History Main / RichSuitorPoorSuitor

** In the SequelSeries ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', the former StreetUrchin Mako has to choose between the [[TheBeautifulElite heiress Asami]] and simple country girl Korra. [[spoiler: He chooses Korra, but they break up permanently during season two]]. PlayedWith in that Korra is [[TheChosenOne the Avatar]] and thus is one of the most important people on Earth, and in season two it's revealed [[spoiler: she is Water Tribe royalty since her father is the first-born son of the previous chief of the Northern Water Tribe]].

** In the SequelSeries ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', the former StreetUrchin Mako has to choose between the [[TheBeautifulElite heiress Asami]] and simple country girl Korra. [[spoiler: He chooses Korra, but they break up permanently during season two]]. PlayedWith in that Korra is [[TheChosenOne the Avatar]] and thus is one of the most important people on Earth, and in season two it's revealed [[she is Water Tribe royalty since her father is the first-born son of the previous chief of the Northern Water Tribe]].

* The Spin Doctors' "Two Princes" has the poor Prince (the singer) and the rich Prince (the guy with the diamonds and the rockets).
* [[Music/KanyeWest "Now I ain't saying she's a gold digger..."]]
* The Music/BillyJoel song "Uptown Girl", despite being vague about specific characters, makes numerous allusions to "high class toys" and refers to Billy Joel as a poor working-class Prince Charming, despite his commercial success.

* Barry Manilow's ''Copacabana'' is the story of a dancer named Lola, who worked in the famous bar Copacabana and had the bartender Tony as her Poor Suitor (and the one she favored) and the rich client Rico as the Rich one. [[spoiler: When Rico "went too far", Tony leapt to face him - and was shot dead right there. Thirty years later, the ''Copacabana'' is a famous disco - and Lola, now a WhiteDwarfStarlet, still [[DrowningMySorrows drinks herself into a stupor there]], [[TheMourningAfter remembering her lost love]].]]

* Charlotte Wells finds herself in this trope in the first season of ''Harlots''. Daniel Marnay is a penniless sex-worker who loves Charlotte for who she is. George Howard is a filthy rich aristocrat who views her as his property.
* ''Series/FullHouse'': D.J. must choose between the abnormally rich Nelson and the flaky but sensitive guitarist Viper. She eventually chooses [[TakeAThirdOption neither]].

* One episode of ''Series/TheTwilightZone'' was about a woman who had to choose between a rich man she didn't love and a poor man she did love, and her future self pursued her on a horse to warn her not to choose the wrong man. The woman ultimately chooses to run off with the poor man. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, ''he'' turned out to be the wrong choice her future self had tried to warn her against. The [[DeconstructedTrope poor guy was predictably lousy at handling money and ran the farm they depended on into the ground]].]]
* This is a common situation in the ''Series/GilmoreGirls''. Lorelai has to choose between gruff, working class Luke, who is her best friend, and glamorous, flighty childhood friend Christopher, the father of her daughter Rory, who belongs to the wealthy lifestyle she abandoned. [[spoiler: She picks Luke.]]
** In Season 6, her daughter Rory has a similar choice between rough, rebellious, [[SelfMadeMan writer]] Jess and overconfident, insanely rich, high-class society Logan. In an odd twist Logan wins (for reasons that are never really explained), he gets better but Rory breaks up with him later, leaving her ultimate partner unknown.

* Early episodes of ''Series/TheOC'' had this in the form of Ryan (poor) vs Luke (rich) competing for Marissa's love.

* ''Series/{{Revenge}}'' has the main character Emily Thorne being pursued by the wealthy Daniel Grayson and the comparatively poor Jack Porter. Though in something of a twist for this trope, while Daniel is wealthy by any objective standards, Emily is even more so and could probably equal Daniel's entire net worth with the money she loses in her couch cushions.
* At close to end of ''Series/FamilyMatters'', this happened with Laura between Steve (poor) and his counterpart-split-from-him Stefan (rich) who both proposed to her at the same time. At first, Steve attempted to take the decision out of Laura's hands by moving to Russia and performing a IJustWantMyBelovedToBeHappy, but in the end, Laura ended up choosing him.

