I Am Rich is an iOS application which was formerly distributed using the App Store, and developed by Armin Heinrich. When launched, the screen only contains a glowing red gem and an icon that, when pressed, displays the following mantra in large text:
I am rich
I deserv [sic] it
I am good,
healthy & successful
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; Vox writer Zachary Crockett called it "the ultimate Veblen good in app form". I Am Rich was sold on the App Store for US$999.99, EUR799.99, and £599.99, the highest price Apple allows for App Store content. The application was removed from the App Store by Apple without explanation the day following its release, on August 6, 2008 (2008-08-06).
Video I Am Rich
Purchases
While the application was available, eight people bought it, at least one of whom claimed to have done so accidentally. Six US sales at $999.99 and two European ones for EUR799.99 netted $5,600 for developer Armin Heinrich and $2,400 for Apple. In correspondence with the Los Angeles Times, Heinrich told the newspaper that Apple had refunded two purchasers of his app, and that he was happy not to have dissatisfied customers.
Maps I Am Rich
Reception
Discussing the app on the Silicon Alley Insider website, Dan Frommer described the program as a "scam", "worthless", and finally "a joke that smells like a scammy rip-off" on August 5, 6, and 8, respectively. Without purchasing the app, FOXNews.com's Paul Wagenseil guessed that the secret mantra was "German for 'Sucker!'" (as Heinrich is German). Wired's Brian X. Chen described I Am Rich as a waste of money to "prove you're a jerk", and contrasted the expenditure with donating to cancer foundations and Third-World countries.
Heinrich told the Los Angeles Times' Mark Milian that he had received correspondence from satisfied customers, "I've got e-mails from customers telling me that they really love the app [... and that they had] no trouble spending the money."
Similar applications
The next year, Heinrich released I Am Rich LE. Priced at $9.99, the new app has several new features (including a calculator, "help system" and the "famous mantra without the spelling mistakes.") to meet Apple's requirement that apps have "definable content". Some customers were disappointed by the new functionality, poorly rating the app due to its ostensible improvements.
On February 23, 2009, CNET Asia reported on the "conceptually similar" app, I Am Richer, developed by Mike DG for Google's Android smartphone operating system. The app was released on the Android Market for the cost of US$200, a limit imposed by Google, who has no objection to the application.
With the same name, the I Am Rich that was released on the Windows Phone Marketplace on December 22, 2010 was developed by DotNetNuzzi. Described by MobileCrunch as equally useless as the original, this app costs US$499.99, the price cap imposed by Microsoft.
References
Source of article : Wikipedia
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