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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.
This post may include affiliate links.
#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.
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.
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.
BeepBoop is Lonely (she/they) 9 months ago
okay but what's the point of this??? To shower in expensive water? lmao
#2
I used to walk dogs and the dog had his own elevator to his own apartment. Does that count?
Mrs Irish Mom 9 months ago
My dog would think hes being punished if he went in a seperate lift 🙈
#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.
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.
#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.
#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.
Midwest Mike 9 months ago
YES!!!! THIS I SUPPORT!!! TAKE STUPID RICH PEOPLES MONEY WITH GARBAGE HATS FOR HORSES!!!
#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.
#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".
Fabian Bernard 9 months ago
Same thing in the late 80's with Ferraris. You had to wait sometimes 18 months to get a brand new one, so ( rich) people who ordered one and were about to have their car delivered sold their order papers for sometimes twice the buying price ,depending on the model. My father former business partner, who did well in business did this. He had ordered a 328 , sold the papers for 50% more
#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.
#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.
#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.
#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.
RapidUnscheduledDisassembly 9 months ago
In the olden days, wealthy men had a valet and the wife had a lady's maid. Same thing. Not surprising this still exists.
#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.
#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.
A. Starhawk Hunt 9 months ago
I am sure it wouldn’t have taken long for me to be okay that job….
#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.”
Sexual Harassment Panda 9 months ago (edited)
You mean so the owner doesn't feel emasculated because the doggo don't give a sh!t.
#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….
#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.
#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.
Saint_Zipcodus 9 months ago
I think about that sometimes. Blows my mind how many resources are being spent on this kinda thing.
#19
Chartering a private jet to take a cat back and forth from the US to Scotland.
#20
You can pay people to name your child for you and they charge thousands of dollars to do it.
#21
Not my story but I hitchhiked with friends once & we met a driver who works for a company that makes impossible stuff possible for rich ppl.
Example he gave was planning a wedding - client wanted an old church in a park with very limited access (like natural conservation stuff) - then they wanted a priest from Argentinia, cause that’s where the bride came from. Then the church needed to be consecrated bc the priest wouldn’t do it in a non consecrated church. Then they wanted their guests to arrive by train, which not also had them renovate old rails in the park, but also public transportation was paid (a lot) for rescheduling their normal plan, so the special trains could use the rails… and so on… it always ended with the guy we hitchhiked with imitating a phone call with different people
: sir, I’m sorry it’s not possible
Our dude: no, you didn’t understand - how much does it cost?
: sir, we really can’t…
Our dude: yes, yes, but how much would it cost?
To the point where the person on the other end realized they could name any price & would just get it…
It was fascinating. Yet I hate every last piece of it. :D
#22
A guy I went to college with was employed for a number of years in Dubai as an automotive caretaker. His whole gig was to wash, drive, and maintain the billionaires collection of super exotic cars, motorcycles and other toys.
#23
I do criminal defence, had a client who told me it was very important that he avoid a criminal record for a minor offence (a stupid fight) so that he could travel.
He was paid by a rich guy to fly to locations in advance and try out restaurants so that the rich guy (who was a picky eater) would know where he might like to eat and what dishes. So he'd walk into restaurants in strange cities, order eight dishes and eat a couple bites of everything, and then do this at another dozen restaurants.
I was actually getting pretty pissed off with the file, because the rich guy was super particular about who could do this for him, and had his personal assistant calling me every other day demanding an update (with client consent). The pissed off went away when I told them I'd need to charge extra if they were going to keep riding me like that--and they just sent a "now you can't complain" amount of money without blinking an eye.
Dude was making more money (not counting free air travel) than I was.
#24
Some celebrities will charge the Uber rich a fee to make an appearance at their parties and pretend to know them. I knew the talent agent who booked Henry Kissinger and Whitney Houston, but only for their “personal appearances”. He mentioned Whitney got 250k to attend a party, stay for a minimum one hour, and in her contract the host must not ask her to sing.
LaserBrain 9 months ago (edited)
Who would pay to have Henry Kissinger at their party, that guy was an evil puppet master with the blood of millions on his hands.
