19 people share the hidden industries that only exist to service the 'very rich.'

"What's an industry that exists only to service the very rich?"

1.

I trapped moles for a living in an extremely affluent part of the US. It's an absolutely unnecessary service, moles are actually good for your lawn and are a sign of a healthy lawn, they're just unsightly & potentially dangerous to livestock stepping into the tunnels, but this is 1,000% a job that would never exist again if society restarted.

The clientele were amongst the richest ppl on earth, politicians, athletes, tippy top level corporate executives of the PNW (Amazon, Costco, Microsoft, Starbucks, T-Mobile etc.) The estates I've seen make the rent-a-mansions from MTV cribs look like trailer park boys. - Bubbly-Travel9563

2.

Sometimes marketed to the ultra-rich as e.g. “continuity of civilization”, "life-continuity insurance", or “resilient real estate," things the press calls “survival bunkers,” “doomsday shelters,” or “apocalyptic retreats”, for times of civil unrest/breakdown, disease outbreaks, climate disasters, war etc.. - MellowTones

3.

My therapist’s wife is an interior designer for yachts. Every single thing she deals with (upholstery, furniture, fixtures, etc) comes from companies that specialize in high end materials and furnishings specifically for luxury yachts. It’s like looking through a window into another world seeing her office… - thefuzzyassassin1

4.

The one and only time I have ever met a “wheatgrass consultant” was at a party throws and almost exclusively attended by the ultra wealthy, so that’s my answer. - Tzunamitom

5.

At-home car valet. - cktokm99

6.

There are services that fill bookshelves with books in personal libraries/offices. You can curate the books by color/subject matter. Probably not a rich rich person type thing, but still a pretty niche service that a normal person would never even know exists. - agroPokemons

7.

Walked by a “Tiara repair” specialist the other day. Can’t image they get many casual shoppers. - The_lady_is_trouble

8.

I met a guy who owns a bunch of race cars. He moves them around the US to different tracks and he runs races for the super rich who jet in, race, have a party, then leave. He takes care of everything with the cars. He makes serious dough doing this, but nothing close to what his customers have. - dcwhite98

9.

I pay a woman to give my horse a massage once a month- $65. He’s a working competition horse and he rides much better after his massages, but also she can identify areas he is extra sore or needs more stretching or that there may be an underlying soft tissue injury I was unaware of. - kimtenisqueen

10.

My dad used to work on cranes, and one time he, he crew, and his crane were shipped out to an island for a couple of days to move an old-growth tree a couple hundred feet to improve the oceanfront view of a private residence. Not remove the tree - literally move and replant it. - smokeydevil

11.

Luxury watches. And I’m not taking about Rolex, that’s for upper middle class folks who are breaking into the watch game. Brands like Patek Philippe, FP Journe, A. Lange & Sohne, Vacheron Constantin, Audemars Piguet, etc. Most people have likely never heard of them but most of their entry level watches can cost more than an average persons yearly mortgage. - immaSandNi-woops

12.

Healthcare has entire different divisions for different classes. I work for a large Hospital network, and one of the bigger campuses has private offices, waiting areas, bathrooms, and even hotel rooms for certain clientele. They're pretty cleverly hidden, too. We've even been told that if we see bodyguards or Secret Service, that we mind our own business. - DerpsAndRags

13.

I know someone who designs the IT and security systems for mega yachts. Not those piddly 100-foot yachts, the $300 Million+ yachts. I found out that one of the contracts he won was like a $10 Million contract. I'm in IT so I had to ask how that much IT can go into yacht.

He said it's not the quantity, but the quality. For example, the electronic door strike for card access isnt the off-the-shelf model. It's custom made with 316 stainless steel that gets milled by hand and fitted perfectly to a door that's made out of mahogany. - BaconReceptacle

14.

I learned recently that there is a mattress that costs $600k and there is a person whose is to come over and fluff the horse hair filling of the mattress for the lifespan of the mattress. So I guess mattress fluffer. - lukethedog

15.

I've done some catering and personal chef work for some very wealthy people. They had their own personal stylist/tailor who made their clothes. They had a tailored chef coat made for me. It wasn't just suits and dresses. They made their whole wardrobe. -instant_ramen_chef

16.

Family office - an entire department that's catered to handling all finance, logistics, investment management and many other things to 1 specific family, or to a specific high net-worth individual. Especially for Old Money. - SeaSeaweed3384

17.

Those people who are paid to travel with luggage ahead of a person/family and unpack everything/set up the accommodation before the guests arrive. - ClumsyOracle

18.

Private jet chartering is a prime example. It’s basically a whole industry built around making sure the super wealthy can skip airports and fly whenever they want, with zero inconvenience. It’s wild how much infrastructure and manpower goes into serving just a tiny fraction of people. - BaconBootylicious

19.

Luxury villa rentals....think Airbnb for the wealthy. I worked in the space for 5 yrs. These mansions are owned by the ultra wealthy and rented to the ultra wealthy. 500k/wk for a Christmas villa rentals. Private islands for 60k a night.

And, full concierge service for the guests. Want unlimited jetskis, no problem. Stocked fridge with booze and food on arrival, check. Want to butcher a goat on the beach according to your religious practices....no problem. - jhachko