As wave upon wave of non-doms invade our shores, we are being dubbed a nation
of butlers. How true – these super-rich require a fleet of staff to cater to
their increasingly complex needs, and it’s gone beyond the traditional
nanny, housekeeper and driver. These are mere skeleton staff: now, a newer,
brighter phalanx of personal helpers is assuming the white gloves as well.
Pilots, publicists, art dealers and bodyguards have become de rigueur,
as well as more niche service providers such as fake-eyelash technicians,
personal record producers and jewellery curators. So, goodbye credit crunch,
hello fabulous new entourage.
THE DIVORCE LAWYER
Raymond “Jaws” Tooth, 67, is the man the Chelsea wives run
to for favourable preand post-nups (agreements drawn up after the marriage
as a situation alters or becomes contentious), as well as eyewatering
settlements. Past clients include Sadie Frost, “career divorcée” Susan
Sangster and Eimear Montgomerie, for whom he won £15m. He also advised Irina
Abramovich. “I’ve got a reputation for being a tough lawyer and for looking
after women,” says Tooth. A nephew of Rex Harrison, he initially wanted to
be an actor, “and then a psychoanalyst, but I was told it’d take 15 years to
make any money in that”. So he became a lawyer, finally settling on divorce
in his early thirties. “When I started out, divorce wasn’t particularly
sexy,” he says, “but it has become the most sought-after thing to do.” A
recent change in the law means that London is now “the divorce capital of
the world”. “Before 2000, a woman married to a super-rich man could never
get more than about £10m. But now, you marry as equals, and if the man makes
the money and the woman stays at home, she makes as big a contribution as
the money-maker. The lid flew off.”
He is also a big supporter of pre- and post-nups. “A lot of people say, ‘How
unromantic is that?’ But frankly, if it goes wrong, she is going to take a
fair slice of your income. Look at Mills McCartney.” According to Tooth,
pre- and post-nups “remove the conflict”. Tooth usually gets what he wants,
but acknowledges that women generally make better divorce lawyers. “There
used to be only one big female divorce lawyer, Blanche ‘Lump Sum’ Lucas,” he
says. “But now, of the top 10 most successful London divorce lawyers, I
would say six or seven are women.” His own secret weapon? “Husbands tend to
lose because they don’t make good enough offers,” says Tooth, 60% of whose
clients are women. “Many men do not think women are their equals.”
THE PERSONAL PUBLICIST
Giulia Constantini, 37, gets most of her private clients from abroad:
“Russians and Indians who want to be positioned in society,” she says. One
such import was Nancy Dell’Olio, whose image she turned around when the
Italian ran into trouble with the tabloids. “Nancy came to me through a
friend in Rome,” says Constantini, who is half-Italian herself, although she
grew up in Gloucestershire and read law at Oxford. “She needed someone to
organise and protect her. I took her away from the relationship gossip, and
approached the Red Cross. They made her an ambassador, so she had something
to chat about in interviews.”
Constantini has also worked with David Gest, Boris Becker and the hotelier
Rocco Forte. Recently, however, she has increasingly been managing private
individuals who have the riches but lack social edge. “It’s a bespoke
service,” she says. After an initial consultation, she will tell them “what
to do socially, and for women, what to wear, which charity, and so on. If
they want to get into art philanthropy, we’ll talk about taking tables at
gala functions.” She also steps in when things go wrong. “If you’ve just
been through a divorce, then no crazy parties. I’ll manage a crisis in the
gossip columns. I’ll be honest and provide an accurate story, but I won’t
kill anything.” She is increasingly approached by bankers and businessmen
with no apparent need for representation. “I was referred to a client in the
finance world,” she says. “I couldn’t understand why he needed me.
Apparently, it was for when he went out to dinner with celebrities.”
THE PRIVATE-JET PILOT
Adrian Tennett, 38, works for TAG Aviation, an executive-jet charter
company based in Farnborough. As the demand for private air travel
increases, so does the competition for the best pilots. “Pilots are the new
chauffeurs,” chirrups one socialite. “People get very aggressive about
having the best ones.” The industry is certainly booming. “It’s good
business at the moment, as more and more private jets are being built,” says
Tennett, who flies “just about anybody who can afford it – rock stars,
actors, heads of corporations, people from the Middle East” – mostly to
European cities, with the odd hop to New York. “The client is never early or
late, because the plane goes when they’re ready,” he says. Once on board, no
expense is spared. “You’ll have the finest champagne, and any food you want.
