chaos Emeralds, and an electric guitar autographed by Mozart.
403* Both Ricci and his manager in ''Webcomic/{{Fite}}'' sport solid gold jewelry once Ricci gets the belt.
404* In ''Webcomic/{{Housepets}}'' the Milton ferrets [[PetHeir inherited]] more money than they could possibly spend, not for want of [[http://www.housepetscomic.com/2011/04/22/poolside-manner/ trying.]]
405-->'''Keene''': Lana, come on; I'd be the first to tell you if we were letting unbridled hedonism go to our heads. Look, let's discuss this later over a full body massage. The chocolate fondue jacuzzi sound okay?
406* ''Webcomic/KillSixBillionDemons'': The [[GodEmperor Demiurge]] Mottom and her DecadentCourt symbolize the [[SevenDeadlySins sin of Gluttony]] and lean heavily on this. At one point, she has a lavish banquet for ''hundreds'' laid out for a one-on-one audience with Allison, and none of the food gets eaten.
407-->'''Allison:''' ...Are you just going to ''throw this all away? '''Why?'''''\
408'''Mottom:''' Wrong question, dear. "Why" is a question of the weak. The proper question is "Why not?"
409* ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'': Plutocrats, Earth politicians who buy their seats, are ''ridiculously'' rich. The mercenaries have trouble getting used to just the basics of their lifestyles, such as their limos.
410-->'''Chelle:''' This limo costs more than any of us make in a year.\
411'''Mac:''' Oh, that's not so bad. I figured owning something like ''this'' would be light-years out of reach.\
412'''Chelle:''' Not owning it. ''Renting'' it. For ''this trip''.
413* Mentioned by name in ''Webcomic/SnowByNight''. One rich family puts on a contest involving shooting at expensive glassware containing expensive wine.
414* In ''Webcomic/SweetBroAndHellaJeff'', Hella Jeff takes a moment to give a "fuckin squirrelt" all his "momey" for no apparent reason other than that he can.
415[[/folder]]
416
417[[folder:Web Original]]
418* {{Website/Cracked}}: Has a list [[https://web.archive.org/web/20131231170802/http://www.cracked.com/article/188_7-great-products-telling-world-youre-rich-dick/ of real-life ways to show off wealth]].
419** An episode of Cracked's ''Does Not Compute'' deals with the Numi, a real-life $6500 toilet that comes with a tablet PC to pick various settings like seat temperature, bidet control, and a selection of music. Yes, music, which was composed specifically for the Numi.
420** Another article stated that if you were rich enough to own and operate a minigun, you might as well cover your fleet of cars in explosive tannerite and use the minigun to blow them up because obviously you were stupidly rich.
421* ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpnwWP3fOSA Getting dressed in the 18th century | National Museums Liverpool]]'': The final touch to the woman's outfit is a delicate apron made of silk or muslin, which has no practical function but only serves to display her wealth and status.
422* During the Lucky Blocks Walls battle against the rest of the LetsPlay/{{Yogscast}}, LetsPlay/HatFilms were so inundated with gold that they wound up using it to build armor and paths between their sky bases (it's just WorthlessYellowRocks, after all).
423* In ''Literature/MagikOnline'' the King of the Midnight Market Mammon uses his wealth to buy some weird things, like his collection of thirty-seven suns and tries to buy a planet he doesn't like so he can blow it up.
424* The "[[http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/what-international-students-eat What International Students Eat]]" meme, based on the stereotype that students studying abroad must naturally be quite affluent, takes this concept ''literally'' with luxury takeout boxes filled with jewelry and designer-brand breakfast cereals.
425[[/folder]]
426
427[[folder:Western Animation]]
428* An ''WesternAnimation/AlvinAndTheChipmunks'' episode had Simon develop a device that could look into possible futures. One was where the chipmunks and chipettes were incredibly wealthy. They bought their kids guitars made of diamonds, with ruby picks, and there were apparently emerald strings.
429* Lampshaded in the ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' episode [[Recap/BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE25TheClockKing "The Clock King"]]:
430-->'''Batman:''' What kind of saboteur uses a $6,000 Metronex to trigger a time bomb?\
431'''Alfred:''' A saboteur with too much money?
432* ''WesternAnimation/{{Beetlejuice}}'': In "Keeping Up With the Boneses", The Ghost With The Most gets a credit card and goes on a major spending spree just to outdo the affluent Bones family. Of course, when the first bill comes in, Beetlejuice has no money to pay for it. He winds up surrendering everything back but only because his beloved pal Lydia was being kept as collateral. He gets a job as a department store Santa to pay for the interest, but he sees firsthand how karma can be a bitch -- the Boneses are in the same boat, having overspent on credit.
433* ''WesternAnimation/BobsBurgers'':
434** Attempted (badly) by Teddy, who buys a boat he names the "Sea Me Now" just to show his ex-wife how well off he is. The boat is hardly luxurious, and Teddy ends up crashing it into the pier attempting to get her ex's attention.
435** Calvin Fischoeder, the Belchers' landlord, is so rich he buys a car as a pre-show ritual before performing.
436** In "Pro Tiki Con Tiki", Bob's rich friend Warren mentions once having eaten a $1,700 burger with caviar and wrapped in gold leaf, which he had to eat inside a hologram.
