Life in the fold of the super-rich comes with serious perks, these nannies and former nannies reveal.
They’re taking to TikTok to lift the veil on the reality of au pairing for the super-rich – and shedding light on the luxurious benefits that are part and parcel of the role.
Working holidays on private yachts, flying by private jet, VIP access to theme parks and meals cooked by private chefs can be all in a day’s work, they reveal.
One example is Ginger Rose Smith, 27, who recently shared a video about her experience working as a nanny for a Middle Eastern royal family who were spending time in Los Angeles. It taught her ‘how the wealthiest of the wealthy live’, she reveals.
Ginger Rose, who is no longer a nanny, was employed in the position five years ago to support herself while she was doing an unpaid internship in the city. Speaking to MailOnline Travel, Ginger Rose says that VIP access to ‘some of the most elite shops, events, and shows’ was one of the biggest perks of the role. She says: ‘We’d go shopping at the Nike store and they would literally close the store down for us to shop there.’
The most luxurious experience she had, she reveals, was when she accompanied the family on a trip to the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park. ‘I got to see how the one per cent attends these sort of experiences,’ she says, adding: ‘We had a personal guide [and] got to cut straight to the front of every line.’
Ginger adds that when they went on rides at the theme park, no other park visitors were allowed on the ride at the same time. ‘That day was pretty crazy,’ she says.
Another bonus was the ‘free stuff’ she was gifted. Ginger says: ‘I cleared out one of their spare rooms and they told me I could keep anything I wanted – I found a box filled with gift cards and over $400 (£322) worth of quarters.’
And meals cooked by the family’s private chef were another plus. ‘I would get to work in the morning and their private chef would ask me what I wanted to eat. There was always a million staff coming and going,’ she says.
Chef-prepared dishes are something Sami Jean Williams also enjoys daily in her role as a nanny – she frequently shares videos of these lunches and dinners with her 27,000 followers on TikTok.
Originally from Prince Edward Island in Canada, Sami has spent the Past two years working for uber-rich families – with billionaires among her employers – in the U.S.
In her videos, Sami, who is currently working for a family in Miami, reveals that other perks of the job include travelling by private jet, swimming in families’ private pools and holidaying with families on their private yachts. ‘Some families take you on vacation if they want you to help,’ she explains.
A video she shared of a yacht holiday on the job – titled ‘life is good’ – has racked up more than eight million views, with one user, ‘Bella’, declaring Sami’s role the ‘dream job’. And ‘user423541’ commented: ‘Some people live incredible lives.’
Another North American TikToker, Katrina Martin, also offered insight into the glamorous holidays that can be part of the role in a series of viral videos.
In one clip, which has racked up more than 3.2million views, she admits: ‘My experience as a nanny was terrible, to say the least, but the one kind of interesting thing from my experience was that they took me with them on a family vacation to Turks and Caicos. We flew there on a private jet and we stayed in this insane villa – I’ve never seen anything like it.
‘It was giant. The staff there later told us that celebrities like Drake, Rihanna [and] countless Victoria’s Secret models had all stayed there.’
And luxury travel is a perk similarly enjoyed by nanny Valerie DaBaldo, 19, who is a university student and works as a live-in nanny in the summertime. Greece, Florida and Long Beach Island on the eastern coast of the U.S are among the destinations she has travelled to as part of the role.
Describing how wealthy host families travel, she tells MailOnline Travel: ‘They don’t take ordinary trips, it’s always top of the line… the biggest perk is definitely the endless adventures and events I get to experience with [my host family] because they can afford to bring a nanny along.’
She adds: ‘I also gain access to limited clubs and country clubs just by being their nanny.’
And the homes she stays in as a live-in nanny are equipped for a pampering lifestyle. She says: ‘Wealthy people have an endless amount of luxurious technology and access to luxurious places. The home I stay at now has two saunas, a steam room, [a] home gym and a personal [masseuse] that we can call whenever.’
Documenting her life as a nanny on TikTok, Valerie shared one video showing her enjoying the walk-in shower in her host family’s ‘$9million (£7.3million) beach house’ that has racked up nearly 40,000 views. Another shows her unwinding in their infrared sauna, while others show her sunbathing by the pool or on the beach during her time off work.
She also frequently shares outfit videos with her followers on TikTok, from bikinis for the beach to more laid-back looks for running errands.
Valerie says that while working, she spends ‘most travelling days exploring with [the family’s children], at the pool or beach’. She adds: ‘My role as a nanny mainly comes at night when they’d like to visit a theme park or when they need a ride somewhere.’
Now a model and content creator, she spent several years working as a nanny for famous families in the U.S and tells her followers: ‘As a celebrity nanny you are exposed to a different kind of wealthy.’
In one TikTok video, she reveals how she received gifts such as a Gucci bag from one of her employers and in another, she describes how one of the high-profile families she worked for ‘had an elevator put in [to their home], a bowling alley, a sauna, a game room with Skee-Ball [arcade machine]… just everything’.
What about pay? New Jersey native DiBease worked as a medical assistant before becoming a nanny and admits that the career change quadrupled her annual salary.
She says that in the U.S, nannies working for celebrities and high-profile clients are paid annual salaries that range from $75,000 (£61,000) to $175,000 (£142,000). ’They are very high paying, almost always six-figure positions,’ she admits.
This set salary isn’t the only financial perk to the role. DiBease says: ‘I trialled with families who were open to giving me a living stipend if I lived in New York or California where the cost of living is really expensive… that’s something that a lot of families offer.’ Paid time off and a 401(k) – a retirement savings plan – are also common, she explains.
So how do you become a high-profile nanny? There are nanny agencies designed specifically for high net-worth families, DiBease reveals. Among them are agencies such as ‘The Nanny League’ and ‘Elite Nannies’.
When it comes to interviewing for the role, DiBease notes that wealthy families ‘really look for individuality’ from their nannies. It also helps if you’re bilingual, she adds.
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