Top 10 Devious Movie Gold Diggers

Top 10 Movie Gold Diggers

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Some people marry for love; others marry for the moolah. Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today we’re counting down our picks for the top 10 gold diggers in movies. For this list, we’ll be looking at movie characters who got close to someone specifically for their wealth.

#10: Chris Wilton “Match Point” (2005)

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When you’re a playboy, your goal is to always get the girl you want, and tennis pro Chris Wilton has his sights set on Chloe Hewlett. However, it’s not the girl herself he wants; it’s the money she and her family possess. Of course, he puts his cushy lifestyle in jeopardy when he starts a passionate affair with and ultimately falls for another woman. Chris is caught between a rock and a hard place, which in this case is his sugar mommy wife and pregnant mistress, and he goes to extreme measures to maintain the level of comfort to which he’d adapted. You may only think of women when you’re naming gold diggers, but Chris Wilton fits this mold.

When you’re about to marry someone, be careful when you say, “what’s mine is yours,” because some will definitely use it to their advantage. Beverly Burns is a beautiful woman who catches the eye of Thomas R. Callahan, Jr. while at fat camp. This is no accident, however: Beverly and her “son” are actually con artists who are married to each other, and their plan was always to take Big Tom for half his assets. But when he passes away at their wedding, Beverly comes up with another plan: sell his auto parts company and pocket the cash. Unfortunately for her, comedic genius Chris Farley is Big Tom’s son and he will not let any dame ruin what his father built.

What do marriage vows usually say again: “for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and health,” yadda-yadda-yadda? Ricky Bobby’s wife seems to have forgotten most of that. After attracting NASCAR star Ricky Bobby with her * ahem * feminine wiles, Carly becomes Mrs. Bobby, gives birth to two sons – Walker and Texas Ranger – and comes to enjoy the rich hillbilly lifestyle that comes with being the wife of a guy like Ricky. But do you think she sticks around when Ricky loses his spot on the team? Hell no; she follows the money and dumps his ass faster than Ricky can drive, moving on to his best pal – the still rich and successful, Cal.

Have you ever been dating someone and you think they’re perfect but your family schemes to break you up? No? Well, that’s the general idea in this Disney-fied rom-com, which is a retooled version of the 1961 movie. Meredith has the twins’ father, Nick, wrapped around her little finger and dollar signs in her eyes. Being the smart little girls they are, Annie and Hallie figure her out in no time, and embark on a mission to not only break them up, but also to get their parents back together – and let us tell you: Meredith doesn’t give up easily. Funnily enough, gold digging actually runs in her family: turns out Meredith’s mother Vicki planned a similar scheme in the 1961 version.

#6: Most of the McTeague Family “Greedy” (1994)

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Uncle Joe has a reputation as a powerful and, above all, wealthy businessman who made his millions in scrap metal. He’s also ill tempered, confined to a wheelchair and is getting on in years, so the vultures have started to circle. By “vultures,” we mean Joe’s gold-digging family, and by “circle,” we mean they’re nice to him in a desperate attempt to get into his will so they get the old man’s fortune when he croaks. To make matters worse, they’ve also got Joe’s new nurse to contend with. With that info, we bet you can guess what happens when it’s revealed that Joe’s actually broke. Blood may be thicker than water, but a wad of cold hard cash is thicker than both.

#5: Lord Barkis Bittern “Corpse Bride” (2005)

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As we’ve discovered, gold diggers can be men too – and animated men at that. Where this film has one foot in the realm of the living and one in realm of the dead, you know that there is going to be a bad seed somewhere. That bad seed is Lord Barkis Bittern, a man that swoops in to marry Victoria when her love Victor goes missing. Turns out, however, that Barkis has always been after money, and he’d lie, cheat and even murder to get his hands on some. His wicked ways may give him the upper hand when it comes to deceiving women, but at the same time, his face has “gold digger” written all over it.

Oddly, Linda Partridge is one of the least cold-hearted people on today’s list. Sure, she’s a trophy wife. You could even call her a gold digger, because she originally married TV producer Earl Partridge for his money. But once her husband is dying from cancer, Linda has a change of heart: she’s truly in love with him, and doesn’t want to inherit his money. However, the thought of Earl’s son Phil getting it causes her to attempt suicide. Sure, she sounds a bit unstable, but think of it this way: if you HAVE to marry a gold digger, it’s best to choose the one that will actually be there for you in sickness and health.

Call her Bunny Lebowski, Bunny La Joya, Fawn Knutson (Kuh-nootson), or the chick in the green bikini, but one thing’s for sure: she’s a memorable part of this Coen brothers oddity. Bunny’s gold-digging tendencies surfaced early, when she ran away from home to pursue a life of riches. This, of course, led her to porn – which is appropriate as she’s something of a nymphomanic. But somewhere along the line, she met and married Jeffrey “The Big” Lebowski. Fast-forward some more and Bunny’s apparently been kidnapped. Is it a real kidnapping? Did she owe her pornographer some money? Did her German Nihilist friends cook up the plot themselves when Bunny took an unscheduled vacation? Regardless of the answers to those questions, money is Bunny’s 24/7 motivation.

Marilyn Monroe left an impression no matter what type of film she appeared in. However, if you needed a leading lady who prefers being showered in diamonds, she’s your girl. The bombshell’s character in “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” is a flashy showgirl who believes the only way a woman can succeed – at least when it comes to the almighty dollar – is to find a man with a huge bankroll. Monroe adopted a similar mentality in “How to Marry a Millionaire,” and again in “Some Like It Hot,” where she attempted to trade in her usual sax players for an unassuming millionaire. Whether or not she actually found her sugar daddy, Monroe really made that whole “snag a rich guy” philosophy work! Before we unveil our number one pick, here are some honorable mentions: - Lord Victor Quartermaine “Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit” (2005) - Ichabod Crane “The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad” (1949) - Lex Luthor “Superman Returns” (2006) - Clarice Kensington “It Takes Two” (1995) - Max & Page Conners  “Heartbreakers” (2001)

#1: Ginger McKenna “Casino” (1995)

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We think Ace Rothstein said it best: “For a girl like Ginger, love costs money.” Ginger is a hustler knows what she has and how to use it, often distracting men with her looks and charm to steal from them without remorse. She steps up her game upon meeting Ace Rothstein, instead cozying up to him to secure herself a husband – and therefore a more lasting source of income. Ginger’s trouble from day one for Ace, cheating on him multiple times, getting a little too friendly with his business partner and ultimately taking what she feels is her fair share of their wealth. However, since Ace became interested in her when he caught her pilfering poker chips at his casino, maybe he shoulda seen this coming. Do you agree with our list? What gold-digging movie character did we forget? For more Top 10s published every day, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.