Brion imagined people commenting that West has "gone off his rocker" and envisioning him making "an art record with some crazy, left-field music guy", clarifying this not to be "the case whatsoever".

[5] West originally came up with the song for Shawnna's 2004 debut studio album Worth Tha Weight, though she passed it on to him; his A&R representative Plain Pat said her reasoning was unknown.

West felt the song was too "poppy" and sought out a style more akin to hip hop, to which A-Trak reacted by coming up with the idea of adding scratches, with confidence of what sample should be used.

[6] After West watched Ray with his friend John Mayer, he thought of the idea to have Foxx sing an interpolation of Charles's "I Got a Woman" (1954) in place of the song's initial sample, in case it failed to be cleared.

[5] Brion composed some extra sounds for "Gold Digger" to finish the basic track during his first session with West, recalling that the rapper was clearly aware of what elements he liked and how he complied: "Great, we'll focus on those things.

[9] Sean Fennessey of Pitchfork stated that the song is simple "but not subtle", delving strongly into obviousness with Foxx's interpolation of Charles and recycled drums, but "succeeding with humor and reverence".

[11] The Guardian critic Alexis Petridis observed that the song features "the odd sound" of Foxx's Oscar-winning impersonation of Charles, alongside the singer being sampled.

[28] USA Today's Steve Jones appreciated the song's humor, pointing out that West speaks of "women who will burn a hole in a man's pocket" beside the Charles sample that is accompanied by Foxx impersonating him.

[30] At the Los Angeles Times, Robert Hilburn wrote that the song is self-explanatory and has a theme of "marvelous mischievousness",[31] similarly to how Rolling Stone reviewer Rob Sheffield viewed West as using it to indulge his style of humor.

[16] Azeem Ahmad voiced a less positive response in musicOMH, commenting that it "hits you with standard pigeon bashing" like a male version of girl group TLC's "No Scrubs" (1999), though affirmed the Charles sample provides "the feel of a rejuvenated Negro Spiritual song".

[34] Veteran critic Robert Christgau wrote for The Village Voice that the song is "marked by [a] cognitively dissonant" Foxx's interpolation of the work also sampled, while "misogynistic clichés" are laid on until "the oppressed black male" West defends suddenly abandons a non-gold digger for a white woman.

[35][36] The lawsuit reportedly acknowledged the song had been released back in 2005, though mentioned that David Pryor was in a convalescent hospital then with harsh mental and physical disabilities, such as senile dementia and prostate cancer.

David possessing no knowledge of his voice having been exploited for commercial profit once he died in 2006 was also acknowledged, as well as how Steward and Lorenzo Pryor lacked the information to file the lawsuit until 2012.

[35] In August 2014, California federal judge Beverly Reid O'Connell threw out the majority of the claims, insisting that distorted short samples meant the work would not easily be recognized.

[12] He also said people seemed to be too excited by "the squawking Ray Charles sample and characteristic claps" to notice how rap's apparent savior "had just added to [its] overflowing Trifling Bitch Songbook", concluding that "when Kanye drops gold like this, everyone digs it".

[54] Highsnobiety ranked it as West's fifth best song two years later; Bianca said his "innate musical knowledge" is demonstrated via Foxx's interpolation of Charles's work and "a surprise synth-coda" that appears to nod to Stevie Wonder's "Superstition" (1972).

[74] On a 2018 list of the best music video from each year since 2000, ShortList named the visual the best of 2005, with Niloufar Haidari saying that it "is a joy to watch" because of Foxx's presence and the "exceptional use of colour and lighting".

The staff of the magazine praised West's "dance moves" and his "bold color choices", concluding by labeling the video "a perfect match" for "Gold Digger".

[82][83] The song then leapt 18 places to top the Hot 100 and end the 14-week number one reign of singer Mariah Carey's "We Belong Together", while blocking her single "Shake It Off" directly from the summit.

[83] "Gold Digger" amassed over 80,500 downloads and experienced the largest radio airplay gain for that week,[83] as well as giving West his first number-one single as a lead artist and Foxx his second on the Hot 100.

[124][125] West first performed an early sparse version of the track at the 2nd Annual Dynamic Producer Conference in NYC during late 2003, backed by piano from John Legend, who also sang the chorus.

[128][129] West delivered a performance of the song atop a glass riser in the center of the crowd at the 2005 VH1 Hip Hop Honors, for which he wore a sweater and did his backwards dance.

[130] He transitioned from performing a melody of it with backing by A-Trak into fellow album track "Touch the Sky" for the premiere of season 31 of Saturday Night Live on October 1, 2005, accompanied by a mini-orchestra.

[143] West and Foxx performed the track for a pre-2007 MTV Music Video Awards show at The Joint in Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas.

"[144] West performed "Gold Digger" at the 2009 Wireless Festival at Hyde Park in London and introduced the track by calling it "the story of my life", rocking his customary aviator shades and black suit jacket for his appearance.

[146] West delivered an abbreviated version of it for a medley of over 10 songs at 12-12-12: The Concert for Sandy Relief in Madison Square Garden, New York City on December 12, 2012, rocking a Pyrex hoodie and leather kilt while performing.

[154] On December 10, 2021, West performed the track with an alternate chorus that removed any profanity during a benefit concert with Drake at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for Larry Hoover's jail sentence.

"[166] On September 24, 2015, the second season of American TV series Black-ish premiered with the episode "THE Word", featuring character Jack Johnson covering the song for a school talent show.

[171] On November 21, 2015, Thomas Rhett and Brett Eldredge performed a medley of covers as an encore at Kansas City, Missouri, for their co-headlining CMT on Tour: Suits and Boots, which included a country–styled version of "Gold Digger".

"[177] Erykah Badu's 2010 single "Turn Me Away (Get MuNNY)" concludes with her muttering the song's hook in the style of a boast, "I ain't messing with no broke nigger.