437* ''WesternAnimation/CampCandy'': When Chester wins the lottery, he buys an amphibious yacht.
438* ''WesternAnimation/CloneHigh'': Principal Scudworth devotes a considerable chunk of the advertising kickbacks he got toward having Mr. Butlertron gold-plated and lowered. The rest of the money disappears in a similar fashion.
439* ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987'' eventually adapted the aforementioned Creator/CarlBarks comic into the episode "[[Recap/DuckTalesS1E14TheStatusSeekers The Status Seekers]]," where his treatment by his wealthy peers leads Scrooge (who never spends a cent if he can help it, let alone thousands of dollars on useless status symbols) to think he ought to "start ''acting'' rich." Unlike Barks' story, which ends as another successful treasure hunt, with Scrooge keeping the valuable artifact he finds, the episode ends with him deciding to screw it and give up trying to fit InWithTheInCrowd this way.
440* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'':
441** When Peter Griffin got a 150,000 welfare check every week, the first thing he did was rent the Statue of David.
442** Happens ''again'' when the Griffins win $150 million on the lottery and immediately begin spending it on ridiculous crap. At one point, Peter shows up wearing a solid gold suit and says he had to "fight three rappers over it down at the Nonsense Store".
443* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' movie ''Bender's Big Score'', Earth is taken over by alien scammers who buy a fleet of solid gold, GemEncrusted [[Franchise/StarWars death stars]] to defend it.
444* ''WesternAnimation/GoldieGoldAndActionJack'': Goldie Gold has a few of these that aren't even gadgets, like a diamond-studded nail clipper.
445* In ''WesternAnimation/LittlestPetShop2012'' this is a characteristic of the Biskit family, though it's much more pronounced in the twins, Whittany and Brittany. For instance, they order pizza from a restaurant in space for no reason other than it's extremely expensive to do so.
446* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheLooneyTunesShow'', WesternAnimation/DaffyDuck finally gets the wealth he so ardently desires and spends it on, among other things, a fancy-dress outfit (complete with powdered wig) and a hand-painted mural for the ceiling. He can't even go grocery shopping without embarking on a search for the most expensive brand of soup.
447* ''WesternAnimation/{{Metalocalypse}}'': The episode "Renovationklok" has the band spending literal billions of money on things impractically and impossibly expensive for their house and guitars.
448* Parodied in ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' with Rarity who wears needlessly extravagant outfits draped with precious gemstones and jewels. However, she's a seamstress who makes all the clothing herself. Furthermore, gems are actually fairly common in Equestria (in fact, one of Rarity's unique spells is a gem-finding one as shown with her Cutie Mark) and [[EatDirtCheap serve as a food source for dragons]] (though a few instances have subtly implied some gems are rarer than others and there's even several fictional gems such as a heart-shaped Fire Ruby Spike would've gifted himself on his birthday, [[PrecociousCrush giving it to Rarity instead]]).
449* ''ComicBook/RichieRich'' ''lived'' this trope. Fuel for thought comes when you contrast his typical attire of a sweater with the letter R on it (or a black jacket and shorts when he was younger) to his hyper-luxurious lifestyle. It's almost as if he's Zen'd past needing to display personal bling. One ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'' skit plays with this and mixes Richie with a black rapper stereotype.
450* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
451** In "Dog of Death", Homer [[ImagineSpot imagines]] that if he won the lottery, he would become the world's largest man and be covered entirely in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2aZGbGxmic gold]].
452** The original creator of Itchy and Scratchy used the money from his settlement to buy a solid gold house.
453** One of the many things Mr. Burns paid Homer to do for his own amusement was to buy a copy of ''[[ComicBook/SpiderMan The Amazing Spider-Man #1]]'' from Comic Book Guy... then [[ExtremeOmnivore eat it]] in front of him, as he breaks down in tears.
454** After Homer seemingly ends his run as a paparazzi photographer, Rainer Wolfcastle is happy they can resume their "Lives of sybaritic excess." A waiter then offers him a stem cell ''[[ImAHumanitarian fajita]]'', which he eats. Earlier in the episode, Krusty can be seen mixing a pile of dollar bills into a drink, then complaining to the bartender when it tastes bad.
455** Krusty tends towards this. One episode featured him noting that there was nothing better than a cigar lit with a hundred-dollar bill, and he'd follow up in the episode by using a copy of ''Action Comics #1'' and a pearl necklace. This has bankrupted him a couple times.
456** Bleeding Gums Murphy states that he squandered the money he made from his first album on an addiction to Faberge Eggs.
457* Parodied in ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'', when the boys are shown [[DigitalPiracyIsEvil the evils of downloading music illegally]] by seeing what it does to the artists: namely, forcing them to do this to a ''slightly lesser'' extent (for example, having to fly in a private jet that's one model out of date, or not being able to give their kid a private island for his birthday).
458* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'': Squilliam Fancyson owns a private yacht, a private lake, a private heliport, a private island, and a Zeppelin casino. [[BigFancyHouse His house]] shows even more of this.
459* [[AlphaBitch Mandy]]'s mother in ''WesternAnimation/TotallySpies'' bought a clothing chain just to get the last of a pair of exclusive shoes.
460[[/folder]]
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462[[noreallife]]
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