* ''Series/{{Victorious}}'' has a play in ''Tori the Zombie'' in which the lead character is pursued by an obnoxious rich man and a kind valet.

* In ''Series/{{Dickensian}}'', Honoria Barbary is engaged to the poor soldier James Hawdon, but her sister Frances would rather she married the rich (and elderly) Sir Leicester Dedlock. (Readers of ''Literature/BleakHouse'' will be aware what choice she made in Dickens canon.)

* ''ComicBook/RichieRich'' had Mayda Munny (Rich Suitor) and Gloria Glad (Poor Suitor). Well, Gloria isn't exactly poor, but compare her to either Richie or Mayda.
* Not played with much, but in the John Romita days of ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'', upper-class socialite Gwen Stacy was the rich suitor and working-class party girl Mary Jane Watson was the poor suitor.

* Deconstructed in Creator/JamesThurber's fairy-tale parody short story "[[http://www.nexuslearning.net/books/Holt_ElementsofLit-3/Collection%203/princess%20and%20the%20tin%20box.htm The Princess and the Tin Box]]", where a princess raised in luxury comes of age and is given a choice between many suitors. All but one are the "rich suitor", who present her with jewels in the hopes that she'll marry them only for them. The other has all the trappings of the "poor suitor", giving her only a tin box full of pebbles out of lack of anything else, which intrigues her because she's never seen anything like it before. The princess, after carefully considering everything...chooses one of the rich suitors. (The reader is admonished in the end that "All those who thought that the Princess was going to select the tin box filled with worthless stones instead of one of the other gifts will kindly stay after class and write one hundred times on the blackboard, ''I would rather have a hunk of aluminum silicate than a diamond necklace''.")

* In ''Literature/TheGreatGatsby'', the backstory had Daisy being torn between common soldier Jay who's away at war and wealthy JerkJock Tom. She chose Tom, but it's implied that she regretted not waiting for Jay and loved him more than she loved Tom. Jay returns even richer than Tom and begins successfully courting Daisy, only for Daisy to be ultimately too weak-willed and shallow to choose him over Tom and [[spoiler:Jay to get shot for trying to cover up a death Daisy accidentally caused]].

* Creator/AgathaChristie used this on occasion:
** ''Literature/DeathOnTheNile'':
*** Linnet and Jacqueline are this to Simon Doyle. Linnet, the rich one, manages to steal Simon away from her poorer friend Jackie. Except that [[spoiler:it turns out Jackie was the victorious one all along; Simon always loved her and married Linnet, who he saw as just a ClingyJealousGirl, only so that he and Jackie could murder Linnet on a boat voyage over the Nile and inherit her money]].
*** ''Death on the Nile'' also has a [[BetaCouple "beta" case of "rich suitor, poor suitor."]] Cornelia Robinson, the poor relation of a rich woman on the boat, is being courted by both the scraggly Communist agitator Mr. Ferguson and the successful, famous Dr. Bessner. She chooses the poor suitor [[spoiler: which turns out to be the doctor, who is comfortably well-off, but not spectacularly wealthy. Ferguson was a wealthy Lord, but Cornelia didn't care. She thought he was just as much of a {{Jerkass}} as an aristocrat as he was as a commoner.]]
** One Literature/HerculePoirot story has a young woman in this situation, and Poirot easily guesses that no matter her reasoning, she can't help but love the poor suitor and not the rich one.
* The second and third books in the ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'' series run on this trope, with Bella having to choose between [[VampireWerewolfLoveTriangle Edward and Jacob]]. [[spoiler:Edward]] wins.
* The knight Palamon and the commoner Arcite for Emily in "The Knight's Tale" of ''Literature/TheCanterburyTales''. [[spoiler:Arcite wins the physical duel for Emily's hand but suffers fatal injuries when his horse throws him off during his victory celebration, making Palamon the winner by default. It's also worth noting that Emily prayed to Diana to either remain unmarried or become married to the man who loved her the most which implies that Palamon's love for her was purer than Arcite's, something that is usually not done with the rich suitor.]]

