Chavs are not "rich!"
The closest American equivalent I can think of is "white trash" or "trailer trash".
A chav is basically a member of the white, lower class. Traditionally they don't work and live off benefits (like "Welfare") in a Council House (cheap housing provided by the local Council for single mothers and people on low incomes).
Chavs are stereotypically unintelligent, thuggish lager-swigging, workshy law breakers, who drive "souped up" cars and wear lots of gold jewellery - its not nice, expensive gold jewellery, its bought cheaply from local markets and tends to be stolen. Or its bought from a shop called "Argos" in the UK which is famed for selling cheap bottom of the range 9ct gold jewellery!
Chavs often ape American "gangsta" culture by wearing sports gear, most of which is also bought cheaply from local markets, and is often "knocked off" (stolen goods). They are traditionally seen in "trackies" (track suits), trainers (sneakers), baseball caps and the like. The girls (sometimes called "Chavettes") either dress the same (trackies, trainers, puffa jackets) or attempt to dress like gangsta girls in short skirts and skimpy tops but either way just end up looking like nasty trailer trash (of the sort you see on Jerry Springer in the USA).
Female chavs are very good at playing the British benefit system - they have lots and lots of illegitimate children (by different fathers) so that they can get more and more benefits and bigger and bigger council houses. They give their children horrible made up names.
Male chavs buy battered old cars and with the aid of the money they make from benefit fraud and drug deals, "soup" them up by adding spoilers, alloy wheels, big, in-car entertainment systems and all the trimmings, again these are bought cheaply from their chav contacts, local markets, or are "knock offs". They play loud Garage, Hip Hop or Drum n Bass music from their enormous in car speakers, particularly when driving past your house at 3am.
Young chav males are often known as "hoodies" (because they wear hooded sports jackets and its also an acronym of hoodlum) and like to cause trouble by shoplifting, vandalising, smoking cannabis, fighting in the street, and making the lives of decent law abiding people a bloody misery! (We have a bunch of these little sods in our village and the police do nothing about them!). One of their favourite pastimes is getting into fights, particularly outside nightclubs and pubs.
Young teen chavs like hanging around outside Spar shops (like your 7-11s) and harrassing people, drinking "White Lightning" (nasty cheap cider), smoking cheap cigarettes and joints and generally being a pain in the a.rse. Make sure you lock your car because they will be into it and steal anything you have left in there as soon as your back is turned.
Chavs are usually the poorest in society but they still manage to buy all this gold jewellery and sportswear, soup up their crappy cars and have lots and lots of children. They make this money by committing benefit fraud, petty crime and drug dealing.
Chavs aren't just white, they come in all colours although white chavs are probably the most common variety with black chavs a close second. You don't get many asian chavs because they have more sense and self respect as far as I can tell.
Chavs have various different names around the UK. in Scotland they are known as "Neds". Liverpudlians call them "Scallies". In some parts of the UK they are known as "Charvers". In the South East they are called "Pikies" (pronounced "Pike-ee") and "Spides" in Northern Ireland. Noone is sure where the word "Chav" comes from although a common beleif is that it is from Chatham, a complete dump of a town in Kent with more chavs per square inch than any other place in the UK (my other half comes from near Chatham), and "Chav" is Chatham slang for "mate, buddy, friend etc". ie "alright Chavvy?" = "hi buddy" (in American-speak).
Celebrity Chavs. Ooh we have many of them in the UK. Katie "Jordan" Price is the Queen of the Celeb Chavs. The best American example I can think of though is Britney Spears. In the UK she would be a chav. She dresses and acts like a chav. Eminem is another good example.
People do not like chavs. They are blamed for everything thats wrong with the UK - poor law and order, high taxes (paying their benefits), violent crime and the like.
Check out
www.chavscum.co.uk
A whole website dedicated to the "wonders" of the British Chav. Aren't we the lucky ones!
(NB: An "ASBO" is an Anti-Social Behaviour Order - a useless device with which the police try to control chavs. when they are caught up to no good they get an "ASBO" slapped on them. It doens't work. Chavs collect these "orders" like trophies. Chavs are sometimes called "The ASBO generation".)