If you think the $1,200 Stokke Stroller that the rich people have to push around their babies are outrageously expensive, that ain't nothing compared to what they pay their nannies. Some of them make more than doctors!
Adam Davidson wrote this intriguing article over at The New York Times Magazine on the strange world of the bizarre microeconomy of nannies of the wealthy:
It took Zenaide Muneton 20 seconds to convince me that she was the perfect nanny. Short and dark-haired, she has a goofy, beaming smile and knows how to make everything fun for a little kid. Time to brush your teeth? She shakes her hands and does a pantomimed teeth-brushing dance. Bath time? She pumps her arms up and down in a going-to-the-tub march. After I told her I’d love to hire her, she smiled and thanked me.
Then we both laughed, because there is no way I could possibly afford her. As one of New York City’s elite nannies, Muneton commanded around $180,000 a year — plus a Christmas bonus and a $3,000-a-month apartment on Central Park West. I should be her nanny. [...]
“Over the last 10, 15 years, there has been a big change in how people view their household staff,” says Seth Norman Greenberg, vice president of the Pavillion Agency. Here are some demands on supernannies.
Domestic Life
A nanny can increase her marketability if she can help manage an art collection, draft correspondence, wash and fold 50 linens a day and help set up philanthropic events. Bonus points if she can do it all in Mandarin.Travel
Elite nannies should be comfortable flying privately and in helicopters.Sports
In addition to the generic stuff like skiing and snorkeling, some wealthy families request a nanny to steer a boat, groom a horse, operate a Zamboni or use a firearm to scare off a bear (at the country house).
Got what it takes? It helps if you're Tibetan, of course: Link