"Thank you for making me nouveau riche"
About this Quote
The intent is double. On the surface, it’s appreciation directed at an industry, a market, maybe even clients and consumers: you bought the story, and I got rich selling it. Underneath, it’s a jab at the old-money myth that wealth is noble when inherited and tacky when earned. In advertising, taste is manufactured, aspiration is monetized, and class is a costume with a price tag. Della Femina’s line admits the game and celebrates winning it.
Context matters: mid-to-late 20th-century American business culture, where the ad man becomes a minor celebrity and commerce becomes culture. The phrase compresses that era’s uneasy bargain: capitalism can make you powerful, but it may never quite make you "belong". The thanks, then, is real and sarcastic at once - a salute to the machine and a reminder that the machine still keeps score.
Quote Details
| Topic | Witty One-Liners |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Femina, Jerry Della. (2026, January 16). Thank you for making me nouveau riche. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/thank-you-for-making-me-nouveau-riche-118099/
Chicago Style
Femina, Jerry Della. "Thank you for making me nouveau riche." FixQuotes. January 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/thank-you-for-making-me-nouveau-riche-118099/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Thank you for making me nouveau riche." FixQuotes, 16 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/thank-you-for-making-me-nouveau-riche-118099/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.















