Marry for love...or money? Lots say the latter

What's your price? Stale stereotypes of gold-diggers (men and women) aside, money still counts for a lot in the making or breaking of marriages, according to a recent survey.

"The Wealth Report," a popular Wall Street Journal column (subscription required), wrote about a survey conducted by Prince & Associates, a Connecticut-based wealth-research firm, in which 1,134 people nationwide with incomes ranging between $30,000 to $60,000 were asked, "How willing are you to marry an average-looking person that you liked, if they had money?"

The results weren't all that charitable. It seems a fat wallet is more alluring than a well-turned ankle these days. Fully two-thirds of women and half of the men said they were "very" or "extremely" willing to marry for money. The answers varied by age, with women in their 30s the most willing to marry for money (74%) while men in their 20s were the least likely (41%). By their 40s, however, men change their tune. By then, some 61% of them say they'd be willing to marry for money, according to the survey.

The average "price" that men and women demand when out and out "marrying for money?" About $1.5 million. That hardly seems like a life-changing sum, given today's hedge-fund standards, but I suppose it's not a bad start.

But is it a good finish? If you're marrying for money, it's best to keep you eye on the ultimate prize: That fat divorce settlement. Among the women in their 20s who said they would marry for money, 71% said they expected to
get divorced -- the highest of any demographic. So much for youthful idealism. Only 27% of men in their 40s expected to divorce. Guess they're willing to settle for less than the young chicks.