English Translation
It is said that he was very rich.
pété de tune = filthy rich
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I think the spelling is incorrect here, it should be “thunes”: thune — Wiktionnaire
It’s extremely colloquial though, use with caution.
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English Translation
It is said that he was very rich.
tune
familier = thune
© Larousse 2014
thune
nom féminin très familier
vieilli five franc coin
© Larousse 2014
péter de = déborder de.
© Le Petit Robert 2025
déborder de = overflow of
© Larousse 2014
Note: I don’t see a dictionary defintion for pété de tune (or thunes). It makes sense that it would mean “very rich“. I did find the phrase in some sources but not official sources. Wiktionary has it but no source (too bad).
When you say that someone is “pété de tune”, it is not exactly meant as a compliment…
I don’t think it’s used much anymore, but when it is, it generally has a negative connotation.
Right, I think that’s the idea.
Still, I do like the French translation, not because I think it is accurate, but because I think it’s funny: “On raconte” (which we often find in books), immediately followed by “qu’il était pété de t(h)une(s).” (which is very colloquial) is a funny combination… to me anyway 
tldr: the English sentence seems very neutral (very rich), whereas the French translation, not so much…
Alternative translation:
On dit qu’il était très riche.
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@yottapolygot - thanks for posting this. You have saved me from yet another embarrassing moment.
I’ve been racking my brain to think of a negative way to say someone is rich in English. Can’t think of one. There are lots of things that rich people might do that are awful, but generally anybody else might do them too. So I think it is more about the person than the amount of money that they have. There are snooty or entitled rich people but there are snooty or entitled “other“ people too.
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Agreed, being rich is not a prerequisite for being an a$$hole…
To be clear, the French expression is not always a terrible thing to say (depending on who you’re talking to), but don’t say it to someone you barely know/met, thinking you’re being nice to them…
Now, say you’re at the bar with a long-time friend, and as he takes out his wallet to pay for the couple of drinks you’ve just had, he drops a $500 bill. Well, In this situation it may be appropriate, just like you might ask him if he’s won the lottery or something.
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