* In the novel ''Literature/LesChiensEtLesLoups'' by French Ukrainian-born writer Irène Némirovsky where the major theme is the contrast between the NouveauRiche Jews ([[GratuitousFrench les chiens]] aka the dogs) and the poorer Jews who still live in the ghetto (les loups aka the wolves), the protagonist Ada is a poor Jewish girl who is in love with her rich distant cousin Harry (who develops feelings for her after meeting her in Paris and starts an affair with her) but ends up marrying [[KissingCousins her first cousin Ben]] who has loved her all his life and shared with her a [[PerpetualPoverty rather unhappy childhood of poverty]].

* A variation appears in the second book of the [[Literature/TheHungerGames Hunger Games trilogy]] where Katniss has to choose between Gale and Peeta. Depending on how you look at it, Gale can be the poor suitor and Peeta the rich suitor or the roles can be reversed. Gale was born in the Seam, like Katniss, and is by that definition the poor suitor. Peeta was born merchant, which doesn't make him rich but still better off than Gale, and after the first book he's got enough money to last for the rest of his life. On the other hand, Gale is a hunter who brings home fresh game and is able to support a family while Peeta is a painter and a baker who would probably be in trouble if he lost his Games' winnings. About halfway through the book it's clear that the one who won Katniss' heart is [[spoiler:Peeta]].
* Explicitly called out in ''Literature/SixteenThirtyTwo''. The up-time Americans prefer the plucky young poor-but-earnest suitor, while the down-time Germans think the Americans are crazy and strongly prefer the currently wealthy suitor over one whose prospects are iffy at best.
* Even though few doubted who she'd wind up with, this is basically the plot of ''Literature/TheCourtshipOfPrincessLeia''. Leia gets courted by Prince Isolder, and Han naturally vies for her attention. He eventually tries to take it into his own hands by kidnapping her and taking her to Dathomir, which he won in a sabaac game. She agrees to give Han a week to convince her to marry him, and although there are complications because of things happening on the planet, she eventually agrees to marry him.
* Parodied in the spoof melodrama "Literature/SweetErmengarde". Young and innocent (or so she'd like you to think) Ermengarde has the standard melodrama heroine choice between 'Squire Hardman, a rich and evil DastardlyWhiplash who holds the mortgage to her father's land, and Jack Manly, the poor but honest and handsome young man who's loved her since their school days. Hardman gives up the pursuit halfway through the story when it occurs to him that, since he's threatening to foreclose on the land to force Ermengarde to marry him so he can inherit the land, it would be simpler just to foreclose anyway and leave Ermengarde out of it. He is then replaced by a different rich suitor, a city sophisticate who tempts Ermengarde into eloping with him, only for Ermengarde to push him out of a moving train when she realizes he's only after the land as well. Meanwhile, Jack has gone off to the city hoping to prove his worth by making his fortune and buying out the mortgage, [[spoiler:but comes back penniless and married to someone else. Ermengarde becomes rich through a LongLostRelative, buys out the mortgage, and then forces 'Squire Hardman to marry her so she can get his fortune too]].

* ''Literature/QueenOfBabble'' plays with this. Both Luke and [[spoiler:Chaz]] are rich trust fund kids but Luke is a European prince and wealthy banker while [[spoiler:Chaz is a Phd student wanting to be a Philosophy professor]].
* A downplayed variation leaning towards PuppyLove, with all the parties aged around thirteen, in ''Literature/TheFootfallsOfChessHorses''. Kostya and Vashek both have crushes on Belka. Kostya is the son of the richest man in town, while Vashek's parents can't afford even the cheapest holiday trip. However, both are genuinely nice boys, Belka likes both of them and has ShipTease moments with each, but it never affects the friendship between the three of them and there is no clear resolution of the triangle.

* In ''Theatre/ThoroughlyModernMillie'', Millie initially sets out to marry her rich boss Trevor Graydon III, but eventually chooses the poor Jimmy Smith, who is genuinely in love with her. [[spoiler: TheAesop gets {{Subverted}} a bit when it turns out Jimmy was secretly wealthy the whole time]].

