nouveau riche
Freshly minted millionaires
Nouveau riche describes people who have recently acquired wealth, especially those who display it conspicuously or lack the cultural refinement associated with old money.
The term carries condescension—implying that money alone doesn't buy taste or breeding: The nouveau riche built gaudy mansions next to the understated estates of established families.
As a noun, it refers to such people collectively or individually.
Graceless new-money type
- arrivisteAmbitious social newcomer
- self-madeSuccessful through own efforts
- newcomerRecent arrival somewhere
- outsiderOne excluded from group
pretentious · gauche · boorish · striver · climber · aspiring · ambitious · name-dropper
Showily excessive
- gaudyTastelessly ornate
- showyExcessively eye-catching
- garishTastelessly showy
- flamboyantStrikingly bold in style
tacky · kitsch · glitzy · brash · vulgar · bling · loud · overdone
Abundant beyond necessity
- sumptuousSplendidly rich and costly
- luxuriousMarked by costly elegance
- palatialLavishly grand and spacious
- extravagantExceeding sensible bounds
grandiose · plush · ornate · decadent · gilded · opulence · mansion · yacht
Having abundant financial resources
- millionairePerson possessing great wealth
- tycoonDominant industrial leader
- magnateWealthy business leader
- plutocratRuler through wealth
oligarch · billionaire · fortune · inheritance · heir · heiress · moneyed · prosperous
Festive formal occasion
- jet-setWealthy international travelers
- soireeFormal evening party
- glitteratiFashionable wealthy celebrities
- eliteSuperior select group
debutante · philanthropy · fundraiser · patron · benefactor · salon · luncheon · exclusive
parvenu
Graceless new-money type
- arrivisteAmbitious social newcomer
- self-madeSuccessful through own efforts
- newcomerRecent arrival somewhere
outsider · pretentious · gauche · boorish · striver · climber · aspiring · ambitious · name-dropper · snob
ostentatious
Showily excessive
flamboyant · tacky · kitsch · glitzy · brash · vulgar · bling · loud · overdone · glittery
lavish
Abundant beyond necessity
- sumptuousSplendidly rich and costly
- luxuriousMarked by costly elegance
- palatialLavishly grand and spacious
extravagant · grandiose · plush · ornate · decadent · gilded · opulence · mansion · yacht · champagne
affluent
Having abundant financial resources
- millionairePerson possessing great wealth
- tycoonDominant industrial leader
- magnateWealthy business leader
plutocrat · oligarch · billionaire · fortune · inheritance · heir · heiress · moneyed · prosperous · flush
gala
Festive formal occasion
- jet-setWealthy international travelers
- soireeFormal evening party
- glitteratiFashionable wealthy celebrities
elite · debutante · philanthropy · fundraiser · patron · benefactor · salon · luncheon · exclusive · VIP
- French Loanwordsa la carte, ballet, a la mode, au revoir, bon appetit
- eliteselites, plutocrats, oligarchs, aristocrats, blue bloods
- fat catstycoon, mogul, magnate, plutocrat, oligarch
- Money Themeswealth, poverty, greed, gold, riches
- social classupper class, middle class, lower class, working class, social class
- social ranksking, queen, emperor, empress, noble
nouveau richeold money
Long-established family fortune
generational wealth · aristocracy · landed gentry · blue blood · dynastic wealth
nouveau richearistocrat
Person of noble birth
patrician · bluebloods · establishment · pedigreed · well-bred
nouveau richepoor
Lacking sufficient resources
impoverished · destitute · working class · penniless · have-nots