As a result of London's father going broke, the bank has to seize all of the Tiptons' assets, notably including London's clothes, pictures, and so on. Because she can no longer stay in her suite, she has to stay with Maddie. Meanwhile, in an old video (days after the twins were born), Carey mixes them up them, and Zack and Cody think they are the other twin, adopting each other's personality until they get confirmation of their identity from the hospital.
Tropes:
- An Aesop:
- Zack and Cody's arc is an exercise in nurture vs. nature, exploring that who we are is defined by who we choose to be.
- London learns that true friends are the ones who stick by you through hard times, even when you have nothing.
- Brutal Honesty: Muriel shouting "Cause you're broke" into London's face is rather blunt, especially when compared to everyone else who danced around the issue.
- Comically Missing the Point:
- The twins start acting like each other because the possibility they were mixed up as babies convinced them they're supposed to be each other. It exasperates Carey, as she understands that they're the master of their own fates.
- When London learns from Mr. Mosby that her father struck oil in his "diamond" mine, she remarks how messy that must've been. Maddie has to spell it out for her: it means she's rich again!
- Cutting the Knot: As Carey starts reading the birth certificates that are supposed to tell who's Zack and who's Cody, she stops mid-way, either implying the certificates can't tell them apart or internally realizing she doesn't have to play to their games. Whichever one, Carey makes a sound choice to simply fib to the twins that according to the certificates, they are respectively who they've been all this time.
- Financial Test of Friendship: Mr. Tipton invests all of his money in a diamond mine that doesn't have any diamonds. When London's presidential suite and her valuable assets are seized by the bank as partial payment of the debt incurred, while all of London's rich friends refuse to help her in retaliation for all the times London screwed them over, Maddie invites London to stay with her family, though she was reluctant to at first, but she started to enjoy it over time. At the end of the episode, the mine yields a massive oil reserve and the Tipton fortune is restored, and Maddie assumes this means their planned lunch date is off since London is rich again. However, London, now appreciative of how Maddie helped her when no one else would, decides to take her out to a fancy restaurant for lunch.
- Lethal Chef: Londons attempt at making the boys grilled cheese for dinner. She forgets to add bread and to remove the plastic.
- Lonely Rich Kid: London never had dinner with her parents growing up and has never attended a sleepover.
- Murphy's Bed: When first staying in Maddie's apartment, London is shocked to discover that she sleeps in a Murphy bed. She later ends up trapped between the wall and said bed.
- Overly Long Scream: London’s reaction when she finds out she’s broke. And she kept on screaming all the way down the elevator to the main lobby.
- Shout-Out: The title refers to Richie Rich, the "poor little rich boy."
- Status Quo Is God: At the end of the episode, London becomes rich again after oil is discovered in the her father’s "diamond" mine.
- That Came Out Wrong: Maddie says it's time to strip and make the bed. London starts unbuttoning her pajamas before Maddie explains she meant putting new sheets on the beds.
- Twin Test: Inverted. Zack and Cody watch a baby video of theirs in which their parents accidentally mix the two up.