** Her best friend Miss Dorothy has to choose between the wealthy Trevor, with whom she shares a mutual falling in LoveAtFirstSight, and the poor Chinese immigrant Ching Ho, who she eventually chooses.

* In ''Film/{{Enchanted}}'', Giselle initially falls InLoveAtFirstSight with [[PrinceCharming Prince Edward]], but once in [[BigApplesauce New York]] falls in love with pragmatic lawyer Robert (who does quite well for himself, but definitely isn't anywhere near royalty). Giselle and Robert eventually end up together, with both of their previous love interests ending up HappilyEverAfter [[PairTheSpares together]] as well.

** Her best friend Miss Dorothy is pursued by the wealthy Trevor and the poor Chinese immigrant Ching Ho, who she eventually chooses.

* In ''Film/{{Enchanted}}'', Giselle initially is set to wed [[PrinceCharming Prince Edward]], but once in [[BigApplesauce New York]] falls in love with pragmatic lawyer Robert (who does quite well for himself, but definitely isn't anywhere near royalty). Giselle and Robert eventually end up together, with both of their previous love interests ending up HappilyEverAfter [[PairTheSpares together]] as well.

** In ''WesternAnimation/MulanII'', three princesses are set for an ArrangedMarriage to princes from a neighboring kingdom for diplomatic reasons, but all three fall in love with the common soldiers Yao, Ling, and Chien Po on the journey to the other kingdom, and are eventually able to convince their father to allow them to marry the soldiers instead.

* GenderFlipped in ''WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog,'' where Prince Naveen, cut off by his parents, chooses to marry the rich Charlotte [=LeBouffe=]] for her money... before falling for her poorer friend, [[Franchise/DisneyPrincess Tiana]]. It seems like he might have to marry Charlotte even after choosing Tiana, but [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy Charlotte does away with that issue herself]].
* Given a bit of a twist in ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'', where Jasmine falls in love with "street rat" Aladdin and doesn't much care for this Prince Ali who comes parading down the streets with an ostentatious display of wealth and possessions. The twist, of course, is that [[TwoPersonLoveTriangle "Ali" is]] [[LovesMyAlterEgo actually Aladdin]] who's been turned into a prince by Genie. Jasmine only begins warming up to him [[SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan when she figures this out and he begins acting more like himself.]] And it was not like she knew she had a choice between the "two of them", since [[BigBad Jafar]] lied to her by claiming Aladdin had been executed (as part of his plan to use Aladdin to get the lamp from the Cave of Wonders).
* In Disney's ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast'', [[CuteBookworm Belle]] has two suitors over the course of the film, the huntsman [[JerkAss Gaston]] (Poor) and [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold The Beast]] (Rich), a prince who lives in a magnificent castle and whose servants make up much of the cast. She never shows any real interest in Gaston despite his obsessive pursuit of her, and eventually chooses the Beast aka the Rich Suitor [[TookALevelInKindness once she helps him realise that he must become a kinder person.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/LadyAndTheTramp'' at first, there was going to be this, with The Tramp competing for Lady's affections with a rich neighbor family's dog named Boris. Eventually, the neighbor roles were given to the characters of Jock and Trusty and Boris was moved to elsewhere in the film.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Metegol}}'' : El Grosso is a rich and famous soccer player, Amadeo isn't rich, and both love Laura.

* ''WesternAnimation/Frozen2013'': Princess Anna falls in LoveAtFirstSight with Hans, a prince from a neighboring kingdom; they later agree to a FourthDateMarriage. Kristoff is a grumpy ice harvester living alone with his pet reindeer, and chides Anna for agreeing to marry a guy whom she just met. [[spoiler:During the betrayal scene, Hans turned out to be a GoldDigger seeking Arendelle's throne. After learning her lesson with Hans, she takes it slowly with Kristoff. At the end of [[WesternAnimation/FrozenII the sequel]], Kristoff and Anna finally marry and live HappilyEverAfter]].

