One Piece Pirates Who Were Born Rich

Wealth disparity and its consequences are an underlying theme in the narrative of One Piece. Piracy is, in some cases, a reaction to the intense difficulty that comes with making legitimate money. Certain pirates such as Nami, Eustass Kid, and more are explicitly confirmed to have come from humbler beginnings.

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In the case of Nami, her greed is implied to be the result of feeling deprived as a child in terms of finances. But not every pirate in the series has such a background. Indeed, some pirates were born into especially privileged lifestyles. The motives for piracy can differ, but oftentimes, this history ties into their reasons for becoming a pirate, even if material gains are rarely a concern for those who are already wealthy.

1

Shanks

A Celestial Dragon Grounded

• Motive(s): None, initially, having been kidnapped. Seemingly dislikes his past upon growing up.

Shanks was born into one of the most privileged positions as a child of the Figarland family, with his known relatives, Garling and Shamrock, both being high-ranking members of God’s Knights, the law enforcement branch of the World Nobles, the most privileged group in the series. However, his fortunes changed when he was kidnapped as a baby by the Roger Pirates, and effectively raised to become a pirate instead.

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He has since formed his own crew, the Red Hair Pirates. Acknowledging their relation, Shamrock, Shanks’s twin brother, has said that Shanks has visited Mary Geoise, the home of the World Nobles. His comments imply that Shanks does not like them, as he is said to have willingly forfeited his birthright to continue in piracy. If there were any privileges Shanks had because of his roots in nobility, they remain unknown to the audience at this time.

2

Sanji

The Black Sheep

• Motive(s): Wanted to escape his abusive family, find the All Blue.

Sanji is the son of Vinsmoke Judge, the current ruler of Germa Kingdom. Like many potentially privileged pirates, his wealth stems from his status as royalty. Yet the cultivated aspects of this lifestyle took their toll on Sanji. Germa is hyper-militarized to the point where Judge even wishes for his children to be weapons of mass destruction. Accordingly, he modified his sons to be inhumane cyborgs with prenatal modifications. Sanji was partially spared this fate, as his mother, Sora, used a prenatal drug in an attempt to prevent the brothers’ modifications, and he was the only one not born with them. This led to Judge facilitating his family’s abuse of Sanji, deeming his son a “failure” and demeaning his interest in cooking, reasoning that royalty does not serve others.

Sanji escaped with help from his elder sister, Reiju, and spent the remainder of his childhood pursuing his culinary craft. He also nurtured a dream to discover the All Blue, a fabled sea that chefs dream of visiting, due to it being an intersecting point where all species of fish are present. He was encouraged by his mentor, Zeff, to pursue the dream, and eventually joined the Straw Hat Pirates as their cook to further his goal. Sanji seems ambivalent to the wealth of his youth, if only because it came attached to a painful childhood with standards he had no interest in or ability to achieve.

3

Nefertari D. Vivi

A Princess Scorned

• Motive(s): Protect Alabasta and her father

Nefertari D. Vivi is the princess of Alabasta Kingdom. Having gotten wind of a plot to overthrow her father, she infiltrated the offending organization, Baroque Works, along with Igaram, head of Alabasta Security, before their cover was blown. It was then she spent some time traveling with the Straw Hat Pirates in a successful bid to defeat Baroque Works and expose their leader, Crocodile.

Vivi is a somewhat interesting example, as maintaining her position was arguably the impetus to becoming a pirate in the first place rather than a rejection of it. However, Vivi’s motivations are not those of greed and power but rather to aid her country in the best way she can. Vivi was given a choice to become a permanent member of the crew after this campaign concluded, but she refused, wishing to aid her father instead. However, with the government wishing to capture her, she may not be ready to conclude piracy just yet.

4

Bellamy

Noticeably Wealthy

• Motive(s): Boredom, Admiration of Doflamingo

Bellamy, alongside his former crew, the Bellamy Pirates, were all implied to come from privileged backgrounds. It is mentioned that they originate from Notice, a wealthy town in the North Blue. This is an interesting singular example, as, rather than being explicitly of noble birth, they are merely said to be rich. Bellamy’s decision to become a pirate is said to be motivated by boredom in Notice, and his crewmates were thought to have similar reasoning.

