money talks

Idioms  

1. Wealth has great influence, as in Big contributors to campaigns are generally rewarded with important posts—in politics money talks. The idea behind this idiom was stated by Euripides in the fifth century b.c., and some 2,000 years later Erasmus spoke of “the talking power of money” (Adagia, 1532). The precise current locution, however, only began to be used about 1900.

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Example Sentences

As ever, the loyalists will go where the money talks.

From Slate • Apr. 28, 2026

Zac, a “swaggering tormented fabulist,” had invented a back story in a city where money talks and no one speaks about its provenance.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

Of course, money talks - from the world's top-20 richest clubs, according to the Deloitte Football Money League 2024 external-link, 13 of them played in this season's Champions League and 10 reached the last 16.

From BBC • Mar. 13, 2024

You know that expression, "money talks, wealth whispers"? Well, these two haven't whispered a day in their lives.

From Salon • Jul. 22, 2023

These people have put up the money to cover any damage they may do, and money talks every time.

From The Boy Scouts with the Motion Picture Players by Shaler, Robert