* This is the plot of ''Theatre/IlTrovatore''. The Rich Suitor is Count di Luna, the local prince; the Poor Suitor is an officer and troubadour with UsefulNotes/{{Roma|ni}} blood named Manrico, and both are in love with the Spanish Queen's LadyInWaiting, [[TheOjou Leonora]]. [[TearJerker It ends in tragedy]], [[spoiler: not just because Manrico is executed and Leonora is DrivenToSuicide... but because the Count later finds out that ''Manrico was his long-lost little brother'', whose kidnapping by UsefulNotes/{{Roma|ni}} drove him to hate them.]] Holy IronicHell.
* In ''Theatre/{{Rent}}'', Mimi is in a triangle with broke musician Roger and rich entrepreneur Benny (it didn't seem to matter that he was already married).
* In ''Theatre/SongsForANewWorld'' the singer of [[https://youtu.be/1vA2wgirBJc "Stars and the Moon"]] has a choice between three suitors, two who were poor, one wealthy.
* Josephine in ''Theatre/HMSPinafore'' has two potential mates, the wealthy Sir Joseph Porter and the lowly Ralph Rackstraw. She even has a dramatic aria comparing the two, though at other times she obviously favors the tar over the lord.
* ''Theatre/TheMerchantOfVenice'': Almost all of Portia's suitors are rich (princes, dukes, barons, etc), and Bassanio, a "poor...gentlemen" is the exception. Needless to say, he's the only one she's really interested in. A lot of the plot revolves around the fact that he's borrowed money from a friend in order to woo her.
* In "Fulgens and Lucres": the noblewoman Lucres must choose between two suitors: the thrifty but honorable Gayus or the filthy rich but depraved Cornelius. She decides to marry whoever is nobler, and has them both make speeches listing why they fit that description. Needless to say, the one who kept his speech short won.

* Parodied in ''Theatre/TheRivals''. Lydia dreams of a romantic elopement with the impoverished Ensign Beverley, and rejects her aunt's attempt to marry her off to the wealthy Captain Absolute. What she doesn't know is that Beverley ''is'' Jack Absolute, who chose to woo her under an assumed identity because he spotted that she was a romantic and would never have given him a chance if she'd known how well-off he was. She spurns him when she finds out the truth, but realizes in the end that she loves him for himself, regardless of how wealthy he is.

* ''Radio/OurMissBrooks'': In the [[TheMovie cinematic]] GrandFinale to the series, wealthy Lawrence Nolan proposes to Miss Brooks. Although Miss Brooks likes Nolan as a friend, and he's overall a good person, she can't see herself in love with him. Miss Brooks prefers her longtime LoveInterest, shy biology teacher Phillip Boynton. At the end of the film, they finally marry and live HappilyEverAfter.

