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People Who Work For Or Interact With The Rich Describe The Weirdest Things They’ve Seen Behind Closed Doors (30 Stories)
Everyone has quirks, be it your mother, your next-door neighbor, your postman, the lady that works at the corner shop, Hollywood A-listers, whatever – it is undeniable that we all do things that others might find a little odd.
Beethoven, for example, had a coffee-counting thing where he had to have exactly 60 beans for his beverage each morning, and Kesha allegedly rolls in glitter naked before every gig.
Chances are, these statements have raised an eyebrow or two, and although it’s not news that rich people are a tad different than us simple folk – have you ever thought about what goes on behind closed curtains?
“Maids, au pairs, gardeners, babysitters, and other domestic workers to the wealthy, what’s the weirdest thing you’ve seen rich people do behind closed doors?” – this internet user turned to one of Reddit’s most thought-provoking communities, asking individuals to spill some tea on their experience with working for the rich. The thread has garnered over 7K upvotes, as well as 5.1K comments discussing the secret habits and oddities of moneyed folks.
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#1
My sister is a nanny for an NBA player and his wife. The wife called my sister at 9 PM to come to their house for an "urgent" matter. When my sister gets to their house, the wife tells her take the trash out. That's it. My sister drove an hour round trip to take out the trash.
She has so many ridiculous stories about this family, but that one is my go-to.
Edit: My sister signed an NDA, so I'm pretty sure I have to keep his name under wraps unless I want a shake-down. Let's just say he's in his 20's and he seems like a decent guy. His wife is just an entitled, raging b**tch.
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#2
I know a lady who's discreetly rich. One of those that unless you knew the more expensive but quiet brands, you wouldn't be able to place her. She would wear designer jewellery sets to the gym. Anyway, her quirk was she liked Costa coffee, so she'd get one one day, drink half of it, let it cool and then put the rest of it in the fridge, and reheat and drink the other half the next day. When she told us that she does this, and we asked her why, she laughed and said: I'm just frugal.
#3
My dad is an electrician and has worked in some very rich houses. He did a job in one where the couple only drank very posh fresh coffee. Fair enough, who wouldn't? But they had a cleaner who was permitted one cup of coffee each day, but not their coffee. She had her own separate coffee, but it wasn't even a decent, if cheaper, brand. It was the cheapest possible sort to buy, Asda smartprice instant or something. If a person comes to my flat, whether they are a friend or the plumber, they are a guest and they will drink whatever tea or coffee I drink because I see them as equals. My dad has told me that some of the stingiest people he knows are also the wealthiest.
kitten levels tokyo 2 years ago
It would have been cheaper to just pour warm water through their used coffee grounds and give that liquid to the cleaner. I should consult for these people.
#4
I used to be a live- in nanny for the CEO of a major German investment bank in Berlin. They were a lovely couple with a sweet baby girl, and they made me feel like part of the family from day 1. They paid me well, had a separate car for me and weren't concerned by what I did in my spare time. They were very generous, lovely people.
My only gripe is that they had strange eating habits- some days they would have three enormous meals, and other days they would 'forget' to eat all day. I was often too shy to say that i was hungry
Deborah Harris2 2 years ago
Surely the children were fed properly? I would have told them the kids needed to eat on a regular basis and then ate with them.
#5
I've only babysat one time and it was for a friend of my grandparents. All I really had to do was hang out with their 8 year old grandson for a night. Overall it was a pretty cool night. All we did was play 2K and Madden all night so it wasn't bad.
But anyway, this family wasn't like billionaire wealthy, but wealthy enough to where they left me an envelope with $500 in it and told me whatever I don't spend on food, I can keep. Wealthy enough to have sped off in a Maserati for the dinner they were at. Wealthy enough to have a pool, jacuzzi, and nice BBQ builtin to the backyard out back. You get the idea, they were just an old couple with some money, and they were taking their grandson's parents out to dinner one particular night. Leave me with $500, so I think to myself, I might as well splurge like 30 or 40 bucks on a meal for 2 and pocket the rest. I was like 17 or 18 at the time so I can't say it was a negligible amount of money. Anyway, I take the kid outside to my car across the street, which, at the time, was my older brother's 2005 Toyota Corolla.
