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Wealth & Money Quote by Nancy Astor

"The only thing I like about rich people is their money"

About this Quote

A politician admitting she likes rich people only for their money is either a scandal or a stunt; from Nancy Astor, it reads like a weaponized wink. The line works because it collapses the usual polite fiction - that wealth comes with taste, virtue, or social value - into a blunt transactional truth. Rich people, in this frame, aren’t friends, patrons, or leaders. They’re a resource.

Astor’s subtext is class-aware and strategically performative. As the first woman to take a seat in the British House of Commons, she lived inside elite networks while constantly being assessed by them. The quote lets her play both sides: she signals to non-elite audiences that she’s not starstruck by moneyed power, while also signaling to the wealthy that she understands how the game is played. It’s not envy; it’s leverage.

The intent is also protective. In a political world lubricated by donations, introductions, and access, professing affection for the rich can look like dependence. Astor flips that vulnerability into dominance: she’s not impressed, she’s extracting. It’s a line that anticipates modern populist rhetoric about oligarchs, except it’s delivered from within the drawing room, not outside the gates.

Context matters: Astor’s era was marked by widening democratic pressures, labor unrest, and suspicion of plutocracy alongside entrenched aristocratic influence. Her quip doesn’t pretend money is irrelevant; it insists money is the point. That cynicism is precisely why it lands.

Quote Details

TopicWitty One-Liners
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Citation Formats

APA Style (7th ed.)
Astor, Nancy. (n.d.). The only thing I like about rich people is their money. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-only-thing-i-like-about-rich-people-is-their-162966/

Chicago Style
Astor, Nancy. "The only thing I like about rich people is their money." FixQuotes. Accessed February 2, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-only-thing-i-like-about-rich-people-is-their-162966/.

MLA Style (9th ed.)
"The only thing I like about rich people is their money." FixQuotes, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-only-thing-i-like-about-rich-people-is-their-162966/. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.

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The Only Thing I Like About Rich People Is Their Money
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About the Author

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Nancy Astor (May 19, 1879 - May 2, 1964) was a Politician from United Kingdom.

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