5 things to know about billionaires, from a personal assistant to the uber-wealthy

Working for billionaires can have its quirks, a personal assistant to the ultrawealthy told B-17.

Billionaires. They’re just like us — on a very, very magnified level.

While we may have trouble managing our household — laundry! dishes! tidying! — they have trouble managing a household staff — butlers! housekeepers! dog walkers! While we dream about hanging out with our favorite actors and musicians, they actually get to, thanks to hefty checks.

Brian Daniel knows this well. He spent a decade working as a personal assistant to A-listers — both in the worlds of Hollywood and business — and went on to start his staffing business in 2007 after a stint working for members of the royal family of Saudi Arabia.

Now, he places personal and executive assistants with CEOs, billionaires, and celebrities. They are responsible for everything from keeping the helicopters, yachts, and private jets running on schedule to snagging coveted restaurant reservations — and making sure their client’s favorite drink is waiting for them on the table.

During his time in the industry, he’s learned a thing or two about the habits, preferences, and peculiarities of the uber-wealthy.

Here are five things to know about billionaires, according to a billionaire whisperer.

Brian Daniel worked as a personal assistant for ultra-high-net-worth clients — including members of the royal family of Saudi Arabia.

Billionaires want what you can’t have

Most billionaires, at least the self-made ones, don’t get where they are by being complacent. More often than not, they veer competitive.

“Even if you are one of the really conservative billionaires like Warren Buffett, there’s a certain drive that you have to compete. That’s just part of their MO,” Daniel told B-17. “A lot of billionaires like bragging rights, where they want access to things that other people can’t get access to.”

That might include entrance into exclusive social clubs, vacations on invite-only private islands, or one-of-a-kind art pieces — like the diamond-encrusted Damien Hirst skull sculpture one of Daniel’s clients was after. Even when you’re superrich, you want to keep up with or exceed the superrich Joneses.

They love celebrities — and will pay for access to them

Celebrities and billionaires are not the same.

For one, celebrities “don’t have that much money, all things considered,” Daniel said, adding that “everyone knows a lot of them don’t pay their bills.” But they do have something many billionaires want: fame and a certain glow about them.

The uber-rich will often pay for access to celebrities, Daniel said, inviting them on their yachts — see Jeff Bezos — or to show up at private events. Sometimes, the celebrity charges a fee, but often, the payoff is getting to experience the billionaire lifestyle: five-star hotels, private planes, the works.

“They can afford to pay the bill to have the celebrities come to their parties and be on their yachts,” Daniel said.

Don’t expect to make bank just because you’re on their bankroll

Daniel said this can be particularly true when it comes to staff — like personal assistants. He says that a number of billionaires want to hire someone to do a $300,000-a-year job for $100,000.

“If that same person went to one of the five top yacht builders and wanted to build a megayacht, where there’s a five-year waiting list, and they want it to be a $500 million yacht, they’re not going to offer the guy one-third of what the yacht’s worth,” he said.

Running an ultra-high-net-worth household is a tough job — and not one all billionaires are prepared for

One difference between new money and old money: New money doesn’t always know how much work goes into being a billionaire.

“In Europe, for example, they’ve been doing what I’ve been doing for hundreds of years: They have all the castles, the aristocracy, the generational wealth; they have streamlined the process,” Daniel said.

“It’s common for me to get calls and emails from people, somebody suddenly is in a situation is in a situation where they have either inherited the fabulous wealth or their company went public and there was a windfall of money, they get the megayachts, the exotic car fleets, the megamansions,” he said. “They really didn’t understand what they were getting themselves into.”

Daniel calls them growing pains — the learning curve that comes with having a lot of money and the ecosystem surrounding it. He uses employing domestic staff as an example; many newly wealthy don’t realize the labor laws involving vacation time, maximum hours, and breaks.

Always carry cash

If you’re going to make any sort of difficult request, “it’s very important to have Benjamins,” Daniel said.

If he has a last-minute request from a client to get into a new, hot — and totally booked — restaurant, cash is king.

“Before I even start talking, I’m giving the maître d’ and general manager money to get their attention because I’m about to ask for a miracle,” he said.

Sometimes, though, money isn’t enough. One VIP client wanted to get into a strip club with a strict dress code: no shorts, no hats. The VIP wouldn’t change, and $1,000 in bills to the manager didn’t do a thing.

“At that point, you cannot buy your way out of a problem,” he said. “I could have given them $5,000.”

Of course, there are other options — and Daniel did get him in, thanks to a few connections. Just another day on the job.