He gets in, takes a look around, and goes "Where's the button that moves the roof back?" Sorry kid, no convertible here. He tells me that his parent's only have convertible cars and that he's only been in one other car that isn't a convertible, and that "he isn't my friend anymore."
I thought that was pretty weird. Throughout the night, he did also make some interesting "rich kid" comments, such as asking if we could go to a restaurant that had steak on the menu. He revealed an interesting bit about his parents, saying that they keep talking about bringing him a sister when "the time is right." Apparently the kid asked the dad when the right time was and he said when "mommy stops being afraid."
I then learned that the kid's mom and dad divorced about a year later. Felt bad. He was a cool kid, didn't really have that shi**y spoiled vibe. More like an innocent, curious, steered wrong by his parents vibe.
kitten levels tokyo 2 years ago
Steered wrong by his convertible-loving, childbirth-fearing parents.
#6
Worked for a beverage distribution place in a very ritzy resort area for awhile. Guys assistant shows up and says he needs a pallet of Evian for his bosses house. No problem. We load it on the truck and drive it up to his house.
After unloading we ask him where he wants it and he leads us into the garage and asks if we can help unload it. So we start downstacking and carry cases of this s**t into what I thought would be the kitchen or pantry. Nope. Straight through the house to the back deck.
He was filling his hot tub with Evian.
Bouche Clay 2 years ago
A shame there's no other way to get water in a swimming pool. Imagine the ad campaign Evian would come up with. Our water is so pure you can even swim in it.
#7
Totally forget how they got their start in life.
I used to work for a guy who ran his businesses into the ground and declared bankruptcy (more than once I believe). He then married rich and his wife paid for him to go to school for a decent certification. He now owns a business that's slowly failing because of how he runs it, but he and his wife still have plenty of family money, and they're well-respected in the community.
He complains nonstop about "lazy millennials" who are so "entitled" and "think they deserve free stuff from the government." It bugged me so much to see how he was so dependent on grace and luck that just doesn't exist anymore, but he thought he was so much better than anyone who wanted a leg up.
Sweetpotato314 2 years ago
My brother married a relatively wealthy woman and instantly started giving us financial advice. He tells my sister she's stupid for renting instead of owning her house, when he's never owned a house himself, either. He says, without a hint of irony, that my other brother is stupid for working to support his disabled wife who can't work. He says I could make so much more than I do as a schoolteacher, when he knows I made my money before I changed careers and am quite financially stable, thank you very much. Dude has a credit score in the 400s, has never held down a steady job. He owned a restaurant that she bought him but ran it into the ground in 2 years. He's a musician but makes no money doing that because he gets fired from all of his gigs for being an a**hole. He berates me for investing in bonds instead of crypto. It's ridiculous.
#8
I was a babysitter for rich people once.
Their silverware was constantly filthy and caked in what resembled peanut butter and regret.
Their children were pleasant, but refused to brush their teeth more often than their hygiene-impaired parents until I told them gross stories about gingivitis.
The mom had a small Buddhist altar in the living room, but was also extremely vocal about her Christianity.
Would repeat the experience. It was mostly getting paid to help with homework and watch Voltron in pillow forts.
Tiny Dancer 2 years ago
Let me tell ya, peanut butter and regret ain't just for them rich folks. Been there and barely survived on that.
#9
Growing up my mother would clean houses for wealthy individuals. There was an elderly widowed woman with large all white poodles. She insisted that my mother clean them with bleach. She would provide 2 gallons of bleach each week.
My mother never did bleach them, she just poured out the bleach in the tub.
