People are obsessed with wealth and rich people. It’s a tale as old as time with regular people getting a glance into the lives and relationships of the uber-rich thanks to television series and movies. Some of the best films and series about rich people absolutely skewer and roast the heck out of the wealthy and, as a result, are great fun whether the show or movie is a drama likeSuccessionor a comedy likeMaya Rudolph’sLoot. Schitt’s Creek, Arrested Development,andThe White Lotushave all hit a note with fans for the ridiculous ways in which each of those series mock the wealthy. Going back a few decades,Trading Placesis a classic film about the haves and have-nots and what happens when the tables are turned.
Currently, shows about rich people are enjoying a heyday, likely due to the effects of the coronavirus and all the people who’ve lost income, the media’s glorification of billionaires and how quickly their wealth has grown since the COVID-19 pandemic started, and, of course, the fact that there are many more streaming services to deliver delicious content to audiences. Let’s take a look at some of the best movies and television series that skewer the rich.
Showtime’sBillionsis currently in its sixth season. It starred Damian Lewis as Bobby Axelrod, a rising hedge fund manager who has no problem breaking the law to ensure high returns for his clients and himself.Paul Giamatti playsU.S. Attorney Chuck Rhoades, who is hot on Axelrod’s trail and tries to prosecute him for his various crimes. So far, he’s been unsuccessful. Like theLaw & Orderfranchise,Billions’storylines often find inspiration from real-life financial crime cases.
7Succession
HBO’sSuccessionhas a cult-like following for a very good reason: it is some ofthe best television showsto come out in years. The show follows the foibles of the Roy family and their global media and entertainment conglomerate Waystar RoyCo. Thissatirical dark comedyfollows the four adult Roy children and how they make power plays for control of the company while they ponder and await the death of their father, Logan Roy (Brian Cox) death.
Logan Roy is old, but he will stay alive just to spite his kids Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Roman (the sublime Kieran Culkin), and Siobhan “Shiv” (Sarah Snook), who all work for Waystar RoyCo. Logan’s eldest child, Connor (Alan Ruck) is on the periphery of the main storyline but just as eager to stab any of his half-siblings in the back to get a bigger piece of the pie once dear old dad kicks the bucket.
Maya Rudolph plays Molly Novak inthe comedy showLoot, the wife of a billionaire entrepreneur who, after 20 years of marriage, cheats on her. Newly single with many billions to her name and no job to speak of, she finds herself at loose ends and her downward spiral into a middle-aged party girl becomes tabloid fodder. Molly finds out she has a charitable foundation, visits its offices, and offers to get involved — to disastrous and heartwarming hilarity.
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Watching Molly try to find her footing post-divorce is equal parts funny and heartbreaking. Her heart is in the right place, but she’s just been out of the loop of everyday people for decades. A running gag is that anyone who visits her house can say “chocolate milkshake” or “Hamachi Crudo” or the name of any food they want, and it will appear in less than five minutes thanks to her staff.Lootappears to be inspired by the divorce of Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie Scott.
5Arrested Development
Arrested Developmentwas so popular with audiences that it was brought back from the dead seven years after its three-season run on Fox for two seasons on Netflix. Officially,Arrested Developmentran from 2003 to 2006 on Fox and 2013 to 2019 on Netflix. The show follows the dysfunctional Bluth family. The Bluths used to be very wealthy and continue to lead lives of luxury and extravagance despite their more impoverished current circumstances.Jason Bateman played Michael Bluth, who tried to get his family to see reality and live more modest lives. Michael is foiled at every turn by the various members of his family.
4Schitt’s Creek
Schitt’s Creekis the wildly popular series created by and starring Eugene Levy and his son Dan Levy. It originally aired in Canada on CBC Television for six seasons. American audiences got their dose of the antics of the Rose family on Netflix. The shoe centers on the Rose family, who lost their wealth after their family business manner embezzled funds from the family business leaving them broke and forcing them to leave their mansion and relocated to a town they’d bought as a joke in better days, Schitt’s Creek.
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The Rose family is forced to live in a motel in the town.Schitt’s Creekalso starsthe divine Catherine O’Haraas Moira Rose and Annie Murphy as Alexis, David’s (Dan Levy) wife.Schitt’s Creekmade history by winning more Emmy Awards in a single year than any other comedy series, and is dearly missed.
3The White Lotus
The White Lotuspremiered on HBO in 2021 and instantly gained a fan base thanks to the hilarious nature of the show andthe perfect Jennifer Coolidge’sperformance as middle-aged single woman on the prowl, Tanya McQuoid, and a wonderful script fromEnlightenedcreator Mike White. The six-episode satirical comedy follows the trials and tribulations of a group of travelers at a luxurious tropical resort. The show highlights the vast differences of the lives of the hotel guests and the hotel staff. It stars Connie Britton, Alexandra Daddario, Steve Zahn, and Molly Shannon among others. The various guests face intrigue and even murder while they vacation.
2Wolf of Wall Street
The Wolf of Wall Streetis the 2013 Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio film based on the book of the same name by Jordan Belfort. The storyline recounts Belfort’s days running the stockbrokerage Stratton Oakmont, which committed fraud and was so corrupt it resulted in Belfort’s imprisonment. In the Hollywood version of the story, Scorsese portrays Belfort as a caricature of a New York City finance bro while also making the narrative a cautionary tale on playing fast and loose with the law. Jonah Hill and Margot Robbie also starred in the film.
1Trading Places
Trading Spacesis a 1983 comedy directed by John Landis and starring Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd. Murphy plays a poor homeless man named Billy Ray Valentine and Aykroyd a wealthy commodities broker, Louis Winthorpe III, working for brothers Randolph and Mortimer Duke at the Duke & Duke Commodity Brokers firm in Philadelphia. The brothers disagree on the subject of nutrue versus nature and draw Winthorpe and Valentine into their bet without their knowledge. The Duke brothers want to see what will happen when two people from different social classes are forced to live the life of the other person.
