History Main / IdleRich

* Joséphine de Beauharnais' introduction in ''[[Film/Napoleon1927 Napoléon]]'' (1927) explicitly describes her as such.

* Bruce Wayne poses like an Idle Rich playboy in public. But at night he is the Franchise/{{Batman}}.

Not to say they just sit around doing nothing (usually). They have too much of their free time taken up by travelling, going to parties and galas, attending horse races and polo matches and other SnootySports, keeping up with the latest Society gossip, choosing [[UnlimitedWardrobe which clothes]] [[TheFashionista to wear]], spoiling MisterMuffykins rotten, and occasionally doing at least some token work in their family business. So they can't really be too idle. They're too rich to be.

* Joséphine de Beauharnais' introduction in ''Film/{{Napoleon}}'' explicitly describes her as such.

* Deconstructed with Tom and Daisy in ''Literature/TheGreatGatsby'': sure, they don’t work, but they are constantly chased by all kinds of ConMan (Biloxi), TheThingThatWouldNotLeave (Klipspringer), and NouveauRiche (Gatsby). Without a job, they have plenty of time for RichBoredom. Both of them are LonelyAtTheTop, they cheat on each other without any passion, Tom is clinging to his GloryDays as a football hero because he knows he will never top that, and Daisy is a StepfordSmiler.

* When Jerin gets a taste of real wealth in ''Literature/ABrothersPrice'', he quickly finds that for him the idleness is enforced, it's confining, and he's bored. He and his sisters end up reading a newspaper "to death" and have to be rescued by friends.
* In Creator/GeneStrattonPorter's ''Literature/MichaelOHalloran'', Douglas recounts how a friend of his is training an orphan waif to follow him in his business because while he has sons, his rich wife is training them to be "men of wealth and leisure".
* In Creator/DorothyLSayers' Literature/LordPeterWimsey novel ''Have His Carcass'', one professional dancer speaks with contempt of women who resort to the high life rather than making a life for themselves.
-->''"L'amour! These ladies come and dance and excite themselves and want love and think it is happiness. And they tell me about their sorrows -- me -- and they have no sorrows at all, only that they are silly and selfish and lazy. Their husbands are unfaithful and their lovers run away and what do they say? Do they say, I have two hands, two feet, all my faculties, I will make a life for myself? No. They say, give me cocaine, give me the cocktail, give me the thrill, give me my gigolo, give me l'amo-o-ur! Like a mouton bleating in a field."''

* Ivan Vorpatril in ''Literature/VorkosiganSaga'' is a subversion. He wants few things more than to be idle and to convince everyone else he is idle. But unfortunately, the antics of his cousin Miles always prevent that.
* The Tusaine King in ''Literature/SongOfTheLioness'' (who is one of the few examples in the Literature/TortallUniverse). He lounges around and parties while his brother and cousin run the country. When said brother and cousin are captured in the brief war (which they started), the King immediately sues for peace with Tortall so they can go back to running the country for him.
** King Roger was this prior to the start of the ''Literature/BekaCooper'', even being nicknamed "Randy Roger'', leaving his brother Prince Baird to run Tortall for him. By the start of the trilogy, he no longer is, as his second wife, Queen Jessamine, was raised to be RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething, and convinced him to be the same.
** Also, in the ''Literature/CircleOfMagic'' series, Sandrilene fa Toren and her great-uncle (the ruling Duke of Emelean) admit that the former's parents were pleasure-seekers who traveled around frequently solely for their own and their daughter's amusement.

* Practically ''all'' of the characters in ''all'' of the novels of Creator/PGWodehouse.
* "Literature/{{Northwestward}}": Mr. Wayne is retired, and describes himself as "very well off". Multiple houses are mentioned, as well as multiple servants and a museum of ''{{Franchise/Batman}}'' memorabilia.
* ''Literature/OonaOutOfOrder'': Oona has taken advantage of her [[UnstuckInTime random leaps in time]] to make good investments that have paid off so well that she doesn't need to work. This gives her the freedom her to travel or volunteer. She does make an exception when she leaps to the year 1999. She gets a job [[spoiler: at a coffeehouse/record store, which makes it easier for her to keep an eye out (or spy/stalk) on her son.]].
* In ''[[Literature/TalesOfTheMagicLand The Seven Underground Kings]]'', the underground kingdom is ruled by [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin seven kings]] in succession. Each king rules for a month, while the others are in a magically-induced sleep. After waking up, the next king has LaserGuidedAmnesia and has to be re-educated, which takes about two weeks. The remaining 2-3 weeks, the king parties like there's no tomorrow. So what happens when the rest of the kingdom decides that enough is enough? They awaken all the kings and convince them they're common workers. Cue a bloodless revolution.

* Connor Roy in ''Series/{{Succession}}'': Logan Roy's [[DisappointingOlderSibling firstborn child]], he would seem the logical choice of heir to his fortune. Unfortunately he has zero interest in running a global media empire and would much rather laze about his massive ranch as a gentleman of leisure.

[[folder:Comics]]

[[folder:FanWorks]]
* In ''Fanfic/AnAprilFoolsErrand'', Hades and Persephone humorously remark that Zeus has too much time on his hands when they see a doodle of Zeus with a lightning bolt drawn next to the words "By Order of Zeus" on their springtime celebration invitations.

A RichIdiotWithNoDayJob [[ExploitedTrope exploits this image]] to hide their superhero activities.

[[folder:Film]]

* Mr. and Mrs. Hart from ''Series/HartToHart'', a modern-day Nick and Nora Charles, were this. True, they usually got involved in some crime mystery, but that was just what they did for fun.
* ''Series/GilligansIsland'': Mr. and Mrs. Howell were this.

* Charles Nutt III in ''Series/TheNuttHouse''. Until his grandmother calls him in to help save the hotel, he's recovering in Miami from an exhausting twenty minutes attending Harvard Business School.

* The short lived German TV show ''Blaues Blut'' aka ''Blue Blood'' was about a Count Henri Von Alternberg teaming up with his American ex-wife to solve crimes as private investigators, to pass the time and regain a bit of the family fortune.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

Not to say they just sit around doing nothing (usually). They have too much of their free time taken up by travelling, going to parties and galas, attending horse races and polo matches, keeping up with the latest Society gossip, choosing [[UnlimitedWardrobe which clothes]] [[TheFashionista to wear]], spoiling MisterMuffykins rotten, and occasionally doing at least some token work in their family business. So they can't really be too idle. They're too rich to be.

* Toki, as would be implied by at least a few stories, considering that we don't have many mentions of her having a job, despite her being so wealthy. Averted in her twin sister, Doki's case, as she's mentioned to be working as a nurse but would be wealthy by extension.