* ''Film/MissPettigrewLivesForADay'' calls this trope boring, and gives Delissia LeFosse a choice between ''three'' suitors: charming club owner Nick, eager young Phil, or poor but passionate Michael.
* ''Film/SweetHomeAlabama'': Kind of.
* ''Film/{{Shopgirl}}'': Mirabelle must choose between a wealthy older man and a penniless younger man.
* ''Film/TwoMoonJunction'': April must choose between her wealthy fiancee and her newly found fling, who is a carnie. In the end, [[spoiler: she marries the rich guy, but ends up with the carnie, too.]]
* ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanTheCurseOfTheBlackPearl'': Elizabeth must choose between her true love, penniless blacksmith Will or the older, wealthier Commodore Norrington. Unlike other examples, both guys are portrayed as good men and both genuinely love her. [[spoiler: She chooses Will. Norrington accepts it with grace and tells Will "IfYouEverHurtHer", but dies a while later.]]
* Played with in ''Film/ComingToAmerica,'' where [[KingIncognito Prince Akeem portrays himself as poor]] so that his future queen will love him for who he is, rather than how much money he has. In his fight for Lisa, he is up against Daryl, the money-rich but personality-poor heir to the Soul Glo fortune. Of course, it comes out that Akeem is really a prince, even with his father the King coming to fetch him back home. HilarityEnsues.
* ''Film/TheNotebook'': the rich guy is decent and very lovely.
* Played with in ''Film/JustFriends'' in which Jamie must choose between her former high school best friend who is now a {{Jerkass}}, a successful TheCasanova with a glamorous job in the music industry and another former friend who has grown up into a nice, down to earth small town paramedic. [[spoiler: Except it turns out the {{Jerkass}} Rich Suitor is really a JerkWithAHeartOfGold while the supposedly nice Poor Suitor is a BitchInSheepsClothing [[RevengeOfTheNerd deliberately looking to break her heart for not noticing his crush on her in high school]].]]
* ''Film/TheFlintstonesInVivaRockVegas'': Casino owner Chip Rockfeller and quarry employee Fred Flintstone are rivals for Wilma's affections. The movie twists the trope by having Chip ''needing'' to marry Wilma, who's from a rather affluent family as well, to be able to pay his debts and stay wealthy.
* A rare male version in Creator/TylerPerry's ''Film/GoodDeeds''. Wesley Deeds has to choose between his fiancee Natalie (rich) or a down-on-her-luck single mother who is a janitor in his office building.
* ''Film/DiaryOfAMadBlackWoman'': when the main character Helen has to choose between her wealthy, disabled, but abusive husband (Charles) and a factory worker she meets, Orlando. [[spoiler: She zigzags between them because she at first chooses Orlando, then when Charles is paralyzed goes back to him, then finally chooses Orlando.]]
* ''Film/MrDeeds'': Deeds as the rich suitor; Babe's coworker and fake mugger as the poor suitor.
* Played with in ''Film/HighSociety'': Poor Suitor vs. SelfMadeMan Rich Suitor vs. Born Rich Suitor - the first is part of the BetaCouple; the second is very proud of his money, and the power it affords him; the third is incidentally rich and doesn't really display it. Not only does (one) Rich Suitor win; but out of the two rich men, the richer is the nice, artistic composer and singer, rather than a boring coal tradesman, and wins.
* Played with in ''Film/HowToMarryAMillionaire'': Schatze Page sets out to marry a rich man and finds herself torn between wealthy older gentleman J.D. Hanley and working-class stiff Tom Brookman. Although J.D. is a kind and caring man and Schatze gets along very well with him, she has much more chemistry with Tom and ultimately chooses him, only discovering afterwards that Tom is in fact a bona fide millionaire in his own right.
* In ''Film/IKnowWhereImGoing'', Joan Webster has to choose between Robert Bellinger, the owner of Consolidated Chemical Industries, or Torquil [=MacNeil=], the poor laird who has to rent his beloved Kiloran to Bellinger.
* Renata, a rich girl from the Mexican film ''Film/AmarTeDuele'' has to choose between Francisco and Ulises; the former is a JerkAss hinted to be the son of an influential politician and the latter who is a poor boy whose family sells clothes on the street. She does choose Ulises, but it [[StarCrossedLovers doesn't end well for them]].
* ''Film/HighSchoolMusical'' offers a rare gender-flipped, modern example. The second film has [[{{SpoiledBrat}} Sharpay]] using her social connections and scholarship opportunities to lure Troy away from his ordinary, middle-class girlfriend Gabriella. (Who is working with him at Sharpay's parents country club.) Troy is only ever interested in Gabriella, but Sharpay's interference does eventually break them up. [[spoiler:Until Troy realizes what's going on, tells Sharpay to go to hell and wins Gabriella back]].
* In ''Film/CafeSetareh'', Salomeh is engaged to Ebi, who is UnableToSupportAWife. When [[spoiler: Ebi goes to prison]], and a rich JerkAss begins courting her, she is genuinely conflicted and in the end [[spoiler: commits suicide.]]
* Brad and his billionaire brother, Farley, are this for Janet in ''Film/ShockTreatment''.
* ''Film/{{Arthur}}'' has a gender-flipped variant -- the title character is IdleRich but he won't ''stay'' that way unless he goes through with an ArrangedMarriage with a rich, boring woman. Too bad he falls in love with a poor, feisty waitress. When he [[spoiler: chooses the poor waitress]], each version comes to the same ending via different routes -- in the 1981 original, [[spoiler: his grandmother decides not to cut him off because she doesn't want anyone in the family to be working-class]], while in the 2011 remake [[spoiler: she finds him too immature to love, so he first becomes a responsible working adult in the family business (fixing the inheritance issue), and ''then'' reconciles with her]].
* ''Film/TheGuernseyLiteraryAndPotatoPeelPieSociety'' has Juliet choose between Mark (a high-society military man) as the Rich Suitor and Dawsey (a rural pig farmer) as the Poor Suitor.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': Mr. Burns and Grandpa Simpson, for Marge's mother, Mrs. Bouvier--at first, Mrs. Bouvier was with Grandpa Simpson, but she ended up leaving him for Mr. Burns and almost marries him. In the end, Mrs. Bouvier chooses not to marry Mr. Burns but also doesn't get back together with Abe--however, Mrs. Bouvier at least leaving Mr. Burns is good enough for him.
* ''WesternAnimation/BojackHorseman'' has the two suitors for [=BoJack's=] mother Beatrice, the working class Butterscotch Horseman and her selected rich suitor, Corbin Creamerman. She picks Butterscotch after he gets her pregnant from a one night stand and he offers to marry her to preserve her honor (only after she refuses an abortion). We then see how [[{{Deconstruction}} their relationship falls apart]]; Butterscotch's plans of becoming a novelist are stymied by his poor writing abilities and being stuck in the past, and Beatrice doesn't know how to get along without the comforts she knew growing up. Both of them take this out on [=BoJack=], seeing him as the thing which trapped them in the marriage.
* In ''WesternAnimation/MuzzyInGondoland'', Bob is a simple gardener while Corvax is the King's advisor. In this case, however, it's more about social status than actual wealth.
* The WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes short "A Hick a Slick and a Chick" revolves around a mouse who's girlfriend get's stolen from him by a much wealthier mouse.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Frozen}}'': Princess Anna falls in LoveAtFirstSight with Hans, a prince from a neighboring kingdom; they later agree to a FourthDateMarriage. Kristoff is a grumpy ice harvester living alone with his pet reindeer, and chides Anna for agreeing to marry a guy whom she just met. [[spoiler:During the betrayal scene, Hans turned out to be a GoldDigger seeking Arendelle's throne. After learning her lesson with Hans, she takes it slowly with Kristoff. At the end of [[WesternAnimation/Frozen2 the sequel]], Kristoff and Anna finally marry and live HappilyEverAfter]].

