Wealth & Money Quote by Katherine Whitehorn

Money talk isn`t taboo here because it`s crass; it`s taboo because it`s asymmetric. Whitehorn, a journalist with a talent for puncturing polite fictions, frames the rule like etiquette, but the subtext is pure power analysis: when there`s a large gap in wealth, conversation stops being exchange and becomes theatre. With the rich, money is either a weapon (they can casually redefine what counts as "a lot") or a confession booth you didn`t consent to ("I don`t really care about money", said from the safety of a cushion you can`t afford). With the poor, money becomes a test of your decency, your guilt, or your obliviousness - a minefield where advice sounds like scolding and curiosity sounds like voyeurism.

What makes the line work is its cold practicality. It refuses the modern fantasy that openness automatically equals virtue. Transparency about salaries and inheritance can be politically clarifying; Whitehorn is pointing at the interpersonal version, where candor often serves the status quo. The wealth gap forces everyone into roles: the have-not performing gratitude or toughness; the have-more performing humility or benevolence. Even jokes land differently because the stakes are different.

The context is a British social tradition that treats class as both obsession and secret, but the rule travels well in an era of wage stagnation, influencer affluence, and "relatable" millionaires. Whitehorn isn`t defending silence; she`s warning that money, in mixed company, rarely stays just money.