fortune hunter
noun1
A person who eagerly seeks wealth without working to earn it, especially in an adventurous way or in an unsavory or unscrupulous way such as through marriage.
- “You are very charming, sir, so charming, in fact, that you made me forget for a time that you are a fortune hunter. You slipped up only once just now, but that was enough. You don’t want me or my help, only my money.”1993, Amanda Scott, chapter 15, in The Fickle Fortune Hunter, Signet Books, page 217:
- 101-year-old Rose (Gloria Stuart) returns to the scene of waterlogged hubris, where fortune hunter Lovett (Bill Paxton) is diving for diamonds.1998 Jan. 25, Matthew Sweet, "Cinema: Kate Winslet: the sinking man's crumpet" (film review of Titanic), The Independent (UK) (retrieved 6 June 2014)
1 more example
- [T]he swashbuckling modern-day fortune hunter Nathan Drake treks from Istanbul to Borneo to the highest peaks of the Himalayas in search of the lost treasures of the mystical Shambhala.2009 November 6, Seth Schiesel, “Video Game Review: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves”, in New York Times, retrieved 06 Jun 2014:
- Synonyms
- hypergamist
- Related terms
- gold digger, soldier of fortune