* In Creator/AgathaChristie's ''Literature/DeathOnTheNile'', Linnet and Jacqueline are this to Simon Doyle. Linnet, the rich one, manages to steal Simon away from her poorer friend Jackie. Except that [[spoiler:it turns out Jackie was the victorious one all along; Simon always loved her and married Linnet, who he saw as just a ClingyJealousGirl, only so that he and Jackie could murder Linnet on a boat voyage over the Nile and inherit her money]].
** ''Death on the Nile'' also has a [[BetaCouple "beta" case of "rich suitor, poor suitor."]] Cornelia Robinson, the poor relation of a rich woman on the boat, is being courted by both the scraggly Communist agitator Mr. Ferguson and the successful, famous Dr. Bessner. She chooses the poor suitor [[spoiler: which turns out to be the doctor, who is comfortably well-off, but not spectacularly wealthy. Ferguson was a wealthy Lord, but Cornelia didn't care. She thought he was just as much of a {{Jerkass}} as an aristocrat as he was as a commoner.]]

** Yusaku Godai is the poor college student, Shun Mitaka is the rich guy who only coaches tennis as a hobby. Kyoko Otonashi spent six years choosing between them, thanks to a rash of StatusQuoIsGod. [[spoiler: She chooses the Poor Suitor. The Rich one finds [[TheOjou a girlfriend of his own]] and they're happy together.]]

* Explicitly called out in ''Literature/{{1632}}''. The up-time Americans prefer the plucky young poor-but-earnest suitor, while the down-time Germans think the Americans are crazy and strongly prefer the currently wealthy suitor over one whose prospects are iffy at best.