#25
There's brands of food that you don't know exist, because they're not sold to you. Because they're not sold to anyone. Rich people have their own drinks, snack foods, candy, et all, that were made *just for them*. It's actually not even that expensive. For about $15k (starting) you can work with a drink lab who will make you the actual chemical formula for the drink you want, copyright it, and send it to their manufacturing partners, who will send you a pallet of your drink every month. In bottles you designed. With professional labels designed by a marketing team. For literally one customer. They even help you incorporate. Nobody can use that formula, logo, tagline, design, etc. Even though it'll never be up for sale. It's a flex. They can hand out bottles of "FizzyBi**ch!" soda to friends and family that you literally cannot get anywhere else.
Donkeywheel 9 months ago (edited)
People are delusional to believe that. That may exist occasionally for random brainless YouTubers and influencers but the huuuge majority of wealthy people would evidently prefer hiring personal chefs and eat healthy with the best products rather than a s****y lab drink with a chemical formula..
#26
I know a family who bought a mansion… For their yacht.
They didn’t like docking their yacht in public.
So they bought it a mansion.
Nobody lives there. It’s just their private port. A couple of times per year they actually board the yacht there. Usually the crew boards there and they meet it somewhere.
I wish I had a house for my boat… Or a boat…
#27
People in the wealthier neighborhoods here pay professionals to set up their Christmas decorations.
#28
Yard vacuuming service.
The billionaire owners of the company I worked for hired the most expensive landscapers in town to vacuum the yard on the day they let go an entire department of the company a few years ago.
So as people literally bawling their eyes out carried their s**t out to their cars, they had to walk past the people literally vacuuming the lawn.
#29
We knew a guy with a big lot of land with its own vineyard. He bought it with the vineyard and had no plans for it. Someone comes regularly to collect the grapes and turn them into wine. He gets a cut of the sales and doesn’t have to do anything.
Donkeywheel 9 months ago (edited)
Written by a urban person surely. That’s extremely common almost everywhere and for every type of agricultural product. And completely unrelated to wealth. Just fyi, even in Bordeaux, France the starting price (no designation) for vineyards is 12,000 euros for 1ha (10,000 m2 or 2.5 acres). And that would give you around 7000 bottles every year. You definitely don’t need to be rich to have your own vineyard and make (or have someone make) your own wine.
#30
Used to work as a roadie for a labour hire company (we’d get hired to move heavy things during set up/pack down for large festivals and concerts). One time i was part of a crew hired to set up for a bank ceo’s annual christmas party (one of the big 4 australian banks), we built a whole goddamn temporary restaurant on his tennis court. Floating wooden floors, timber framed ‘tent’, the lot. With enough money you can have the party you want.
Danish Susanne 9 months ago
But with good company you can have a wonderful birthday party without using a lot of money.
#31
My horse had a passport, acupuncturist, and massage therapist. The horse world is so crazy yall it's unimaginable sometimes.
Verena 9 months ago (edited)
My horses, all of them rescues, have them, too. I am not rich, muck the stables myself, including all stable and horse chores. A passport is mandatory for all horses in Europe, travelling or not. I have a friend who does horse therapy, so she does massage them. It is €35 per session, twice a year. As every creature with muscels and tendons, they enjoy it, especially my old lady. They do get a lot of (self) excercise, they live on a giant pasture, and can roll and play as they like. But they are happy to see her and now show her the places she should tend to. The acupuncture I am doubtful about, so did it only once. The horse was okay with it, otherwise we wouldn't have done it.
#32
I am an architect and I have designed a couple of prime properties. They all had a WC, which was bigger than a normal family bathroom and could only be accessed from outside (no door from inside the house). This was to be used by the gardeners and/or delivery drivers. They also have a chef's or dirty kitchen. This is a second kitchen (usually with no windows) where all the actual cooking is done. The other kitchen is functional, but just to show off, not to be used.
#33
Electrician based in Noosa, Australia.
Elevators (or multiple) in 2 or 3 story houses.
F*****g elevators.
Yes, I know this is a common piece of equipment but in a house is wild.
Ali H M Salehuddin 9 months ago (edited)
Elevators can be useful if you have an elderly or disabled family members. They aren't super expensive to install either.
