Growing up, most of us thought that money basically existed to buy things and snacks. As we started to become independent, we began to learn about things ranging from insurance to dog-walking services. So if you think you have seen it all, keep reading.
Someone asked, “Those who have worked for the rich, what is a product or service we would never guess exists?” and people shared their best examples. So if you have ever wondered, “What would I do if I was rich?” Now is your chance to update your notes. Be sure to upvote your favorites and share your own ideas in the comments section.
#1
I worked in a house once in the fancy parts of Oslo, at the time i was a telecom technician and was called out to fix internet issues.
He had his main connection going into the basement and from there got split up to the rest of his house.
He had his main connection going into the basement and from there got split up to the rest of his house.
While working in the basement i noticed big tanks with the word VOSS on them, for you guys not familiar with VOSS its a brand of super expensive "natural spring water" and i thought it was only sold on glass bottles in the store.
Suddenly this big a*s tanker truck comes up to the house and i see it says VOSS in the side of it and i see the trucker start pulling a hose out and connecting it to a pipe going into the house.
Of course out of curiosity i go and ask the trucker what he was pumping into the guys house.
Of course out of curiosity i go and ask the trucker what he was pumping into the guys house.
Turns out apparently VOSS offers a service where they send a plumber to disconnect the main pipes (except for floor heating, toilet and some other pointless stuff) and set up refillable thanks instead which gets connected to the house for basically everything, shower, washing machines, sinks, dish washer, basically any water that gets in contacts with humans and they have level readers of the tanks and will send a truck automatically when they see the water level going low in the tanks.
Absolutely one of the most mind boggling things i've ever witnessed, especially since i live in Norway which probably has one of the worlds cleanest and definitely tastiest waters i've ever come across directly from the sink.
135points
#2
I used to walk dogs and the dog had his own elevator to his own apartment. Does that count?
110points
#3
Shadow Jets. The empty private jet that follows your private jet everywhere so that if there's a delay or maintenance thing you don't have to wait or resort to flying in a charter. Yes this is a thing. Some ultra rich actually take 3 jets everywhere their jet, their shadow, their cargo plane for cars.
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109points
In case some of these sound too far-fetched, it’s worth noting that kidnapping and ransom insurance is a sizable industry. While often we think of it as a service for rich families, a common use case is a company buying a policy for valued employees who have to travel to high-risk zones. Interestingly due to moral hazard and risks of fraud, some companies don’t actually tell the employee about the policy.
Interestingly, it’s not actually that expensive on the face of things. Investopedia reports that many policies range from $500 to $2000. This is assuming the person is not a high-profile target and most of these policies have rules that make them void if you travel to high-risk areas. While this isn’t a negligible cost, it’s not nearly as unaffordable as it might seem.
#4
Me!
I am a house manager/personal assistant. The fact that my client pays me $60 an hour to fold her husband's underwear, cut vegetables, and handle maintenance is crazy. Obviously, I do do some other things as well, but yeah, me!
I work for lovely people and get paid well.
I am a house manager/personal assistant. The fact that my client pays me $60 an hour to fold her husband's underwear, cut vegetables, and handle maintenance is crazy. Obviously, I do do some other things as well, but yeah, me!
I work for lovely people and get paid well.
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104points
#5
Sat next to a guy on a plane who travelled the world creating holiday plans for ultra-wealthy client. He had to go stay at each hotel to test them out and try the activities and everything. He loved travel and organizing anyway, so he just upgraded and got paid for it.
But after a few years it got lonely because you’re always on the move and in new places.
95points
#6
I’ve made hats for a billionaire’s horse, just because they wanted to take cute selfies of their horse in weird hats. I also made hats out of literal reclaimed garbage that I’ve sold for thousands to the 1%. I’m sorta known in those sorta circles for my bizarre hat designs. Plus I treat my celeb & wealthy clients normally, with no b******t. So I got an established clientele base. Edit: I primarily make custom headwear for humans (primarily inspired by surrealism, CAMP, or drag). I’m Fab Hatters if anybody wants to check out some of my work.
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92points
#7
The rich moms in my city hire people to get through every “unpleasant” milestone for their children. Did you know there’s companies you can hire to potty train your kids? Or teach them how to ride a bike? There’s even people they will hire to meet with their kids and find a sleep away summer camp to match their kids’ personalities.
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89points
#8
You can get paid well (i.e. up to a million U.S. dollars) to NOT buy a private jet.
If you have ordered one (they can take years to get built), and yours is about to get built, someone can offer you $ for the build slot through slot brokers.
Basically a big-time "line stander".
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81points
#9
Hiring world famous bands to play full sets for ambience.
Was a waiter at an event where The Killers just casually played their entire back catalogue in the corner.
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78points
#10
I worked for a mega-rich person as their dog concierge. My job was to provide everything their dog needed so that when they wanted to pet it or play with it, the dog was ready and they didn’t have to think about it otherwise.
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76points
#11
Line standers. Sometimes it’s unavoidable—you need to be in long a queue, and when your time comes, you need to be there yourself.
Enter line standers.
They literally just stand in lines for whomever pays them to hold a spot. When the line gets close, they call or text the person and tell them to come on down.
That’s the whole gig.
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76points
#12
Worked for a family that was ungodly well off. Matriarch had a woman whose only purpose was to help her get dressed and manage this woman's "closet." Her office was in the closet. there had to be millions of dollars of clothing in there, so understandable.
76points
#13
I know a family that had a high-functioning autistic child, and in order to help them function better in a normal classroom, they hired a specialist who befriended their child and escorted them around and advised him all day about which of his responses were good, and what responses would have been better.
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76points
#14
I worked for a billionaire as an oncall handyman style person (not exclusively him, we worked for other people too), for him but predominately it was his teenage daughters who would call us to help with stuff as he was usually overseas.
The were lovely girls but they were completely lost in terms of perspective. They would frequently call us up to do stuff like mount a giant tv screen, just for one night then fix everything so there was no evidence they had done it. I got called to capture a harmless spider for her which was in their patio area. So many other things, the list was endless.
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71points
#15
I’ve now met 3 people in my lifetime (2 wealthy, one not) who paid pretty good money to have prosthetic testicles surgically inserted into their dog’s empty scrotum after having them neutered. Just so the dog doesn’t feel “emasculated.”
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71points
#16
Not me but a family member; they had 4 huskies and they hired 4 separate caretakers for each dog. This was in the tech boom way before crypto. They are broke now….
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71points
#17
I used to be a corporate pilot. The guy said he hated owning a jet, but it was worth it because Delta quit letting him smoke on the plane in the 90s. I always thought that was funny. He was actually a super nice guy. His wife was the sweet “everybody’s grandmother” type. She was always bringing me chocolates or donuts from her favorite shop.
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69points
#18
Many very rich people have large houses in foreign countries they visit once in a while when they feel like it or are on a business trip in the area. While they‘re away there is a whole staff taking care of the property throughout the year, keeping it clean for the off chance of the owner visiting. I once worked as a gardener in one of those properties. I was briefed that everything has to be perfect everyday. There was no margin for error. This was checked by a foreman every single day. I worked there for three years. The owner never visited.
63points
#19
Chartering a private jet to take a cat back and forth from the US to Scotland.
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61points
#20
You can pay people to name your child for you and they charge thousands of dollars to do it.
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59points