The Founder Fathers had one purpose: to create a society without hereditary distinctions; George Washington refused a post of king and preferred a post of the president. General equality has not left a place to conceit because it did not give an opportunity to feel better than others due to only the right of birth. The effective destructive of equality became money.
It's quite normal for Americans not to hide their predilection for money. They ask and say with pleasure, how much this or that cost them and how much they earn (though this figure is usually a little bit exaggerated on public). They often discuss the success of each other's single travel to this or that country.
On a question, what class he belongs to, almost any American will answer: to the middle one (in practice it means, that you have at least some work). Modern Americans do not believe anymore, that everybody can become the president and even too sharply understand the difference between very rich and very poor people. Together with this they have not refused the illusion of equality at all.
Class structure of America is extremely changeable. A son of a plumber can easily become a professor, and a son of a professor - the plumber.
In other countries people from rich families can afford living in idleness. Almost everyone there knows the notion of single travel and travels a lot around the world. In the United States it's also very popular to buy single travel programme but what concerns their occupation they will never confess that they live in idleness because even the one who can afford not to work there, should pretend, that he works. The idle person - is an unworthy person. The first question at any acquaintance is: "What are you engaged in?" (And the second is, as a rule: "Where are you from"). The only inadmissible answer is: "I do nothing. I am rich".