#10
My mom first came to germany as an au pair for a family of 5, the mother was a doctor and the dad was an engineer and they had three teenage boys, they were not insanely rich but my mom grew up in a village in rural Thailand so it was definitely a different dimension for her. She got up every day at 5 to make breakfast for the whole family when one morning, the father comes down the stairs butt naked, followed by the mom, fully nude as well, and the kids who were also wearing nothing. They apparently spend a couple of days like this in the summer, imagine how shocked my mom must have been being a little 21 year old asian girl in a foreign country, having to serve a fully naked family...
#11
Im an assistant to a rich guy, i help him run his business. Most of the ones i know are very entitled, they dont understand no. I have know idea how some of these people got rich. I watched my boss have a full blown temper tantrum because a customer called him 40 minutes before he was leaving on vacation. Full blown melt down, this guy barely does anything and goes on vacation at least once a month, screws over his customers on a regular basis. We ordered a burger one day and they used a seasame seed bun, he does not like seasame seeds so he threw the burger at the cook and basically lost his s**t. Always complains about how shi**y his life is, even though he buys anything and goes anywere he wants. Its hard to explain until you see it, but money and greed really screws people up, once he gets back from summering in LA, im looking for something new as i just dont care anymore.
kitten levels tokyo 2 years ago
It seems that riches impart two gifts, the ability for adults to act like bratty children, and the ability to be spectacularly wasteful. Yay.
#12
The most bizarre was this newly rich young family in Vienna. The bed time routine for the kids (aged 3 and 7) included basically a spa treatment for both. I haven't seen that amount of products in a child's bathroom (they each had their own) in my life. The poor 7 year old girl had next to no hair on her head but I was required to slather her in the most expensive adult shampoo, conditioner, hair mask, hair oil, and some other things I didn't recognise - every night.
They only had one tiny box of toys and time spent playing was set up for 30 minutes after they brushed their teeth. Dinner was normally a bland fish fillet and a ton of salad. Not a grain of sugar anywhere in the house. Hot cocoa was made with skim milk and pure high quality cocoa - no sweetness to it whatsoever, it tasted awful.
They had time to explain EVERYTHING to me the first time I was there and I received an inch thick file with lists and procedures to follow. What they didn't mention was that the older girl was still wearing diapers at night. It made for a very awkward conversation with the child and I only hope I was sensitive enough to not cause her any future trauma.
Very, VERY weird.
#13
dog walker here. one of my clients only lets her dog drink smart water.
#14
Wasn't really behind closed doors or anything but I delivered furniture to a very rich person's mega-house once only to discover, as we were going from room to room, a few rooms were completely bare and empty. I didn't really register it at first because I figured we would be putting furniture in there with the load we were delivering but that didn't happen and I mentioned to a co-worker how the one room was bigger than my living room and completely bare and he said "maybe they're getting stuff during another round?" and the guy heard and said "nah that room is staying empty - I have no use for it. Same with the others too." I couldn't really wrap my head around a lot of things after that. First off to be rich enough to afford a house like that, then on top of that, purposefully have parts of your house go completely unused because you don't care about them. Like...why even buy a house that big then? Why overdo it and leave some of it unused? Why not just buy what you need and use it all? Rich people are weird.
Duesvolent90 2 years ago
Makes you wonder if this is a normal thing. People buying 12 bed 12 bath with a 2 person family.
#15
I nannied for a New York City power couple in 2014. Both were corporate lawyers for national banks. The husband owned more socks than I had ever seen at one time in my life. Drawers upon drawers of them, all navy blue, black, and grey.
#16
I grew up in a middle class family living in of the richest parts of the country, a lot of my friends had incredibly rich parents. What I remember most of all was how weird some of them can be with money, they'd spent big money on some things then turn around to be incredibly frugal on something else.
I knew people that wouldn't think twice about dropping €300k on a new car or putting in a sauna and swimming pool in their basement but who wouldn't allow us more than half a bag of chips between the three of us.