#34
Until I met my wife, I didn’t know that rich people pay others to shop for fashion goods abroad. They get to travel, all expenses paid, to basically spend other people’s money at some of the most prestigious fashion brands.
Midwest Mike 9 months ago
Got to say....don't hate on the Players of the Rich....HATE THE GAME OF THE RICH...EAT THE RICH!!!
#35
I once did some work for a couple who own a yacht building company. In their master bathroom there was a closet with seven shelves, one for each day of the week. On each shelf there was a pair of pajamas and a matching set of towels and a washcloth for each of them. It was something my middle class self would never have thought of.This was years ago and I have never forgotten it. A small example of having exactly what you want, perfectly organized by someone else.
#36
Ultra-wealthy families have a family office that takes care of everything across the globe. At the bottom end this may be a single full time person who supervises part-timers and contractors. The larger offices have multiple full-time staff who handle finances, real estate management, travel, social obligations, charitable giving, etc. There are actually trade association conferences for the people who work in this field. Wild, isn’t it?
#37
Bespoke eye glasses that are completely custom crafted to suit your face and comfort level.
It actually sounds amazing as a person who wears very strong prescription glasses that get kind of heavy ( even with thinned lenses). However aside from the cost, I change scripts too often to be worthwhile.
Tiny Dancer 9 months ago
As if the rest of us have never heard of Elton John! He didn't get those things from Lenscrafters, ya know. Elton-in-f...0a10e6.jpg 
#38
Ransom insurance.
whineygingercat 9 months ago
This is actually rather common among diplomats in certain countries.
#39
My uncle was a corporate pilot for most of his career. When he was a few years shy of retirement, the company axed their in house pilots and everything related to them as a cost savings. However, one of the owners(I think, might have just been a rich guy) hired him and one of the other pilots to be his personal on call crew for his personal jet.
For the next few years, he would fly for him pretty regularly to various places that were usually fairly exotic. Most of the flights were actually for the rich guys adult son and his family. The son was a "professional" sailboat racer... of some sort and my uncle would fly him to some tropical island and then get put up in a nice hotel with the copilot for a couple weeks with all expenses paid and he'd just hang out while this dude raced boats. It paid well enough he was able to retire earlier than expected.
I'm sure many people expect some rich people to have private pilots but the job always sounded ridiculously laid back and lucrative for bringing some guy to the Bahamas/wherever to play with his boats... which I'm sure had even more staff.
Florence O'Grady 9 months ago
I am seriously wishing God had given me those skills. I would love to visit places where beaches are.
#40
A concierge who moves absent residents' local cars to higher ground when hurricanes strike for rich snow birds.
#41
Probably not a big shock, but I met a girl once who was a personal assistant. She was one of a team of three for a very rich couple. When she said personal assistant I assumed it was at a business, but no. It was all just personal stuff. They organised every aspect of the couple’s day-to-day life.
If you were “friends” of the couple, you even called one of these staff to invite them around to your house for a friendly casual dinner, as any group of friends might. But they went through the staff to book it. Wild.
#42
My partner's brother is a tennis coach and one of his clients is getting taught to cook by a Michelin star chef just for fun. I think he said it was £20K.
Natalie Kelsey 9 months ago
Isn't that about the price for a year of cooking school? Sounds like a bargain to me if the instructor is Michelin starred
#43
Earbuds that are custom molded to your ear for greater comfort and excellent noise isolation. Not that expensive actually, but still rather unheard of. I believe Etymotic are one brand that does them.
Verena 9 months ago
They are part of the standard personal safety equipment in many factories in Europe. The complete set, including safety shoes, trousers, various jackets, eye protection, computer glasses etc etc has to be paid for by the employer. It is mandatory to wear them in certain areas, when standard mufflers won't do.
#44
I know someone who hired an interior decorator to decorate their daughter’s freshman college dorm room.
#45
There’s a person that Celebs would hire when they go to events to ensure no one is taking pics of them from the wrong angle. Like let’s say Kylie Jenner’s face doesn’t look good from the side, they’d hire a person to at least try to ensure a photographer won’t see that side of them.
#46
There was service which delivered current movies in the theater via a courier on a hard drive, for you to play at home in their proprietary player. I know one went belly up and another one popped up. Not sure if the new one's lasted given how quickly movies come to digital these days.
