I Am Rich controversy

I Am Rich

I Am Rich is an application for the Apple iPhone OS, distributed using the App Store. Its only function is to display a glowing red gem on the screen along with a button to switch to the mantra view. In the mantra view, the words

I am rich
I deserv [sic] it I am good,
healthy &
successful

are shown in large text.^[3]

The application is described as "a work of art with no hidden function at all", with its only purpose being to show other people that they were able to afford it, making it a Veblen good. I Am Rich was sold on the App Store for $999.99 USD, €799,99 EUR, and £599.99 GBP.^[4] The application was removed from the App Store on August 6, 2008.^[5] During the time the App was available, eight people bought it^[6], earning the developer $5,600 USD which Apple has yet to pay.^[6].

 

'I Am Rich' makes author exactly that, does little else

Posted Aug 5th 2008 8:00PM by Robert Palmer
Filed under: App Store

Got a cool grand to burn? Before you think about buying the brand-new app I Am Rich, there are a few charities I'd hope you consider. But if you truly have that kind of money to spend, you can buy an app that touts itself as "a work of art with no hidden function at all."

I Am Rich sells for $999.99 in the App Store. It also features a "secret mantra" that "may help you to to [sic] stay rich, healthy and successful." Uh huh. I've got a mantra for you: "Smile and be nice to people." There. That one's free.

Hey, you can't blame the author, Armin Heinrich, because just a few sales would set him up quite nicely. What you can blame, however, is the asinine App Store vetting process, which let this dollop of poop into the system. What rocket surgeon thought this would be better than eWallet or ListPro? I fear John Gruber's prediction that the App Store wouldn't become the next VersionTracker or MacUpdate is proving exceptionally false.

It's not only that I don't want to buy I Am Rich, it's that I don't accidentally want to buy it. It's ridiculously easy to buy apps for your device, and getting this one by accident would certainly ruin my day. Plus, I don't have the minimum system requirement of three popped collars to run the app.

The Iconfactory's Craig Hockenberry notes, though, that he's willing to spend 99 cents on an app with graphics identical to I Am Rich, but only featuring the mantra "I'm not stupid."

Judging from the App Store's app admission track record, though, that one should get approved in no time.

Thanks, Mark, Oliver, Rubbinz, Sherman, William, and Gruber for the tip!

Update: It appears I Am Rich has been removed from the U.S. App Store. For what reasons, exactly? We may never know. Thanks, Adam, for the update!