'''Basic Trope''': A character who became wealthy and powerful despite humble beginnings.
* '''Straight''': Bob starts off life with nothing but a few clever ideas, and becomes a successful businessman with them.
* '''Exaggerated''': Bob starts off life with nothing but some fleas and trains them into a flea circus that becomes a billion-dollar international media conglomerate.
* '''Downplayed''':
** Bob starts off life with some wealth, but uses his clever ideas and business acumen to build his own successful business.
** Bob escapes from poverty to achieve a decent standard of living.
* '''Justified''': Bob knows how business works, learns from others who have succeeded, and doesn't mind playing a bit dirty to achieve his goals.
* '''Inverted''': [[RichesToRags The heir to a fortune becomes poor by burning away all his wealth on trivial amusements and stupidity.]]
* '''Subverted''':
** Bob constantly goes about introducing himself as a SelfMadeMan, but actually inherited his business from his father.
** Alternatively: Bob starts out with nothing but a clever idea ... and is quickly approached by a big corporation and hired once they see that his ideas have merit.
* '''Double Subverted''':
** ...Except the business was pretty small when he inherited it, and has now been expanded significantly.
** Alternatively: Just because someone else signs his paycheck doesn't mean he didn't earn his place in the big leagues, something he's quick to point out to coworkers who doubt his abilities.
* '''Parodied''':
** Despite his wealth, Bob still dresses like a 19th-century pauper, uses slang from that era, and almost never bathes.
** A homeless man who washed a car for a penny once, starts acting like he's rich: trying to buy a sports car, talking about how hard he worked to be where he is today.
* '''Zig-Zagged''': Bob calls himself a SelfMadeMan, but he inherited the business from his father. The business was very small when he inherited it, however, and he expanded it significantly ... by following the plans laid out by his father... but wait, no, there were some corrections he made as he went along...
* '''Averted''':
** Bob was born rich and doesn't claim otherwise.
** Bob is not especially wealthy.
* '''Enforced''':
** The work is a biography about a RealLife SelfMadeMan.
** The writers want to enforce AnAesop about how hard work pays off.
* '''Lampshaded''': "The guy turned a crazy little idea into a business empire! Say what you will about him, he's no idiot."
* '''Invoked''': "I might not be able to afford gold and diamonds now, but through wits and sweat, I'll be able to one day!"
* '''Exploited''': Bob figures out that others are likelier to listen to him when he makes an AppealToAuthority.
* '''Defied''': "You know that ambitious fellow with the curious little business? Sabotage him; he's TooCleverByHalf."
* '''Discussed''':
** "Now, I'm what the stories call a SelfMadeMan. Like them, I started out with only the clothes on my back..."
** "SelfMadeMan?" "Yep." [[WantsAPrizeForBasicDecency "What do you want, a medal?"]]
* '''Conversed''': ???
* '''Deconstructed''':
** Bob achieves everything he ever dreamed of by building a business empire, but finds that it's LonelyAtTheTop and regrets [[CorruptCorporateExecutive the more questionable decisions]] he made to get there.
** Bob sets out to start a business in the hope of becoming rich. Any of the following things happen:
### [[ObstructiveBureaucrat One or more levels of government has imposed obscenely complicated regulations that make it very difficult, if not impossible, for him to profit in the first place.]]
### Bob begins to start making a good deal of money, so his even larger competitors [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections "donate" to the re-election campaign of a powerful politician]]. Said politician then pushes for a whole slate of regulations that make it very difficult, if not impossible, for Bob's business to continue making a profit.
### Bob's business becomes a great success. However, because he hired non-union labor (unlike his bigger corporate competitors, he couldn't afford union labor), the unions finance an {{Astroturf}} protest outside his business calling him a monstrous exploiter. The firestorm of public abuse drives Bob to sell his business to his competitors, thus reducing competition in the industry and resulting in every consumer paying much higher prices.
### Bob's businesses succeed fully and make him a multi-millionaire. The amount of work it took him to get there means Bob has very little leisure time to enjoy the wealth properly; being MarriedToTheJob, he has very few and/or poor relationships.
** Bob's philosophy [[TookALevelInCynic becomes a lot more cynical]] after a long period of struggle and pain, where he had to resort to very controversial and immoral means to get where he is. He becomes a SocialDarwinist who believes that those poorer and weaker than him are that way solely to lack of motivation. Thus, he has little sympathy to those below him.
* '''Reconstructed''': ...So he devotes his life and fortune to serving the community, giving back to the impoverished classes he was once a part of.
* '''Implied''': Bob is first seen poor but working hard at something. He is next seen at a higher position in his place of employment.
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Back to SelfMadeMan.
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%%Optional items, added after Conversed, at your discretion:
%%* '''Plotted a Good Waste''': ???
%%* '''Played for Laughs''': ???
%%* '''Played for Drama''': ???