 One claim is that "trophy wife" originally appeared in a 1950 issue of "The Economist" newspaper, referring to the historical practice of warriors capturing the most beautiful women during battle to bring home as wives.William Safire claimed that the term "trophy wife" was coined by Julie Connelly, a senior editor of "Fortune" magazine, in a cover story in the issue of August 28, 1989, and immediately entered common usage.Author Tom Wolfe, himself often credited with coining the term, disclaimed it in a talk given at Brown University in 1996, wherein he also credited "Fortune" magazine in an article published "not that long ago."