2WheelTravlr 2 years ago
I actually have no problem with someone spending big on things which offer long-term comfort, safety, and happiness. Frugality with ephemerals like potato chips? Yeah, I'm good with that.
#17
Helped my mother in law who was a maid once with a very large mansion in NC. Beautiful house, amazing architecture. They traveled the world all the time. The kitchen had old old appliances from the 70's, the wife's bathroom had a broken toilet seat that was duct taped together. The wife did not rewear her underwear. We were not to go in the basement. I peaked down there, there were clothes three foot deep in the basement where she took off her clothes and just threw them down there. Thousands of pairs of underwear. Very weird people.
#18
I was a nanny for an affluent family. They had a beautiful home and nice vehicles and the kids all had lots of toys and new clothes but while doing laundry one day I had to take a load of moms cloths out of the dryer and every single pair of her panties had multiple holes in them. Not like gnaw holes lol but worn out most tattered panties I've ever seen holes.
Got curious and looked in her under garment drawer and this was par for the course and not just period panties. She was like a major high up in a huge company and her panties looked worse than I would imagine a homeless person wearing.
#19
The family that regularly bought complicated Lego sets for their five year old, and then assembled them for him because they were too complicated for a five year old, while he looked on and complained they weren't doing it fast enough, still receive periodic installments of my pity and contempt. Like, dude: he's not learning anything except that Mommy and Daddy were put on the planet to please him, and he's not actually learning anything from the toys. They also bought the kid new toys once a week or so. I just...I can't with some parents.
#20
Gosh, where to start?
The wife was driving through the home improvement part of the city and saw a sale on bathtubs. So she popped in and bought three. As she was leaving, she saw another tub she liked and simply had to get that one too. She wasn't renovating a house at the time.
They refuse to throw away food. Used by and best before dates are completely ignored, to the point where I found a tin of seafood marinara which was 15 years out of date.
They have a holiday home in the south pacific and have a housekeeper clean it three times a week yet they only visit 3-4 times a year. When they're not visiting, no one lives there.
When the family go out for dinner, the father will happily pay for the expensive meals but not the drinks. The kids (who are all teens or older) have to pay him back for the drinks and he will send reminder messages about the amount. Yet when any of the kids offer to pay for the meal, he won't accept.
The wife is a hoarder and will often take way more samples than any normal person. She always makes sure to take all the shampoo/soap etc from hotel rooms and if she passes the housekeeping trolley, will grab as many as she can from there too. Yet she never uses them. They have a whole bathroom cupboard dedicated to samples.
GirlFriday 2 years ago
When I stay in hotels, I always collect the complimentary toiletries, as many as they will give me. I do this with cosmetic samples that are given out in department stores, etc, too. Upon my return home, I donate them to a shelter for those escaping domestic violence. I have also been known to talk the receptionist at my dentist's office into giving me 50 or 60 toothbrushes, too. They go to the same place.
#21
My friend works for a tax lawyer for the obscenely wealthy. Their firm is one of those go to places when you want to take advantage of tax havens. Think Panama-Luxembourg.
He tells me he one of their clients had an issue and called the people he always turns to for help. His lawyers.
The problem? He bought a new jet and only just realized its entertainment system doesn't have a blu-ray player (this was 5 years ago). Find someone that can fix it. Today.
He had lawyers at 3 different firms searching for a solution that afternoon, all billed him for it of course.
#22
Technically behind the garage door...
Neighbor won the lottery. Nothing huge, but nice. He took the lump sum, and upgraded his little ranch to have a big a*s garage and in ground pool and cabana. Never was anyone there prior, but after, he had SO many friends. One of the first things he bought was his DREAM car, a red Lamborghini.
