You know that timeworn stereotype that wealthy men wait to get married so they can impress younger fertile women with their high-earning potential?

Well, a large U.S. study published in the Review of Economics and Statistics has recently thrown a monkey wrench into that equation.

Because it turns out that those who are married to older or younger spouses have lower salaries, lower cognitive abilities, and are not as educated or attractive as couples of similar ages.

And the greater the age difference, the higher the correlation with these negative factors.

"It really depends on who your social network is," says Hani Mansour, study co-author and economics professor at the University of Colorado Denver. "People with lower earning potential are in networks that are more age diverse."

http://ca.shine.yahoo.com/blogs/shine-on/large-age-gap-marriage-tied-lower-intelligence-lower-162949908.html