fat cat

A wealthy individual. This rhyming term, originating in America about 1920, once had a more specific meaning, that is, a rich individual who made large contributions to a political party or campaign. Later it was extended to any wealthy person, as well as an individual who has become lazy or smug as the result of material assets. Thus, an article in the Saturday Review of Literature in 1949, “Hollywood celebrities, literary fat cats.” See also DEEP POCKETS.