captainv
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http://blogs.wsj.com/wealth/2008/03/11/how-the-new-rich-are-changing-the-oldest-profession/
March 11, 2008, 11:06 am
How the New Rich Are Changing the Oldest Profession
The complaint filed in the Emperors Club escort bust, which apparently nabbed Eliot Spitzer, casts a rare spotlight on the dealings between the wealthy and high-priced escort services. (See the Journal’s article on Mr. Spitzer.)
For one, the complaint makes clear that the wealth boom — and the explosion in the number of multi-millionaires — has created entirely new pricing levels for escorts. According to the complaint, the Emperors Club escorts charged between $1,000 and $5,000 an hour, depending on their “rankings.” Clients could also pay between $25,000 and $50,000 for a three-day visit. It may be the world’s oldest profession: but the prices reflect the new realities of wealth.
The escorts were well-versed in the lucrative potential of this new market. In the complaint, a prospective escort in London turns down the job based on price, saying that £500 an hour for starting escorts — close to $1,000 an hour — was chump change, especially since it didn’t incldue dinner.
“This is the kind of money I make very easily on photoshoots,” the woman said.
Emperors Club was also highly skilled at determining which clients were “rich,” and eligible for deals, and which were merely affluent. When arranging a liason in Florida, an Emperors Club staffer asked whether the client “sounds like a rich guy.”
Though I’m not sure exactly how a rich guy “sounds,” chances are, if he’s paying someone thousands of dollars for an hour’s work, he’s rich.
There’s no mystery to why the rich visit escorts. But the secondary reasons are surprising.
According to a survey by Russ Alan Prince, president of Connecticut-based wealth-research firm Prince & Associates, in his book “The Sky’s The Limit,” a sizable percentage of the super wealthy use escorts. He surveyed 661 people who owned private jets. It found that 34% of males and 20% of females had paid for sex.
The most popular reason was “unique experiences” (71%), followed by “higher quality experiences” (57%). Conventional wisdom says that the rich visit escorts to avoid messy break-ups or extra demands for cash. But the study shows otherwise: “No strings attached,” ranked last as a reason.
“With the wealthy,” Mr. Prince says “it’s all about power and control and new experiences.”
March 11, 2008, 11:06 am
How the New Rich Are Changing the Oldest Profession
The complaint filed in the Emperors Club escort bust, which apparently nabbed Eliot Spitzer, casts a rare spotlight on the dealings between the wealthy and high-priced escort services. (See the Journal’s article on Mr. Spitzer.)
For one, the complaint makes clear that the wealth boom — and the explosion in the number of multi-millionaires — has created entirely new pricing levels for escorts. According to the complaint, the Emperors Club escorts charged between $1,000 and $5,000 an hour, depending on their “rankings.” Clients could also pay between $25,000 and $50,000 for a three-day visit. It may be the world’s oldest profession: but the prices reflect the new realities of wealth.
The escorts were well-versed in the lucrative potential of this new market. In the complaint, a prospective escort in London turns down the job based on price, saying that £500 an hour for starting escorts — close to $1,000 an hour — was chump change, especially since it didn’t incldue dinner.
“This is the kind of money I make very easily on photoshoots,” the woman said.
Emperors Club was also highly skilled at determining which clients were “rich,” and eligible for deals, and which were merely affluent. When arranging a liason in Florida, an Emperors Club staffer asked whether the client “sounds like a rich guy.”
Though I’m not sure exactly how a rich guy “sounds,” chances are, if he’s paying someone thousands of dollars for an hour’s work, he’s rich.
There’s no mystery to why the rich visit escorts. But the secondary reasons are surprising.
According to a survey by Russ Alan Prince, president of Connecticut-based wealth-research firm Prince & Associates, in his book “The Sky’s The Limit,” a sizable percentage of the super wealthy use escorts. He surveyed 661 people who owned private jets. It found that 34% of males and 20% of females had paid for sex.
The most popular reason was “unique experiences” (71%), followed by “higher quality experiences” (57%). Conventional wisdom says that the rich visit escorts to avoid messy break-ups or extra demands for cash. But the study shows otherwise: “No strings attached,” ranked last as a reason.
“With the wealthy,” Mr. Prince says “it’s all about power and control and new experiences.”
