phrase
Greek
The Midas Touch
An uncanny ability to make money from anything one touches — with the original story warning that the gift is also the curse.
Origin
King Midas of Phrygia did the god Dionysus a favor and was granted any wish. He asked that everything he touched turn to gold. It worked — food, wine, his own daughter — until he was starving and broken and begged for the gift to be taken back.
Modern usage
Used as a near-pure compliment in business writing ('she has the Midas touch') — usually with the warning half of the myth stripped out. Smart writers leave it in.
In the wild
Every fund he launches turns to gold — the man has the Midas touch.— business press
Tags
wealth
wish
warning