Being rich

The UK is one of the richest countries in the world and some of the world's richest people are from the UK or live here. Here are ten ways of saying somebody has or earns a lot.

10 expressions to Use In Speaking And Writing: 
  1. A wealthy person
  2. A comfortably-off person
  3. High-earning / Top-earning executives
  4. She's well-off / well-heeled
  5. I'm not short of a bob or two
  6. He's rolling in it
  7. They're filthy rich
  8. They're a bit nouveau-riche
  9. A millionaire friend of mine...
  10. Fat cats
How To Use These Phrases In Your English: 
  1. In 1, wealthy is a general word that says that somebody has a lot of money.
  2. Phrase 2 is less strong. A 'comfortably-off' person has enough money not to be worried about money.
  3. Phrase 3 are adjectives meaning that the person gets a high salary.
  4. Phrase 4 means that the person has a lot of money in the bank.
  5. Phrase 5 is an informal / colloquial expression which has a similar meaning to 4.
  6. Phrases 6 and 7 mean that the person has a ridiculous amount of money - more than they need.
  7. Phrase 8 means that the people have made a lot of money recently and are spending it very quickly.
  8. In 9, 'millionaire' can be used as an adjective as well as a noun.
  9. In 10, 'fat cats' are top executives who earn enormous salaries. In the late nineties there were a series of scandals about the high salaries of bosses of failed companies.