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{{trope}}
[[File:PennybagsAndBurns.jpg|link=The Simpsons (animation)|frame|On the left, Uncle Pennybags, on the right [[Corrupt Corporate Executive|his antithesis]] Mr. Burns.]]
This is a person, usually male (if not, meet ''Aunt'' Pennybags), who, despite being ludicrously wealthy, is actually a fun guy to be around, even if you're dirt-poor. He's often an [[Affably Evil]] [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]] or an [[Honest Corporate Executive]]. He will often be a [[Good Samaritan]], using his massive hoard of money to help people. Often a [[Self-Made Man]]; if not, likely to be a grown up [[Spoiled Sweet]].
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Not to be confused with [[Rich Idiot With No Day Job]], which is when this is used as a cover for a [[Secret Identity]].
This trope name comes from the mascot of the board game "[[Monopoly (game)|Monopoly]]" (first name [[Embarrassing First Name|Milburn]]), who was renamed "Mr. Monopoly" [[I Am Not Shazam|because people just called him that anyway]].
A [[Sub-Trope]] of [[Idle Rich]].
{{examples}}
== Anime and Manga ==
* Eduard aka Estonia from ''[[Axis Powers Hetalia]]'' is a BROTHER Pennybags.
* Ayaka Yukihiro of ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'', willing to fund trips to the south seas, fly a dozen people to the UK, and entire festival games well into the millions, usually without being asked. At points, she will add in "My peasant friends" and the like to hold her [[Rich Bitch]] status. Her character assures that [[Ken Akamatsu|The Author]] has no unavailable plots.
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== Comic Books ==
* [[Richie Rich (comics)|Richie Rich]].
* Tony Stark, alias [[Iron Man]], from the [[Marvel Universe]].
* Marvel's version of Hercules is the ultimate party animal, and known among every restaurant in New York as one of the biggest tippers.
* ''The Green Team: Boy Millionaires'' from [[The DCU]].
* Thomas and Martha Wayne from [[Batman]] are both philanthropists as well as their son, Bruce, who runs his Wayne Foundation as a way of preventing and mitigating crime in ways Batman can't. One [[Jonah Hex]] storyline shows that the Waynes' ancestors were also good people who were not corrupted by their wealth and power.
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* [[Immortal Iron Fist|Iron Fist]].
== Fan
* Naruto, of all people, become on in ''[[Kitsune
▲* Naruto, of all people, become on in [[Kitsune On Campus]] when he {{spoiler|reintroduces Icha Icha series to the world by publishing it in Mahora}}. Needless to say, he does not comprehend. His money is used to fund part of the Mahora Festival, which he has absolutely no problem with.
== Film ==
* The hero's best friend becomes one of these in the movie ''[[Envy (film)|Envy]]''. He continues to treat the main character well, even as the main character's envy causes him to hate and ignore his friend.
* The main characters' ludicrously wealthy friend in ''[[Benchwarmers]]'', who is implied to keep $1 billion on his person, and uses his colossal money to build his friends a baseball stadium
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* Rodney Dangerfield played roles like this in films such as ''[[Caddyshack]]'' or ''Back To School''. While not as ultra-rich as most examples, his characters tended to give away gifts or money like there was no tomorrow, and were rude, yet fun to be around.
* Mr. Duncan from [[Home Alone]] 2. An owner of a toy emporium, a philanthropist and generally a great guy.
== Literature ==
* One of [[Kinky Friedman]]'s friends in his novels is a "decamillionaire" who's happy to help him if he needs a flight to Hawaii or something.
* Just about every single [[P. G.
* Watson Brewer, Kristy's millionaire stepfather, in ''The [[Babysitters Club]].'' Doesn't mind inviting six or seven extra teenage girls to most family vacations.
* [[Lord Peter Wimsey]] acts as an Uncle Pennybags to almost any character who is not wealthy or an antagonist. He's an excellent tipper, for instance, and being a bit character who helps him with an investigation is almost always profitable.
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* [[Harry Potter]] ''himself'' has shown an inclination to be this, especially to Ron—to the latter's chagrin.
