While feigning filthy riches with clever button tricks may work in some situations, there are clearly certain unsubstitutable advantages to the real thing. Consider this gem of a story:

James Gordon Bennett, Jr., the inheritor of the old New York Herald, was once unable to get a table at his favorite Monte Carlo restaurant. So he bought the restaurant on the spot, had another customer ejected, ate his meal at that table, then handed the deed to his waiter. He’d gotten what he wanted.

While one might question the fiscal judiciousness of that approach, for sheer effectiveness, it’s difficult to rival.