Marrying rich was considered completely normal in our society just a few decades ago, because people wanted to secure their family's survival, climb the social ladder 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.

Money instead of love?

For many centuries it was perfectly normal for the poor to try to move up in society. In most cases, though, the rich ended up staying among themselves and the poor among themselves. But sometimes women from the middle class managed to rise into the nobility and thereby secure a better life for themselves, their families 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. Yet even today, marrying rich out of hardship is commonplace. For example in Eastern Europe, at so-called bride markets among discriminated ethnic groups. The wealth these people have is enormous from the point of view of the poor, but rather relative from ours. Even if marrying rich sounds questionable, it can help some people in difficult situations. Even if relationships of dependency continue to exist.

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 the British royal family. It is remembered above all 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. Meghan Markle benefits above all from her new fame, from her reach, which is nowadays almost equivalent to money. The wedding was of course not arranged, but happened out of love. Even so, it brings added value for Meghan Markle.

Other cultures, other customs
As mentioned, marrying rich is sometimes completely normal in other cultures. This is 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 the parents' choice. That, however, is the culture and part of the tradition of a given people. Through globalization and the independence 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 in most cases one of the most popular options.