* Explicitly called out in ''1632''. The up-time Americans prefer the plucky young poor-but-earnest suitor, while the down-time Germans think the Americans are crazy and strongly prefer the currently wealthy suitor over one whose prospects are iffy at best.

One of the most common complications in the classic LoveTriangle scenario. Two men are vying for a women's affection. Who's the right one? It's hard to tell, but there's a good chance that one of them is considerably wealthier than the other, and he can provide security, glamour and the good life, while the other (who has a good chance of being an impoverished artist) can give none of the same. What are you gonna do?

This trope is most often "two men and one women" because of a sense that woman needs someone to 'provide for her'. This sort of logic ties into UnableToSupportAWife and generates part of this trope's conflict.

* GenderFlipped in ''Disney/ThePrincessAndTheFrog,'' where Prince Naveen, cut off by his parents, chooses to marry the rich Charlotte [=LeBouffe=]] for her money... before falling for her poorer friend, [[Franchise/DisneyPrincess Tiana]]. It seems like he might have to marry Charlotte even after choosing Tiana, but [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy Charlotte does away with that issue herself]].
* Given a bit of a twist in ''Disney/{{Aladdin}}'', where Jasmine falls in love with "street rat" Aladdin and doesn't much care for this Prince Ali who comes parading down the streets with an ostentatious display of wealth and possessions. The twist, of course, is that [[TwoPersonLoveTriangle "Ali" is]] [[LovesMyAlterEgo actually Aladdin]] who's been turned into a prince by Genie. Jasmine only begins warming up to him [[SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan when she figures this out and he begins acting more like himself.]] And it was not like she knew she had a choice between the "two of them", since [[BigBad Jafar]] lied to her by claiming Aladdin had been executed (as part of his plan to use Aladdin to get the lamp from the Cave of Wonders).
* In Disney's ''Disney/BeautyAndTheBeast'', [[CuteBookworm Belle]] has two suitors over the course of the film, the huntsman [[JerkAss Gaston]] (Poor) and [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold The Beast]] (Rich), a prince who lives in a magnificent castle and whose servants make up much of the cast. She never shows any real interest in Gaston despite his obsessive pursuit of her, and eventually chooses the Beast aka the Rich Suitor [[TookALevelInKindness once she helps him realise that he must become a kinder person.]]

* In ''Disney/LadyAndTheTramp'' at first, there was going to be this, with The Tramp competing for Lady's affections with a rich neighbor family's dog named Boris. Eventually, the neighbor roles were given to the characters of Jock and Trusty and Boris was moved to elsewhere in the film.

** At the end of the two-parter, Bruce notes the irony to Clark that Lois is romantically into Bruce but not Batman and likes Superman but not Clark.

* GenderFlipped in ''Disney/ThePrincessAndTheFrog,'' where Prince Naveen, cut off by his parents, chooses to marry the rich [[SpoiledSweet Charlotte [=LeBouffe=]]] for her money... before falling for her poorer friend, [[Franchise/DisneyPrincess Tiana]]. It seems like he might have to marry Charlotte even after choosing Tiana, but [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy Charlotte does away with that issue herself]].

* ''Film/AKnightsTale'': [[SpoiledSweet Jocelyn]] must choose between Count Ademar, the nobleman, and William, the squire disguised as a knight (and only a country knight of minor nobility at that, although his money situation improves as he keeps winning tournaments). Not a straight example because she thought they were both noble, but she was still willing to love William after she found out his true heritage.

* On one episode of the BBC panel game ''My Word!'',[[note]]The game features a participant being presented with a well-known proverb, song title etc. and challenged to deliver a story by monologue, in which the punch-line is a close variation on the original saying.[[/note]] the saying "And so to bed" occasioned a story about a woman in one of these situations, culminating in the narrator rhetorically asking whether, after her marriage, she would be in Tibet (where the rich suitor had promised to take her) or her poor suitor's house? The morning after she was "wedded and bedded", she woke up... and saw Tibet.[[note]]This being the punch-line spoof of "And so to bed".[[/note]]