One day in the summer, he was having a party, and his "friends" wanted him to show it off, so he started it up, and was revving it in the garage when ... it caught fire. Burned the house to the ground, taking half the money he had in cash in duffel bags with it. Turns out, he didn't have insurance. Ended up using the rest of the winnings to rebuild his old house, but lost everything. Somehow he managed to push the Lambo out of the garage, and to this day, there's a half burnt Lamborghini under a tarp in his backyard, 20 years later.
#23
There was a serious lack of showering on the father's part. He worked from home 95% of the time and his office stunk.
They also had absolutely no clue that I lived a 50 minute drive away (without traffic, up to 2 hours if there was a wreck) in a town they had lived in all their lives. I lived on a base, so it's not somewhere off the beaten path. They finally realized about a month before I moved away and were shocked at how far I drove. No clue. Made my day almost 13 hours for less than minimum wage.
But they loved their kids and so did I, so what's to complain about?
eta: they were good employers, just clueless. I was also young and didn't really realize my worth. When I left, they were extremely sad to see me go. They did give me some high ticket items after a few months, including a plane ticket for my own personal use. A few months after I left, they said they really didn't realize how awesome I was. They were quirky, but not terrible.
#24
I work at a ski school office at a fancy ski resort in Colorado. I've had guests come in and get a private instructor just for them for 3 weeks straight at a grand a day and then throw the biggest hissy fit when their credit card declines a 20k charge. Trying to explain that their card company might think it's fraud and they lose their minds. "I have a 200k limit it shouldn't decline!"
kitten levels tokyo 2 years ago
The most fun part is announcing in a voice that carries to the far corners of the ski lodge, “I’M SORRY MADAM, YOUR CARD WAS DECLINED.”
#25
Once when I was a nanny, I was housesitting while the family was out of the country. The refrigerator in my apartment broke, so I packed up some perishables and brought them to the family's house to store them until the landlord could fix it. When I brought my groceries back to my place, I realized I had accidentally grabbed something that wasn't mine from the cheese drawer.
It was a gallon ziploc bag. Inside that was a smaller ziploc bag. Inside that was a bundle of wax paper. Inside that was a bundle of plastic wrap. Inside that was another bundle of plastic wrap. Inside that was a bundle of tinfoil. Seven layers deep, I found an old lump of fruitcake.
#26
I make travel plans for the wealthy.
One guy always pays for an extra night before he arrives at any hotel. He doesn't want a room that someone else has slept in the night before...but the day after, that's apparently okay.
Vix Spiderthrust 2 years ago
Well, yeah. Doesn't matter if the guy there the day AFTER you shits the bed. Only the guy before.
#27
I was a nanny for a pretty affluent family for a summer and on the whole they were really nice and great parents. Two things stood out to me:
On one occasion, they had family friends visiting with their three children, so I worked a full day taking care of the five kids while the four adults just hung out in the house, ostensibly working from home but really just drinking wine and hanging out. I understand occasionally having the nanny come while you're there so you can work well from home, but nannying five children whose parents were ten feet away was a little absurd.
The second thing is that they reused ziploc bags. I honest to god probably spent at least 45 minutes a day washing, drying, and organizing their ziploc bags.
kitten levels tokyo 2 years ago
“Reuse a ziploc bag, save a dolphin from torture and death.” - Mahatma Gandhi
#28
During the summer while I was on vacation from college, I helped my mom at her first landscaping/greenhouse job. We went to this particular lady's house in the rich part of town, big Antebellum home, she was a realtor and all that jazz. We called her Dragon Lady because a) she looked like a wrinkly old Dragon and b) she hoarded the most ridiculous jewelry and always wore it. Even in her "pajamas".
We were taking a job to fix up (replace nice shrubs and flowers that she was just tired of) her back yard. She was a terrible excuse of a human. Mean spirited, snide comments, the works. But she had an inordinate amount of fresh young men always in and out of her house. Like the entire time we were there. Quite the variety. And if we ran into one she always introduced them as her "cousins" and we were like yeah ok sure you old crusty bag.
