Better to be Rich!

 

Today's ST runs a very interesting article from Bloomberg describing with humour how billionaires and the ultra rich are privatising specialised services. It gives an example of renowned chefs quitting the stress of running their restaurants to become private chefs of the ultra rich. It applies to other professionals as well including fund managers, nurses, nannies and veterinarians.

While "85% of the world's humans live on US$30 a day.....Forbes says that millionaires (estimated to be 62.5 million ) control about a quarter of the world's US$431 trillion total wealth. That's roughly US$105 trillion, more than the combined GNP of the US, China, Japan, Germany and India.....The richest 25 families in the world alone control more than US$1.5 trillion).The article also mentions about the mushrooming 8 thousand family offices in the world including 1,100 in Singapore.

In Singapore it is quite common for those who can afford it to engage a confinement nanny for one month after giving birth to a child. The experienced nanny will provide good care of the new born baby and mum, giving the mum a restful month to recuperate. A one month stint of a confinement nanny is about S$4 to 5 thousands. 

Recently my daughter engaged one confinement nanny for a month. The nanny has worked for her friends and known to be very efficient. The nanny related to my daughter about past engagements when she worked for rich mums for 4 months at a go occasionally accompanying the mothers for overseas holidays too! With the increasing numbers of the ultra rich coming to Singapore, I can envisage this nanny being "privatised" by some family offices such that ordinary netizens would not have access to her sterling services! The article describes it as "the super-rich...can afford to wall them  (the experts) away from the rest of the world".

Indeed in my mind these ultra rich people are living like royalties of the past. No wonder the article describes them as "people so wealthy their families can operate as virtual fiefdoms".

In a comical ending the article narrated that the renowned chef quitted after 6 months working for Richard Branson as making Shephard Pie (his boss' favourite) will not land him far in the culinary hall of fame.