From Charles Dickens' Scrooge to Mr Burns from The Simpsons, pop culture has no shortage of mean, selfish, rich people.
Now, psychologists say that there might be more to the 'Scrooge effect' than an unfair stereotype.
Research has shown that there are clear links between increased wealth and unethical behaviour like cheating and stealing.
Richer people have been shown to have more of a selfish focus on their own interests and less compassion for the suffering of others.
It might be easy to assume that being rich turns otherwise good people into more selfish individuals.
But according to Dr Steve Taylor, a psychologist at Leeds Beckett University, the opposite might be true.
Dr Taylor told Daily Mail: 'Fundamentally, the desire for wealth is linked to a state of frustration and dissatisfaction.
'Happy people generally don't strive to become wealthy.'
The idea of a rich old miser might be a cliché, but scientists say that there is more to the 'Scrooge effect' than an unflattering stereotype. In reality, wealthy people genuinely are more selfish.
Though it might seem like a cliché, there is a growing body of research which suggests that the richer someone is, the less moral they are likely to be.
In one study, psychologists from the University of California, Berkeley found that upper-class individuals are more likely to lie during negotiations, cheat to win a prize, and endorse unethical behaviour at work.
Similarly, the same study showed that these tendencies were largely accounted for by upper-class individuals having a more favourable attitude towards greed.
On the flip side, other research has shown that people from lower socio-economic groups tend to experience more sympathy for other people's suffering than their rich counterparts.
But it's not just social class which can predict how selfish someone's behaviour will be.
Studies have found that drivers of more expensive cars are less likely to slow down for pedestrians or let other drivers join the road.
In fact, one study conducted by the University of Nevada found that the chance a driver would slow down to let pedestrians cross decreased by three per cent for every £738.50 ($1,000) their car was worth.
However, this raises an obvious question: does money make people selfish, or does being selfish make you rich?
Studies have shown that wealthier people, like Mr Burns from The Simpsons, are more likely to cheat, lie, steal, and put their interests ahead of other people's. Wealthy people also show lower rates of empathy towards the suffering of others.
What are the 'Dark Triad' personalities?
- Psychopathy: Associated with anti-social behaviour, being manipulative, lacking empathy, and acting without remorse. People high in psychopathy also tend to be impulsive and volatile.
- Narcissism: People with narcissism tend to be selfish, arrogant, boastful, and sensitive to criticism. This trait is associated with an inflated feeling of entitlement or superiority.
- Machiavellianism: People scoring highly for this trait are willing to act immorally in order to achieve personal gain. The trait is associated with manipulative behaviour, cynicism, and a lack of empathy towards others.
According to Dr Taylor, the answer is that the same personality traits that make someone selfish also make them more likely to pursue and gain wealth.
These traits are a cluster of personalities known as the Dark Triad, which includes psychopathy, narcissism and Machiavellianism.
While research consistently shows that people with these traits gravitate towards positions of social power and become richer, studies also show that they are less happy.
Dr Taylor says: 'Some people experience a state of intense psychological separation.
'Their psychological boundaries are so strong that they feel disconnected from other people and the world, with a lack of empathy or emotional connection to others.'
He says that this 'lack', caused by a Dark Triad personality, pushes certain people to try and fill the void by accumulating status and power.
This factor might explain why the rate of clinical psychopathy is three times higher among corporate boards than it is among the general population.
Dr Taylor says: 'People with narcissistic and psychopathic traits are intensely attracted to wealth. They treat other people as objects who only have use if they can help satisfy their desires.'
'They're trying to compensate for their sense of lack, trying to add things to themselves to make themselves feel more complete. They're trying to fill an emptiness inside themselves.'
At the same time, the lack of empathy common among psychopaths and narcissists makes it easier to attain that success.
These traits make people more ruthless and less concerned about how other people are harmed in the creation of wealth.
This is made even worse by the fact that, as studies have suggested, money does very little to increase happiness beyond a certain threshold.
On the other hand, happy, compassionate people with rich psychological lives don't feel the need to acquire vast quantities of wealth in the first place.
Nor would these people have the necessary lack of empathy required to do so.
However, this doesn't mean that all rich people are evil.
As Dr Taylor points out, some people get rich because they have a great idea, are extremely talented, or simply inherit their wealth without ever working for it.
Dr Taylor cautions that even becoming as rich as Jeff Bezos will not make someone with these traits happy since wealth is only very weakly associated with happiness beyond a certain point
Some rich people, like Bill Gates, even give away vast parts of their fortunes towards charitable causes rather than hoarding it like the fictional Ebeneezer Scrooge.
However, if Dr Taylor is correct, this theory would explain why wealth is negatively associated with traits like compassion and empathy.
It would also explain why some of the richest people in the world constantly strive to have more rather than simply sitting back and enjoying their enormous fortunes.
Dr Taylor concludes: 'Connection is essential for human well-being.
'Without connection, you exist in a state of permanent dissatisfaction, no matter how wealthy or successful you become.'