Rough Roman Memes

Explanation: Marcus Licinnus Crassus was a politician of the Late Roman Republic, and a member of the First Triumvirate, or 'Rule of Three Men'.

Whereas Pompey Magnus was a protege of the former ultraconservative dictator and an accomplished commander, and Caesar was a cunning, ruthless, charismatic populist, Crassus was... rich. That's about it. He was, however, quite fabulously rich, the richest man in Rome, who leveraged that money into political power, in part by loaning money to up-and-coming politicians (like Caesar). Crassus's wealth was estimated at around 200,000,000 sesterces. For reference, a common legionary soldier of this period would make around 450 sesterces per year.

I'm ashamed to admit that in my head, the chief reason for why I can remember that "Crassus = rich" is because of Francis Ford Coppola's 2024 film Megalopolis, which has a character based on Crassus and has the same family name. The film is... an experience IMO, and was a major flop at the box office.

The other memorable name from that film -- entirely tangential to this community -- was the character Wow Platinum. It's a bizarre film.