All that glitters is not gold: Many TV characters who live lavish lifestyles are simply not as rich as they appear. In fact, many characters deliberately try to deceive others regarding the extent of their wealth. Beware of these tricky characters: Not a single one of them is as rich as they claim to be.
Xaro Xhoan Daxos, "Game of Thrones"
Xaro is a powerful merchant prince in Qarth, who appears multiple times during Season 2. As part of the Thirteen, his wealth is legendary, and he has a massive vault where he stores all his treasure. Or at least, that's what he tells people. In reality, his vault is completely empty. And yet, he is so clever that he's able to make money through political connections and trade. He does have some wealth but not nearly as much as he pretends.
Evan Marriott, "Joe Millionaire"
Way, way back in the early days of the reality TV boom, Fox aired a series called "Joe Millionaire." The premise was simple: A bunch of women would compete for a chance to marry a millionaire. The twist: The "millionaire" was a humble construction worker named Evan Marriott. The second twist: The winning girl, Zora, agreed to stay with him anyway, and the two were surprised with a real check for $1 million from the network. The relationship didn't last, but the show became a national phenomenon.
Nick Lam, "Burn Notice"
In the first season episode "Hard Bargain," one of Michael's clients is Nick Lam. Nick's job is house-sitting for the rich and famous, a job that makes it easy for him to impress his fiancé with lavish homes and premium products. But when his bride-to-be is kidnapped and held for $5 million in ransom money, Nick hires Michael to rescue her. Because he spends so much time in amazing mansions, the kidnappers (and Nick's lady) assumed Nick was more rich than he was.
Anthony DiNozzo, Sr., "NCIS"
Tony's dad is a wealthy businessman, or at least, that's how he appears. In reality, he's just keeping up appearances. In fact, there were many times over the course of Tony's young life that his dad was in serious financial trouble. Tony's dad was only able to avoid bankruptcy in those instances because of his ability to act richer than he actually was. Eventually, business picks up again, and he's really rich once more.