She would flounce around in sheer robes with little to cover anything underneath. The guys followed her around the house like they were on a leash, it was like she WANTED us to see her because she was always in her sun room being doted on by her "cousins". Putting lotion on her reptilian skin, bringing her drinks, food, etc.
Then when she was done with them a slick nice Mercedes would pick them up. We only witnessed the car a couple times but man she was weird. And gross. She's probably a fossil by now I guess. She was a relic then and that was only like 7 years ago.
#29
I once assisted a Country manager of a big MLM company. He wanted me to book him a rental car until he gets his own car. He got so stressed out that the rental car can't accommodate him (it was last minute).
His place was less than 5 minutes away from his work, if you walk.
#30
Well I've been in a couple really rich peoples houses who have had fires.
One is a semi famous boxer, 2 world championship belts, which he had sitting on his kitchen table. The weird part was, he had pictures of himself hanging all over the house. Not with his kids or his wife in the pictures mind you. Just of him. It was weird.
And another couple full on screamed at their kid because he allowed smoke to get into his trombone case. Not sure how he was supposed to prevent that but whatever. They also lost their minds because the insurance company wouldn't pay to get them brand new "handmade cabinets imported from Italy."
One family lived in the middle of nowhere. Huge house, had a hot tub room, every bedroom had a walk in closet and a bathroom suite, crazy stuff like that. But this guy absolutely loved his four wheeler. He told me he paid to add an attached garage specifically for his four wheeler. And the four wheeler was the only thing allowed in the garage.
What do you think ?
Wysteria_Rose 2 years ago
I have a friend who gives music lessons to some children from affluent families. She says a couple of them have historic houses with servant entrances on the sides...and that they make HER use them instead of the front door like a normal person.
Maple Porkly 2 years ago
My mother worked as a cleaning lady and I'd often go with her as a kid. I remember one person had a door at the back for "the help" to enter the house. Another person screamed at me for cleaning the tops of the washer and dryer because he's allergic to the chemicals I was using. I was 12 and it was water.
wifeofweasley 2 years ago
I was once out with this stupid rich guy (all daddys money ofc). I suggested a restaurant he never heard of. I was confused because it was a known place in the city (great food, fair pricing and amazing drinks) but appearently he never heard of it because it was just not fancy enough. We instead went to that super fancy upscale place. Everyone in this restaurant looked super rich and I was the only one wearing a no name dress (I looked appropriate, just not as fancy). He was nice and respectful but so over the top and in his own world it was unbelievable. He paid for my food and drove me home in his luxury car. Where's the catch you might ask? He later texted me that he would like me to lick his feet when we're having sex..NOPE Nice guy, way to spoiled and has a feet kink so it's a no for me
Wysteria_Rose 2 years ago
I have a friend who gives music lessons to some children from affluent families. She says a couple of them have historic houses with servant entrances on the sides...and that they make HER use them instead of the front door like a normal person.
Maple Porkly 2 years ago
My mother worked as a cleaning lady and I'd often go with her as a kid. I remember one person had a door at the back for "the help" to enter the house. Another person screamed at me for cleaning the tops of the washer and dryer because he's allergic to the chemicals I was using. I was 12 and it was water.
wifeofweasley 2 years ago
I was once out with this stupid rich guy (all daddys money ofc). I suggested a restaurant he never heard of. I was confused because it was a known place in the city (great food, fair pricing and amazing drinks) but appearently he never heard of it because it was just not fancy enough. We instead went to that super fancy upscale place. Everyone in this restaurant looked super rich and I was the only one wearing a no name dress (I looked appropriate, just not as fancy). He was nice and respectful but so over the top and in his own world it was unbelievable. He paid for my food and drove me home in his luxury car. Where's the catch you might ask? He later texted me that he would like me to lick his feet when we're having sex..NOPE Nice guy, way to spoiled and has a feet kink so it's a no for me
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