fortune hunter

Noun

fortune hunter (plural fortune hunters)

1. A person who pursues wealth without earning it through labor, typically by engaging in ventures that are opportunistic, ethically dubious, or socially exploitative, such as entering into marriage for financial gain.
   • “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)

   Synonyms:

   hypergamist