#47
I just read about a service that would help your kid get into elite colleges for $120k per year. Examples of advice they gave included nuggets like “get at least 1560 on your SAT” and “start a blog so you can say you’re passionate about environmentalism,” so all I can say is I respect the hustle.
#48
I know a guy who belongs to a charter air club, it’s only for people who live in our county and who have second homes in a specific gated community in another state. They can bring their dogs on the plane too.
#49
When they sell a house they get someone in to remove all personal effects and furnish it. I see so many comments online complaining about how a home for sale looks like a hotel or bland and that they couldn't live that way but people don't realise that it isn't how the owners actually lived - it has purposely been made like that for the selling process.
#50
An uncle of mine is pretty rich, not super loaded but solidly upper middle class. Back in the very early 2000s he was due for a colonoscopy, and his doctor's office offered the option of buying a recording of the procedure on DVD. My uncle was just as confused about this as I assume everyone reading this comment is. Apart from possibly being of some use as a record of the procedure, the only possible explanation for this situation is just because DVDs were still new and cutting edge at the time and it was just a novelty thing.
What do you think ?
Steve Hall 9 months ago
We can take away all the privileges and do away with all the rich people, then we can all starve in peace because there won't be any jobs.
Kathleen McGann 9 months ago
I'm not rich and my company provides jobs. We need to get rid of billionaires and keep hard working business owners
Load More Replies...
Pinkslip Moonshine 9 months ago
This has been without doubt the most boring and unsubstantiated, false, baseless article I've ever read on BP. Seriously, half of it is just ROT, the other half boring
Richard Ross 9 months ago
Having so much money and not knowing what to do with it while giving zero regards to the environment as well.
Verena 9 months ago
People get rich because: 1. They exploit cheap workforce, sell the produced items cheap and because "it's sooo chiiiiip" masses of people buy stuff they don't need. 2. They invent a gadget, get some people with a huge fanbase to promote it as an "it"-thing, and can sell this for an ridiculous prize until the product itself gets a fanbase. 3. They invent something useful and sell it for a price which gets everybody in the production, transport and sales process fairly paid and the customer is willing to pay this price. Everybody who is buying stuff at chinese webshops, uses Amazon, buys Apple, or any expensive product hyped by "stars" and influencers is making this people even more rich. Don't complain, give your money to local shops and buy reasonably priced items which last longer, too. "But the poor can't!!!!!" If you are poor, you won't buy a $1.500 smartphone. Being poor is hard, however, they didn't make Bezos & Co rich.
Steve Hall 9 months ago
Every item and every step you mentioned provides a job and income for someone else.
Load More Replies... Steve Hall 9 months ago
We can take away all the privileges and do away with all the rich people, then we can all starve in peace because there won't be any jobs.
Kathleen McGann 9 months ago
I'm not rich and my company provides jobs. We need to get rid of billionaires and keep hard working business owners
Load More Replies... Pinkslip Moonshine 9 months ago
This has been without doubt the most boring and unsubstantiated, false, baseless article I've ever read on BP. Seriously, half of it is just ROT, the other half boring
Richard Ross 9 months ago
Having so much money and not knowing what to do with it while giving zero regards to the environment as well.
Verena 9 months ago
People get rich because: 1. They exploit cheap workforce, sell the produced items cheap and because "it's sooo chiiiiip" masses of people buy stuff they don't need. 2. They invent a gadget, get some people with a huge fanbase to promote it as an "it"-thing, and can sell this for an ridiculous prize until the product itself gets a fanbase. 3. They invent something useful and sell it for a price which gets everybody in the production, transport and sales process fairly paid and the customer is willing to pay this price. Everybody who is buying stuff at chinese webshops, uses Amazon, buys Apple, or any expensive product hyped by "stars" and influencers is making this people even more rich. Don't complain, give your money to local shops and buy reasonably priced items which last longer, too. "But the poor can't!!!!!" If you are poor, you won't buy a $1.500 smartphone. Being poor is hard, however, they didn't make Bezos & Co rich.
Steve Hall 9 months ago
Every item and every step you mentioned provides a job and income for someone else.
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