* In ''[[Myth Adventures|M.Y.T.H. Inc. Link]]'', Tananda is sent to collect on a debt owed by a fellow who turns out to be one of these.
* On the [[
** When two fellows who '''weren't''' his employees — they were in fact trying to become his competitors — accidentally blew themselves up, Harry thought about their widowed and now childless old mother
== Live Action TV ==▼
* The dad on ''[[Silver Spoons]]''.
* Pete Becker from ''[[Friends]]''. This is justified by him being a [[Bill Gates]] spoof who invented the premiere operating system in the world in his garage at a ridiculously young age.
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* Faith in [[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]], believe it or not. Throughout the series she is more the [[Perpetual Poverty]] type, however in the comics she works with Giles. After {{spoiler|his death}} she discovers that she had been left a fortune. As well as being really fun to be around, Faith uses the money to help, such as using it to bail out a Slayer from a beating.
* In [[Smallville]], Clark and his friends benefited vastly from a series of sugar daddies. First, from Seasons 1-4, [[Lex Luthor]] often bailed Clark & friends out of their money troubles, as he was still essentially [[Lonely Rich Kid|trying to buy Clark's friendship.]] After Lex gets caught using armed and superpowered thugs to hold Clark's parents hostage (and thus force him to reveal his secret if it had gone as he'd planned) in Season 5, Clark distances himself from Lex. However, Lex's [[Archnemesis Dad]] Lionel steps in and starts eagerly playing the role of Uncle Pennybags in a desperate attempt to impress Martha with his generosity. Lex occasionally still chips in money, but only in odd circumstances when he and Clark are thrown into a position where their interests coincide. Then from Season 6 onwards till the end, [[Green Arrow|Oliver Queen]] steps in as Team Clark's big financier, as he is the major backer of the [[Justice League]], eventually being joined in this role by former [[Dark Action Girl]] Tess Mercer in the later seasons.
== Music ==
* The "true love" in "The Twelve Days of Christmas", FULL STOP. Some folks have actually done the math and discovered how much all those gifts would cost. [https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2018/11/15/price-12-days-christmas-gifts/2004002002/ It's A LOT], considering they're gifts.
== Newspaper Comics ==
* Oliver "Daddy" Warbucks in ''[[Little Orphan Annie]]''.
== Professional Wrestling ==
* [[World Wrestling Entertainment|WWE]] wrestler Triple H was implied to be an Uncle Pennybags to his friends in one storyline. As the story goes, Shawn Michaels lost his life savings in the stock market crash of October 2008, and so was forced to work for JBL as a "bodyguard" and interfere in matches on his behalf. Triple H approached Shawn and asked him why he didn't just come to him for the money; he certainly had enough, and he'd be willing to give Shawn as much as he needed, no strings attached. Shawn replied that he didn't want to take money from HHH, for fear of it ruining their friendship.▼
▲* [[WWE]] wrestler Triple H was implied to be an Uncle Pennybags to his friends in one storyline. As the story goes, Shawn Michaels lost his life savings in the stock market crash of October 2008, and so was forced to work for JBL as a "bodyguard" and interfere in matches on his behalf. Triple H approached Shawn and asked him why he didn't just come to him for the money; he certainly had enough, and he'd be willing to give Shawn as much as he needed, no strings attached. Shawn replied that he didn't want to take money from HHH, for fear of it ruining their friendship.
** This could have been a rare shout out to Triple H's original gimmick in the WWF - Hunter Hearst Helmsley, ultra-wealthy American blue-blood. Although at the time Helmsley was much more of a Mr. Burns than an Uncle Pennybags.
*** Or, it could be because he IS filthy rich now, being married to the boss's daughter and all.
* Ted DiBiase Jr's current gimmick in [[World Wrestling Entertainment|WWE]] is Uncle Pennybags. He's been given a massive trust fund from his father, [[Screw the Rules, I Have Money|"The Million Dollar Man"]] [[Ted DiBiase]], and he mostly uses it to give gifts to the fans, have massive tailgate parties in the parking lot of [[World Wrestling Entertainment|WWE]] events with his Twitter followers, and donate to charity.
