20 Best Riches-to-Rags Movies and TV Shows
Schitt’s Creek (2015-2020)
In Schitt’s Creek, a fabulously wealthy family loses essentially everything when their business manager embezzles their fortune, leaving them with only the titular small town that Dad once bought as a joke for their son. Forced to trade their luxury lifestyle for life in two motel rooms, they must deal with who they are beyond money and status.
It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
One of the classic holiday films, It’s a Wonderful Life centres on a businessman whose life spirals when he loses a large sum of cash, putting everything he’s built at risk. On the brink of utter despair, he’s shown by a guardian angel what the world would look like without him and realises that, despite financial collapse, his true value lies not in money but in relationships and impact.
Overboard (1987)
In Overboard, a spoiled socialite wakes up with amnesia and is convinced she’s the wife of a blue-collar handyman who showed her the ropes of his world after she’d refused to pay him. The story puts her in the shoes of working-class life and strips away the glamour and privilege she once enjoyed.
A Little Princess (1995)
In A Little Princess, the young Sara Crewe begins as the daughter of a wealthy British Army officer and enjoys pampered life in a boarding school. Her world is upended when her father is presumed dead in the war and the headmistress forces Sara into servitude within the school.
Arrested Development (2003 to 2006, 2013 to 2019)
In Arrested Development, the Bluths go from lavish mansions to utter chaos after their patriarch’s arrest freezes their assets. Jason Bateman’s Michael Bluth must hold together his spoiled, clueless family, from his materialistic sister to his eccentric mother, while they adjust to living without luxury.
Goodfellas (1990)
Goodfellas depicts the rise and fall of Henry Hill, a real-life mobster whose early glamor and profit give way to paranoia, prison, betrayal and ruin. The story charts a classic riches-to-rags arc: the high life of luxury collides with the consequences of crime and hubris, and ultimately Henry loses everything that once made him feel untouchable.
Blue Jasmine (2013)
Blue Jasmine stars a Manhattan socialite who has lived in the lap of luxury, until her world collapses, her husband’s lies are revealed, she falls into financial hardship and relocates to San Francisco to stay with her struggling sister.
Triangle of Sadness (2022)
Ruben Östlund’s dark satire turns luxury into misery as a yacht full of influencers, models, and tycoons sinks, literally and socially. Stripped of privilege, the survivors must fend for themselves on an island, where power shifts and class order crumbles.
2 Broke Girls (2011-2017)
The sitcom follows two waitresses sharing a tiny apartment in Brooklyn. Max has always been broke, but Caroline used to be a millionaire, until her father’s Ponzi scheme lands him in prison and wipes out her fortune. Suddenly living paycheck to paycheck, Caroline learns the realities of working-class life while bonding with Max over sarcasm and survival.
Uptown Girls (2003)
Brittany Murphy shines as a carefree heiress suddenly left penniless after her accountant steals her inheritance. To make ends meet, she takes a job as nanny to a serious, guarded child played by Dakota Fanning. Through their unlikely friendship, both learn emotional balance; the child discovers joy, and the adult learns responsibility.
The Railway Children (1970)
Set in Edwardian England, The Railway Children follows a comfortable middle-class family whose lives change overnight when their father is wrongfully imprisoned. Relocated to a countryside cottage, the children adapt to modest means and find joy in helping others, especially the railway workers they befriend.
Empire of the Sun (1987)
Steven Spielberg’s wartime epic follows a privileged British boy in Shanghai whose family’s separation during Japan’s invasion forces him into a struggle for survival. Young Christian Bale delivers a stunning performance as a child who loses luxury, innocence, and family all at once.
Dumb Money (2023)
Craig Gillespie’s modern satire dramatizes the real GameStop stock frenzy, where small-time investors toppled Wall Street giants. Paul Dano plays Keith Gill, an everyday trader whose viral bets cause financial chaos among billionaires. For many involved, the windfall quickly flips, easy gains turn to losses and lawsuits.
Princess Protection Program (2009)
In this Disney Channel favourite, Demi Lovato plays a princess forced into hiding after her kingdom is invaded. Relocated to rural Louisiana under a new identity, she befriends a spirited local girl played by Selena Gomez. Learning chores, high school drama, and everyday normalcy, she trades tiaras for textbooks and finds empowerment in simplicity.
Maid to Order (1987)
This reverse-Cinderella tale stars Ally Sheedy as an entitled young woman who wakes up in a new reality where she’s never been born into privilege. Her fairy godmother strips away her wealth, forcing her to work as a maid and learn responsibility the hard way.
Mood Indigo (2013)
Michel Gondry’s surreal romance follows Colin, an inventive dreamer whose blissful, wealthy life shatters when his beloved wife falls ill. Determined to save her, he spends every penny chasing a cure, watching his bright, whimsical world fade into darkness.
Sullivan’s Travels (1941)
In Preston Sturges’ sharp satire, a Hollywood director tired of making comedies decides to live as a homeless man to research real hardship. His experiment quickly becomes all too real as he’s stripped of his wealth, identity, and control. Through his suffering, he learns that laughter, not prestige, is what people need most.
Quicksilver (1986)
Kevin Bacon stars as a fast-talking stock trader who loses everything in one disastrous day on the market. Humbled and broke, he trades his suit for a bike messenger uniform, rediscovering freedom and purpose in simplicity. While once driven by numbers and ambition, he begins to value friendship, honesty, and second chances.
Broke (2020)
This short-lived CBS sitcom follows a wealthy man suddenly cut off from his father’s fortune. Out of options, he and his wife move in with her estranged, working-class sister. The clash of lifestyles drives both humour and heart as entitlement meets real-world responsibility.
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
Humphrey Bogart leads this classic tale of greed and downfall, playing an American drifter who strikes gold in Mexico alongside two partners. Their fortune quickly corrupts them, eroding friendship and reason until paranoia destroys everything they’ve gained. When the gold literally blows away in the wind, they’re left with nothing but regret.
