The Wallstreet Journal notes that fully 74% of women in their thirties would marry for money.

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: Women in their 30s were the most likely to say they would marry for money (74%) while men in their 20s were the least likely (41%).

Then there is this apocryphal account:

In an infamous personal ad posted on Craigslist this summer, a twentysomething New Yorker who described herself as "spectacularly beautiful" wrote that she was looking for a man who made at least $500,000 a year. She'd tried dating men earning $250,000, but that wasn't "getting me to Central Park West," she said. The ad inspired all manner of parodies and follow-ups, including one by an investment banker, who replied that since his money would grow over time but her beauty would fade, the offer didn't make good business sense. She was, he said, a "depreciating asset."

The example is a little extreme, but its so much romantic nonsense to think that a girl doesn't contemplate the financial wherewithal of a prospective mate. Whether consciously or subconsciously, a woman marries with an eye on the welfare of her progeny.

The seeming raw cynicism of modern women is probably enhanced by the fact that they are getting married older, when they are established in their own careers and with their own assets. The men in the marriageable cohort have already demonstrated their alpha-male bona fides, and in a modern society--that translates into a bank balance.

Of course, as the ambitious young woman is no doubt discovering--alpha males can afford to be choosy. You'd better bring to the table as much as your demanding.