I read in the British press some time ago that Prince Charles (“Chuck” to us fellow zillionaires) has a staff of 65 full-timers.
The guy likes to be fussed over and can afford it. None of my business. Still the press went wild about it and claimed the number was quite excessive.
Well I intend to be a zillionaire one day. It is never too soon to start planning on staffing requirements.
Money is no object. My professional staff (speechwriter, accountants) don’t count. How many people would I need to keep me in the style of a zillionaire?
I’d hazard that this is more an an IMHo than a GQ, but If I may take some from your list:
1 Butler? And when he’s on holdiay, what do you do?
You’re a zillionaire, so 3 bodyguards will never provide the full time protection you’ll need. 3 on at any time, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day…figuring on 9 hour shifts (1/2 hour handover periods at each end) you’ll need 3 shifts, and with time off and holidays that’s going to be 18 people.
You’ll need more than 2 cooks - you’re a zillionaire, entertain like one. Full kitchen staff, plus porters, dishwashers and so on, has to be more like 10 people
2 maids? Again, you have a zillionaires mansion, and lord knows how many house guests. Think of a small hotel in terms of staffing.
2 drivers - sure, but how about your yach captain, your helicopter pilot, and various staff.
In short, I could see Charles figure being arrived at pretty quickly.
If you want to live like a pop star, vis-a-vis “MTV’s Cribs”-style conspicuous consumption, you’ll need a sneaker pimp.
Obviously, if your tastes extend to the usual vices, you’ll need procurers for those.
You’ll need a wine steward.
If you’re concerned for your health and body image, you’ll need a personal trainer/yoga instructor/Pilates instructor/body building expert/martial arts instructor/masseuse (easily 3-4 different people).
If you have mortal enemies, you might want to employ a food taster. Supposedly, Saddam Hussein had one.
And won’t you need 24/7 security staffers (those guys monitoring your huge estate’s comprehensive closed-circuit cameras) in a surveillance center?
One more thing… if you have any “James Bond villain”-style Evil Overlord ambitions, you’ll need to browbeat all your staffers into wearing some kind of silly-looking uniform, like Orange Day-Glo jumpsuits, or space-age Nehru jackets, or something.
You’ll need a business manager (and probably at least one assistant), you’ll need a booker to handle your scheduling needs (and keep you from being innundated with invitations), a media consultant to handle those pesky tabloids.
And certainly you’ll need a crew for your private jet.