The control population of deaths was matched to the suicide cases by race, gender, year of death, and age at death (plus or minus 1 year). The hypothesis that suicide and wealth are linked is labeled in this study as the "Richard Cory phenomenon." Richard Cory is the mythical man of wealth and refinement made famous by Edwin Arlington Robinson's poem. In the poem, Richard Cory, the man who apparently has everything, goes home "one calm summer night" and puts "a bullet through his head." For the current study, home addresses were used to find the types of housing in which each suicide victim lived, along with the appraisals for each single-family home. For those with personal property subject to taxation, these appraisals were found under the name of the victim, the victim's spouse, or the victim's family. Appraisals of houses lived in by the suicide victims and appraisals for personal property owned by each victim, the victim's spouse, or the victim's parents were compared to a control group of nonsuicidal deaths. The data indicate that suicide victims were more likely than control victims to live in houses rather than in apartments or trailers, were more likely to live in more expensive houses than control victims, and were more likely than controls to kill themselves because of factors other than financial strain. Possible reasons for more suicides among the affluent are disappointment that wealth does not bring happiness, diminished ability to cope with setbacks, and the additional strains of having to maintain an affluent lifestyle. 8 tables and 23 references