Croesus

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(as) rich as Croesus

Exceptionally wealthy; having large amounts of money to spend. Croesus, the ruler of Lydia in Asia Minor in the 6th century, B.C., was legendary for his vast wealth. I hear her father is rich as Croesus, so I wouldn't be too worried about her future. These companies are all as rich as Croesus, able to afford the very best legal teams in the world, so what hope does an ordinary guy like me have against them in a court of law?

See also: Croesus, rich

richer than Croesus

Exceptionally wealthy; having large amounts of money to spend. Croesus, the ruler of Lydia in Asia Minor in the 6th century, B.C., was legendary for his vast wealth. I hear her father is richer than Croesus, so I wouldn't be too worried about her future. These companies are all richer than Croesus, able to afford the very best legal teams in the world, so what hope does an ordinary guy like me have against them in a court of law?

rich as Croesus

Very wealthy, as in They're rich as Croesus, with their penthouse, yacht, and horses. This term alludes to Croesus, the legendary King of Lydia and supposedly the richest man on earth. The simile was first recorded in English in 1577.

See also: Croesus, rich

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

rich as Croesus

BRITISH, OLD-FASHIONED

If someone is as rich as Croesus, they are very rich. He's as rich as Croesus, and getting richer all the time. Note: Croesus was the ruler of Lydia, a kingdom in Asia Minor, in the 6th century BC. He was famous for being very rich.

See also: Croesus, rich

Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012

(as) rich as ˈCroesus

(informal) extremely rich OPPOSITE: (as) poor as a church mouseCroesus was a very rich king in Lydia, Asia Minor, in the sixth century BC.

See also: Croesus, rich

rich as Croesus

Very wealthy indeed. This term alludes to the legendary Croesus, the last King of Lydia and proverbially the wealthiest man on earth. The simile has been used in English since the sixteenth century. “An I get a patent for it, I shall be as rich as Croesus,” wrote Thomas Dilke (Lover’s Luck, 1696).

See also: Croesus, rich

richer than Croesus

Very wealthy. Croesus ruled an ancient Asia Minor kingdom who amassed a fabulous amount of wealth (he is also credited with having minted the first gold coins). How he would have compared to computer moguls and hedge-fund tycoons can never be measured, but his name lived on as someone who wasn't worried about where his next meal was coming from. “Rockefeller” was the late 19th- and 20th-century comparison: “He spends money like he's Rockefeller.” A Chock Full O' Nuts commercial included the line “better coffee Rockefeller's millions can't buy” until the Rockefeller family requested a change to “better coffee a millionaire's money can't buy.”