Marrying rich was considered completely normal in our society just a few decades ago, because people wanted to secure their family's survival, move up socially and finally escape poverty.

In the Western world, however, things have changed. In other parts of the world, in other cultures, marrying rich is still sometimes the goal.
How this plays out historically and today and what causes it is discussed below.

1. Marrying rich promises money instead of love

marrying rich

For many centuries it was perfectly normal for the poor to try to move up socially. Mostly, though, in the end the rich stayed among themselves and the poor among themselves. But sometimes women from the middle class managed to rise into the nobility and so secure a better living situation for themselves, their family and their descendants. Love, as we know it, meaning affection, romance and feelings, has only been the main reason couples marry for a few decades. But even today, marrying rich out of hardship is commonplace. For example in Eastern Europe, at so-called bride markets among marginalized ethnic groups. The wealth the people there own is enormous from the perspective of the poor, but rather relative from our point of view. Even if marrying rich sounds questionable, it can help some people in hardship. Even if relationships of dependency continue to exist.

2. Marrying rich even though you're wealthy yourself? A case study

The wedding of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry in early summer 2018 is remembered not only because of the incredible media interest. Nor necessarily because a commoner married into Britain's royal family. It is remembered especially because Meghan Markle was already a very successful and wealthy actress in the USA before marrying Prince Harry. So a rich person married a rich person and still gained much more. Because Meghan Markle benefits above all from her new fame, from her reach, which today is almost equivalent to money. The wedding was of course not arranged but happened out of love. Still, it brings added value for Meghan Markle.

3. Other cultures, other customs

marrying rich

Marrying rich is, as already mentioned, in part completely normal in other cultures. That is actually almost always justified by the fact that it can secure the survival of one's own family. There are questionable marriages that come about through parents' choosing. But that is the culture and part of the tradition of the respective people. Through globalization and the autonomy strengthened by the internet, romantic love is increasingly understood as the only true love. For families with many children, where the children are the only hope for a future, marrying rich remains mostly one of the most popular options.