== Video Games ==
* [[Street Fighter|Ken Masters]], notably in the ''Street Fighter II: V'' anime series. During the first half of the series while he and Ryu are [[Walking the Earth]], he uses his family's mammoth fortune to help those around him; from the relatively minor instances of setting he and Ryu up in a 5-star penthouse suite and buying Chun Li clothes and jewelry as a gift for her serving as their tour guide, to singlehandedly arranging for a massive donation and Red Cross assistance to a remote Indian charity hospital.
* David Sarif from ''[[Deus Ex: Human Revolution|Deus Ex Human Revolution]]'' is ultimately one of these, despite committing a handful of shady actions (which mostly tend to come across as a necessary evil to survive in the cutthroat [[Cyberpunk]] business world).
* Rodrigo Briscoletti from ''Dragon Quest V'' is this trope in spades. He's world famous for his wealth and generosity, and he gets a lot of that wealth from running a casino resort. You can choose in the game to marry one of his two daughters, and he'll lavish gifts on you on your journey. But even if you marry your childhood sweetheart instead, he'll still give you a family heirloom (a legendary artifact you're searching for), pay for your wedding to Bianca, let you stay for free at his casino, ''and'' give you one of his ships to set off in just because he likes you. What a guy!
==
* Ray Smuckles in ''[[Achewood]]''.
* Llewellyn from ''[[Ozy and Millie]]'' fits in here, too. He cites gold as stuff he and his family throw at people when they want them to go away, and in one collection, tries to make gold into cookies. (It works, sort'a.)
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== Web Original ==
* [[Whateley Universe|Whateleyverse's]] Ayla fits in here (when his friends don't forbid him from spending money on them, anyway). Depending on the story, it varies from being implied to outright stated that he was raised both to view money as just a tool to do things with, and with a strong sense of ''noblesse oblige''; the combination means that he doesn't see the point in not using his money for good works. It's generally implied that his family is in the habit of doing the same thing; it gets mentioned off-hand in one story that there are a ''lot'' of buildings and public works out there named after various members of the Goodkind family.
** He's rich enough to take certain luxuries for granted, and kind enough to feel bad that other people don't have them. And he's smart enough to actually invest her money in other things, and half of his good deeds make his money in the long run.
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== Real Life ==
* Millionaire philanthropist Andrew Carnegie held himself up as an exemplar of this trope (though the reality of the matter differs depending on who you ask). He certainly did give away mountains of moolah to charity and public works, in any case.
** Similarly, whatever else you say about Andrew Mellon, you have to admit that he dumped his entire—phenomenal—art collection on the Smithsonian Institution, funded (through a trust) the construction of a [https://web.archive.org/web/20061208014849/http://www.nga.gov/ginfo/aboutnga.shtm place to store it], and placed as condition only that it ''not'' be named for him.
*** As the linked website should suggest (all Smithsonian sites are si.edu), the National Gallery of Art is NOT part of the Smithsonian. (Just try and use a member or employee discount in their gift shop.) That's right, Mellon gave them so much money and art they created a whole new museum organization instead of just sticking it in the one they already had. (James Smithson himself probably qualifies as well—he left his entire fortune to the United States government to create an institution for the dissemination of knowledge, despite ''never having set foot in the U.S. in his lifetime.'')
* Similarly, other huge-scale philanthropists like Alfred Nobel (who combines this with [[The Atoner]], as he had gotten rich as an arms merchant) or [[Bill Gates]].
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* [[Walt Disney]].
* [[Santa Claus]], who is often described as a reverse Robber baron.
* Hoqua, perhaps the most famous hong (guild) master in [[Merchant City|Canton]] had that reputation amid hard nosed Ammerican and British clipper barons. Several dynasties have a portrait of him in their collection and one clipper was named after him.
* It was one of the traditions of the early middle ages that a Teutonic noble should be this and give out dramatic gifts. In a sense that was his warband's pay. This tradition continued, indeed is well-known in a lot of times and places. But it was an especially important part of the code of honor of the time. For instance a poetic word for King was "ring-giver".
{{reflist}}
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]▼
[[Category:Characters As Device]]
[[Category:Money Tropes]]
[[Category:Rich People]]
▲[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
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