In Europe I have heard the claim that Americans discuss money pretty much all of the time. According to the cliché, for example, Americans exchange salary figures over coffee, over beers, in the swimming pool, on the bus.  Now, I am pretty sure that I know well over 1000 Americans and have been in long conversations with more than that. Yet, I know something about the earning power of maybe (just maybe) two of those 1000 people. Incidentally, in the case of one of the two people, the European husband disclosed to me the salary of his American wife.  I also never knew my parent's salaries. And I know nothing about my mother's "wealth."