Because you’re not sure what everyone is going to eat, they tend to
overcater – there’s no ‘chicken or beef’ – so if they don’t take the salmon,
I’ll probably get it. It’s a real perk of the job.”
Even the air hostesses are highly skilled: they often speak several languages
and, of course, they are immaculately turned out. “One I worked with had
been a chef for 11 years,” says Tennett. “Most of them have had a couple of
years’ experience in first class with one of the main carriers.” Once the
jet has arrived in another country, “the client expects it to stay, so we’ll
sit in the hotel and wait for a call”, he says. It’s not a hardship, but he
is “not allowed to socialise with clients”. The longest time he’s hung
around? “A week, on a shopping trip in New York.”
THE ON-CALL NUTRITIONIST
Katie Peck, 32, helps party girls stay camera-ready. The in-house
nutritionist at the Stephen Price gym in Chelsea, she works with an entire
team of experts to tone and tighten the hottest bodies in London. “We do get
calls in the middle of the night,” says the pretty New Zealander, who refers
clients to the gym’s trainers, sport therapists, aromatherapists and healers
to provide a fully rounded service.
“We will start with a one-hour consultation. Sometimes, a client is stressed,
or wants to lose weight, so we devise some nutritional therapy and set
goals. I do seven-day menu plans, and if they have staff at home, I go
straight to them. If they’re travelling, we discuss their movements and
practical solutions to that.
“In an ideal world, we review every week. I weigh clients intermittently,
although not every time, as we don’t want them to become fixated.” Her
methods are gentle and persistent. “I don’t do starvation,” she says. Peck
has three degrees in human nutrition and dietetics, and is passionate about
simple, healthy eating. “It can be quite overwhelming for a lot of people,
so it’s about building up rapport and overcoming challenges.”
THE PRIVATE-ASSET MANAGER
Robert Woodthorpe Browne, 32, is a senior private banker with Fortis
private bank. Hired because of his background in sports, media, music and
entertainment, he’s there “to help set up private banking propositions for
high-net-worth individuals”, and mainly works with artists, golfers, actors,
television personalities and international football players using London as
a hub. He is always at the end of a telephone. “It’s all about service, and
you tend to be the first person clients call,” says the Durham University
graduate.
Investment opportunities can vary wildly. “Once, I had to research sustainable
Brazilian forestry as a potential investment for a client,” he says. “The
service ranges from a call in the middle of the night for an urgent
transfer, to a client needing to secure an option to buy land for a golf
course on a remote island.” An understanding of the super-rich lifestyle is
crucial. “I usually see them face to face,” he says. “Some are entrepreneurs
looking for the next venture or asking me to finance their next yacht
upgrade, and others simply want to arrange a legacy for their children. Right
now, London is attractive to the global rich and central for these kinds of
business.”
THE PERSONAL ART CONSULTANT
Kadee Robbins, 38, is a director at the Michael Werner Gallery in
London. Educated at Harvard and the Courtauld, she worked for Lucian Freud’s
agent, Bill Acquavella, in New York before moving to London as a curator of
private collections. “It’s impossible to characterise clients,” says
Robbins, who works with artists such as Peter Doig, Georg Baselitz and
Sigmar Polke. “It might be Hugh Grant buying Warhols, City guys or the
American ambassador.
Traditionally, Americans have been the most interested, but now you’ve got
Brits, Russians, Indians and Chinese all wanting to expand their archives.”
As well as brokering deals worth millions, she will travel to clients’ houses
to ensure proper installation. “The high point is when the collector is
excited about something you’ve found for them,” says Robbins, whose
international circuit takes in all the leading art shows across America and
Europe. “Sometimes, I’ll just be chasing a specific piece; other clients
like to be shown new things. You have to be careful – art is expensive.”
With some private collections weighing in at hundreds of millions, art has, in
the past 10 years, become a serious investment. “It’s a gold rush at the
moment. You need to be fully savvy to recommend,” she says. How does she
usually seal the deal? “The holy grail is for an artist to permit a client
to visit,” she says.
ANYTHING ELSE I CAN DO FOR YOU, SIR?
A private tutor Art, history, languages – whatever. Does it matter?
A jewellery curator Paid to pick up gems around the world
A female bodyguard Better at cocktail parties than a male one
A super-stylist Think Rachel Zoe for party appearances and private
dinners
A concierge Sits in your house and sorts your post when you’re away
A television crew Someone documenting your fabulous life is the
ultimate accessory
An eyelash woman “A good lash job is better than an eye lift,” reports
one socialite
A record producer For playboy bankers who think they’re Kanye West
The Log Man For £10,000, this Chelsea-based artist will style your
fireplace
