need help with a story(stage play)

How about the advisor to a politician? He'd have a well paid job, an 'in' to exploit and take bribes but really he wants to be the man in power - the man he is subservient (he's a real 'yes man') to the President or whoever the politician is.

A political advisor would work. For a little more grit, how about a high-end restaurant owner? Typically, such establishments are owned by a chef. Your character could be self-made in that regard, having originally entered the field as a dishwasher, working himself up to bus boy, server, food expeditor, line cook and, after much backstabbing and stealing, butt kissing and bed hopping, head chef.

I've worked in the food service industry in both the front of the house (server) and in the back as a cook. And let me tell you, it is a very underhanded, shark-infested field.

surely if the original poster 'has an idea' for a stageplay, that should pretty much includes what job their main character might have - after all, the only idea for a stage play that has value, is 'the story'.

If you haven't got a story, just a collection of desires that you'd like a character to display - and are asking, in effect for others to think up a setting for you, then what exactly are you doing?

If you're not starting from the foundation of 'gee, I have a cool story idea' - then you're not doing the basic work that playwrights should do.

People can suggest 'characters jobs' - but that aspect would seem to be integral to the story ultimately, and should be something that you come up with.

Otherwise you're starting at the end (or not even the end - but somewhere off to the side), asking people to almost create your story for you.

Saying 'well I want the character to display these desires and attributes, but gee, I don't know what job/career they're in', doesn't bode well for your plot.

Come up with a character, in a career - which will then give you a large chunk of your story (and supporting characters) without much effort, then throw in the various conflicts that the character has to deal with - and the play will unfold..

/2 cents worth mode off

What about his backstory containing elements of middle-class or lower income over many years, so he knows the value of work and has the experience of seeing those "fat wallet" types in a jealous light. Then, he comes into money (legally or illegally), and gets the greedy desire for more and more, thus the ego problem. His exploiting behaviors could be related to knowing a secret about someone that he uses for leverage, and then develops the drive to manipulate others. Sort of a formerly-good-guy-goes-bad scenario. With that, it really wouldn't matter what his profession is. In fact, it could be something relatively milquetoast and insignificant in contrast to his newly discovered alter-ego.

I dunno.

I think such a person could be a stock broker, maybe in a large Wall Street firm.

How about a person in the art world? Someone who owns a big gallery or is a top guy at Christie's or a big museum or something. Someone who knows and can manipulate a lot of rich people and can make or break careers. These kind of people can also do seedy things even though they often chose not to because of legal repercussions ... but maybe the guy in your play will.
Lots of people in the arts get their hands on illegal/stolen art and chose not to tell. Look at the recent Getty museum scandal or the Euphronios krater story from the Met museum in New York; it was bought by the met for a million and turned out to be stolen; the Met "didn't know."
Anyway, just an idea to ponder.

A lot of commercial real estate brokers are pretty wealthy, and many started from nowhere.

I like the story of Warren Buffett. I'm not sure he was much of a back-stabber, but in order to out-fox the competition, you need to step over a few people or companies. Now, a guy who really got his start by creatively taking something through deception was Bill Gates. The Windows operating system has a sordid past. There is a movie about it, "The Pirates of Silicon Valley." So, I guess you can start a business by sucking the life's blood out of someone.

Use Her Name said:

Now, a guy who really got his start by creatively taking something through deception was Bill Gates. The Windows operating system has a sordid past. There is a movie about it, "The Pirates of Silicon Valley." So, I guess you can start a business by sucking the life's blood out of someone.

Click to expand...

Really? I didn't now that. Onassis also got his start by eavesdropping on telecommunications. He was a phone operator. Something like that. So why not a ship-owner as a protagonist?
I guess what you can do is do reasearch on every single person on the Forbes list.