Appropriately, Bellamy also idolizes Donquixote Doflamingo, another pampered son of privilege turned pirate. The Bellamy Pirates were allowed to use Doflamingo’s Jolly Roger, effectively aligning themselves with the Donquixote Pirates. Unfortunately, this relationship soured after they embarrassed Doflamingo. To regain his favor, the crew obtained a gold pillar from Skypeia. Unfortunately, this expedition was said to have killed a number of the Bellamy Pirates. Bellamy later left his crew to serve Doflamingo directly. Here, he was disrespected due to generally being viewed as too weak to properly become a member of the crew. Bellamy has since retired from piracy to become a dyer, although he gave his Vivre Card to Luffy in case any potential issue occurs where he is needed.

5

Donquixote Doflamingo

A Celestial Dragon Defanged

• Motive(s): Revenge on World Nobles

Unlike Shanks, Doflamingo spent a notable part of his childhood living in nobility. Like the majority of his peers, he used the vast wealth collected from the government’s protection taxes to own slaves and live lavishly. However, his father, Homing, was against this behavior, and as well as the general expected conduct of nobility, including believing oneself to be a god. He voluntarily exiled his family from the wealth, but quickly slipped into poverty as a result.

Doflamingo, beyond seeking to regain what was lost through the domination of the weak, possesses a strong desire to see all nobles dethroned as he was, believing they are no more deserving of their status. He has killed multiple immediate family members to secure his path forward and has surrounded himself with genuine believers, who enable him in their odd symbiotic relationship. He also previously acquired the throne of Dressrosa in a hostile takeover, as it was the very same kingdom that his ancestors ceded to ascend to the higher nobility. However, he is currently in Impel Down, seeming to be no more well off than most inmates incarcerated. That said, it is strongly believed he will escape.

6

Cavendish

Bad & Bourgeois

• Motive(s): Maintaining Popularity, Serving Luffy

Cavendish is currently one of seven pirates identified as a subordinate captain in the Straw Hat Grand Fleet. His crew is known as the Beautiful Pirates. He was the prince of the Bourgeois Kingdom and attracted attention from a young age. He was said to be exiled for his excessive popularity. He is certifiably privileged as a pirate from wealth, as he was given 500,000,000 belly to live off as part of his exile. He was also joined by 74 followers, who would become his initial crewmates.

Having been admired since his youth, Cavendish adores his celebrity. He garnered fame, but also infamy through his alter ego, Hakuba, a crazed swordsman with immense physical power. Cavendish’s love of adoration is such that he will notably not attack opposing pirate crews if they are in sufficient awe of him, as shown in his cover story.

Cavendish was also notable for his hatred of the Worst Generation, believing their explosion in popularity siphoned the boost he enjoyed as a Super Rookie. However, he partially changed his tune upon being saved by the Straw Hat Pirates, who counted two members of the Worst Generation among their ranks. Along with several other participants in Corrida Colosseum, Cavendish and his crew joined the Straw Hat Grand Fleet, an alliance dedicated to serving Luffy.

7

At Least Some of the Charlotte Children

Pirate Nepo Babies

Charlotte “Big Mom” Linlin was formerly a Yonko who built an empire worthy of her title. Once an orphan, she steadily held a dream of building a huge family, by wedding and discarding many husbands to produce powerful children. The exact timeline of how she acquired her wealth is unclear, and it is unclear how wealthy she was upon the birth of her older children.

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That said, with her having crafted a huge empire which taxes its residents, and strong arms, riches and power from others, it is clear that a good portion of her children have known privilege throughout their lives. Even so, she is implied to heavily groom her children toward becoming good pirates rather than letting them do as they please, as most of the other older ones are both immensely strong and authoritative. She has also granted some of said children a level of authority over her territories, as most of the stronger ones are given “minister” titles corresponding to territories she claims ownership over. Generally, these pirates can maintain their wealth and power with the knowledge that it and effectively everything they are is in their mother’s name rather than wholly their own.

One Piece

Release Date

October 20, 1999

Network

Fuji TV

Directors

Hiroaki Miyamoto, Konosuke Uda, Junji Shimizu, Satoshi Itō, Munehisa Sakai, Katsumi Tokoro, Yutaka Nakajima, Yoshihiro Ueda, Kenichi Takeshita, Yoko Ikeda, Ryota Nakamura, Hiroyuki Kakudou, Takahiro Imamura, Toshihiro Maeya, Yûji Endô, Nozomu Shishido, Hidehiko Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Satou

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  Mayumi Tanaka

  Monkey D. Luffy (voice)

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  Kazuya Nakai

  Roronoa Zoro (voice)