有钱就是任性

What does 有钱就是任性 mean?

有钱就是任性 means roughly being rich means doing whatever you want. The phrase slots any trait into the template X 就是任性: 长得帅就是任性, 成绩好就是任性, being X means being wilful. It aims at tycoons whose spending defies common sense, and just as often at an ordinary friend buying a third mechanical keyboard this month. The tone is envious amusement, and famously, its first target was not a tycoon at all, but a scam victim.

Where does 有钱就是任性 come from?

In November 2014, mainland media including People's Daily's site reported on a man who kept wiring money to fraudsters after realizing he was being scammed, saying he wanted to see how much they could take; the total reached over 540,000 yuan. Commenters cracked that 有钱就是任性, and the line went viral. It entered the official 2014 top-ten internet phrase list that December, and on 2015-01-29 Xinhua published a follow-up identifying the man as an air-conditioning repair worker bewildered by his own fame.

How to use 有钱就是任性

• 他连买三台一样颜色的手机，理由是懒得挑，有钱就是任性。
  Tā lián mǎi sān tái yí yàng yánsè de shǒujī, lǐyóu shì lǎn de tiāo, yǒu qián jiù shì rèn xìng.
  He bought three identical phones in a row because he could not be bothered to choose. Being rich means doing whatever you want.
• 朋友把限量款球鞋当雨鞋穿，我只能感叹一句，有钱就是任性。
  Péngyou bǎ xiànliàngkuǎn qiúxié dāng yǔxié chuān, wǒ zhǐ néng gǎntàn yí jù, yǒu qián jiù shì rèn xìng.
  A friend wears limited-edition sneakers as rain boots. All I can say is: being rich means never having to be careful.