The 23 best songs about money

Biggie Smalls spent his career marveling at the wealth wrought by his hustle – the man had a Super Nintendo and a Sega Genesis – but in this mega-hit from his last album, the rapper was a bit more reflective about the spoils of his success. Not that you’d know it: With a driving Diana Ross sample courtesy of Puffy, the song is the perfect rain-making anthem, and if you can hear Biggie’s final verse without shouting ‘B-I-G-P-O-P-P-A’ along with the late legend, you might want to get your ears checked.

The Beatles’ songs about money output mostly focused on the negative side of money (see also, ‘Taxman’) but it was during the Fab Four’s boy-band heyday that they penned the ultimate anti-wealth song, lamenting the one thing that a wad of cash and sudden success couldn’t purchase: affection. The song still rips, even if there’s a note of melancholy lingering in the backbeat. 

Cash. Rules. Everything. Around. Me. Five words that anchor this highlight from the Clan's 1993 album 'Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)'. It's not just an all-time rap classic, but – thanks to this track, 'cream' has become an enduring slang term for money. Just try to overlook the fact it was later sampled by Iggy Azalea. 

Someone killed the vibes at your house party? Fear not. Playing this Kelis X André 3000 noughties banger is a surefire way to get the night going again. Sampling Doug E. Fresh’s ‘La Di Da Di’, André 3000 might be desperate for us to know that he woke up early this morning, but the verse that’ll have everyone screaming the lyrics word for word is ‘where there is cheese there are rats’. You know the rest, but basically, someone’s out to get his riches. It’s kind of offensive, but it’s got a cracking beat. And the music video is iconic. 

Roger Waters’ million-dollar baseline on this Dark Side megahit might do the driving, but it’s the rhythmic ka-chinging of cash registers that really sells Floyd’s rollicking takedown of capitalistic urges. Floyd would spend a lot of its career side-eyeing wealth (while getting very, very rich), but never this iconically.

Originally recorded by cult new wave band The Brains, ‘Money Changes Everything’ became a hit in 1984 when Cyndi Lauper covered it for her smash debut album ‘She’s So Unusual’. Her version of this song about money may begin with a breezy harmonica riff, but the lyrics still sting as Lauper tells the story of a woman who’s sworn her partner ‘everlasting love’... but decides to ditch him for a richer guy.

Written for the 1932 musical ‘Americana’, this supremely poignant song became a soundtrack to the Great Depression. The socially conscious lyrics are sung from the viewpoint of a beggar who’s effectively been spat out by the system. ‘Once I built a railroad, now it’s done,’ he sighs. ‘Brother, can you spare a dime?’ Bing Crosby’s version is the classic, but George Michael's 1999 cover version is pretty damn fine, too. 

‘Money money money money... money!’ This funk classic co-written by legendary Philly sound songwriters Gamble and Huff has an iconic intro. But the song that unfolds over the next seven minutes is often surprisingly dark. ‘For the love of money, people will rob their own brother,’ the O’Jays warn us mournfully. And they’d probably do much worse to get their hands on this track’s frankly incredible bassline. 

Destiny’s Child’s first US chart-topper is an unapologetic ‘screw you’ to shady males who don’t pay their way. A more cash-centric cousin to TLC’s ‘No Scrubs’, which was co-written by the same R&B hitmaking team, it’s a deathless banger that makes you want to flick your hair as you take your paycheck with you.