By April J. Berube
Founder and CEO, The Wellington Agency
When Forbes announces another record breaking year for billionaires, most people focus on the staggering wealth, stock prices, and company valuations.
I see something entirely different.
I see households.
For more than thirty years, I’ve had a front row seat to one of the most fascinating and least understood industries in the world, private household staffing.
Behind every billionaire is a life that has become increasingly complex.
As wealth has accelerated over the past several years, so has the infrastructure required to support it.
Since 2019, the world has experienced one of the greatest expansions of private wealth in modern history. Forbes reports that the global billionaire population has grown by more than 1,200 individuals, while their combined wealth has more than doubled to exceed $20 trillion.
But the real story extends far beyond billionaires.
The population of ultra-high-net-worth individuals has expanded rapidly as entrepreneurs, investors, business owners, and executives have created extraordinary wealth. Families with net worths of $100 million, $200 million, and more have quietly become one of the fastest growing segments of the luxury economy.
That growth has created an entirely new demand for professional household staff.
This is the quiet boom behind the billionaire boom.
When I entered this business in the 1990s, many of our clients owned a primary residence along with a second home, often a seasonal property in Palm Beach or the Hamptons. A nanny, housekeeper, and perhaps a private chef were typically all that was needed.
By 2019, it became common for our clients to own three or four residences.
Today, many of our clients own five, six, eight, or even twelve homes throughout the United States and internationally.
With that growth comes an entirely different level of staffing.
One nanny has become two to three ROTA nannies working rotating schedules.
One housekeeper has become a team of executive housekeepers and laundresses.
The occasional chef has become a full time culinary team
Many households now employ estate managers, directors of residences, chiefs of staff, executive assistants, personal assistants, chauffeurs, private chefs, domestic couples, security professionals, property managers, housemen, dog handlers, travel companions, yacht crew, and seasonal staff.
These homes no longer operate like traditional private residences.
Many function like sophisticated private enterprises, requiring leadership, systems, budgets, vendor management, human resources, logistics, and strategic planning.
This transformation changed our business forever.
The Wellington Agency didn’t grow because we set out to become a larger company.
We grew because we evolved alongside our clients.
As their lives became more complex, we expanded our recruiting expertise, raised our standards, built stronger relationships, and developed the trust required to serve one of the most private client populations in the world.
People often ask how we became a household name among ultra- high -net worth families.
The answer has never been marketing.
It has always been trust.
One successful placement led to another.
One family office referred another.
One principal introduced us to friends, colleagues, and relatives.
For more than thirty years, our reputation has grown quietly through relationships, discretion, and consistently delivering exceptional people.
It reflects the evolution of the modern private household.
The billionaire boom created headlines.
The quiet boom behind it created an entirely new economy, one built on extraordinary people supporting extraordinary lives.
And after thirty years of watching it unfold from the inside, I believe we’re still only at the beginning.
