Masters of the universe: Executives outsource their personal business to so-called ‘lifestyle managers’

WITH a big bank balance comes big problems. When the uber-rich need help with their personal lives, they turn to professional fixers. Here’s what they have to put up with.

BEING uber-rich is tougher than it looks.

Sure, you’ve got squillions of dollars, hundreds, maybe thousands, of staff, and an assistant to manage your diary.

But just like the rest of us, you’ve still got to deal with your personal life.

You have to remember birthdays and anniversaries, keep an eye on the kids, you need to buy a new mansion and maybe that Porsche 911 GT3. Oh yeah, and get the old Porsche serviced.

Not anymore. Australian high-rollers are outsourcing their personal admin to expert teams of professional ‘fixers’.

A swelling industry of so-called “lifestyle managers” is seizing control of the to-do lists of the country’s wealthy.

It’s not an easy gig. Particularly since rich clients often have extravagant demands.

And as Will Roberts from Alsaker Lifestyle Management told news.com.au, clients don’t tend to take “no” for an answer.

Clients of some firms request their lifestyle managers or personal concierges organise extravagant parties.

For instance, his firm once shut down a prominent Sydney jewellery store so a client could “wow” his wife.

“It was just like that movie where (an actor) shuts down Tiffanys,” he said.

Likewise, a client once hired Adele Blair, a Brisbane lifestyle manager of eight years, to help organise a huge party ... but there were a few catches.

It wasn’t in Australia. It was on a private island in the South Pacific where there was no running water and no electricity. Plus, all of those services would have to be brought in via canoe.

“And it was on Good Friday, (a public holiday),” Ms Blair told news.com.au.

It was a bit of an ask, but with the help of some lateral thinking and a film-production company, it was done.

“Money opens up doors to experiences and lifestyles the general public would never have any idea about,” Mr Roberts said.

The job of a lifestyle manager is to open more of those doors — often by wheeling and dealing in the back room — and ease the burden of personal business on hardworking clients who may wish to spend more time with their families.

“We might be able to open up doors in a different manner where it’s a lot more discreet,” Mr Roberts said.

THE LEGEND OF THE CENTURION CLUB

“Lifestyle management” was born in the United States in the ‘80s, industry sources said.

It was high time on Wall St. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was bullish. Gordon Gekko was on-screen in cinemas, telling the world “Greed is good”.

To hear the story, there were plenty of high-rollers out there dissatisfied with the attitudes of some service staff — and looking for a replacement. Enter, the “personal concierge” or “lifestyle manager”.

Iconic ... Gordon Gekko. Picture: Wall St

“It did start in the USA, at least, over 20 and probably 30 years ago,” Ms Blair said. “That’s when the personal concierge notion would have stepped outside of the hotel door and became someone who walked along side you.”

A major credit card company led the charge — with an extravagant program.

“(The lifestyle management profession) really spawned out of the AmEx Centurion thing,” Mr Roberts said.

He is referring to the American Express Centurion club program. Also known as the black AmEx card program, when it launched in the US in 1994, it was billed as the world’s most exclusive piece of plastic.

Centurion is a secretive, invitation-only service for the company’s most dedicated customers.

The main benefit of a membership (other than getting first peeks at luxury cars and bookings at top restaurants) was its 24-hour personal concierge service.

We’re locked out. An American Express spokeswoman said the Card is “specially designed to meet the needs of the most demanding and highly affluent lifestyle”. It launched in Australia in 2004 and includes a variety of travel deals, rewards points from airlines and restaurant deals.

American Express is coy about Centurion. It is thought customers need to spend more than $200,000 a year on their credit card to be invited to join the club.

“I’ve heard it comes hand delivered by a man in gloves with in a special box,” money expert Michelle Hutchison from CreditCardFinder.com.au said.

Centurion myths persist to this day, fuelled by online discussion forums where former concierges spill about their time fulfilling the bizarre needs of their clients.

One unnamed American Express concierge said they can do “anything legal” for their clients.

The teams may spend weeks hunting down rare video games for a demanding client, all while batting away prying husbands or wives, who would call in to find out what their partners are doing with the exclusive service.

We may never know the inside story. When news.com.au called American Express’s Australian press office last week, a spokesman said: “There are some things we can’t tell you about the Centurion club”. Although, for the record, the cards are hand-delivered.

IF WALLS COULD SPEAK

It has long been joked that executive assistants and personal assistants are the most powerful people in the office.

They often know how everything works and are privy to extraordinarily delicate information. In the United States there’s even a “Skull and Bones” style secret club for secretaries — the Seraphic Society — a network of sensitive operators who help each other get things done.

Australia’s 150 lifestyle managers are likewise exposed to confidential information. Plenty of their dealings must be “kept out of the papers” for the sake of their clients.

Discreet: Business sometimes needs to be kept out of the books. Picture: Thinkstock

For Will Roberts, most business, such as coordinating the private purchase of a penthouse for a client, goes on behind closed doors.

“There are a lot of people out there who love to ride on the coat-tails of (wealth) and try and take advantage of that.

“We’re almost like a protective advocate for our clients. When we’re doing real estate transactions, we’re the vendor’s advocate. We’re making sure they’re getting the right advice.”

Sometimes, clients are uncomfortable with the appearance of being super wealthy.

“In the Australian market, we don’t have that subservient society that they have overseas,” Mr Roberts said. “It’s a lot more discreet here.”

“People actually feel uncomfortable — even though they’ve got the wealth behind them — if you’ve got a butler, or a maid or things like that.

Nannies, butlers and maids are an uncommon sight in Australia. Picture: Supplied/The Nanny

“We don’t have that. We just don’t have that instilled into our culture.”

And sometimes the sensitive business demands of clients can sometimes place lifestyle managers in an ethically tricky situation.

Adele Blair — whose clients include household names and “everyday families with 2.5 kids and a dog” — said she has only turned down one job that didn’t feel right.

“I just didn't feel that was right for us. I parted ways with a client and she was totally fine for that,” she said.

But she said they would take her clients’ “secrets to the grave”. It’s too important for her professional reputation.

“The risk of any information getting into the wrong hands would mean essentially the end of my business I’ve spent eight years building up.

“There’s a cone of silence (in the office). I’d hate it if we ever got bugged. It’d make for some interesting listening.”