BI: Fair Use
Ditch the corporate job and work for a billionaire
Brian Daniel was featured in Business Insider discussing the reasons to leave a corporate job and work for a billionaire instead.
The wealth statistics
When Brian Daniel started his staffing agency, the Celebrity Personal Assistant Network, in 2007, he was one of the few specialists for the super-rich around, he says. Today, he estimates there are about 1,000 private staffing agencies globally, about 500 of which are in the US. "The appetite is insatiable," he says. "The depth and the breadth of the wealth is just so staggering."
Bidding wars for top talent
"There are so many wealthy people, and they're not just buying one estate," Daniel tells me. "There's never been a better opportunity in history to get into private service, because each one of these billionaires employs small armies of people to cater to their every whim."
A post-pandemic hiring spree has also created bidding wars within the industry, driving up salaries and perks. "There's a very severe shortage across the board of elite staff," Daniel says. "Oh, you need a place to stay? Here's the guest house. Oh, you need a company car? Here you go. A 401(k) and guaranteed hours — I mean, they're throwing in the kitchen sink.
A post-pandemic hiring spree has also created bidding wars within the industry, driving up salaries and perks. "There's a very severe shortage across the board of elite staff," Daniel says. "Oh, you need a place to stay? Here's the guest house. Oh, you need a company car? Here you go. A 401(k) and guaranteed hours — I mean, they're throwing in the kitchen sink.
Everyone wants in on the action
Private staffing has always been a career that people sort of fall into, says Daniel. What's different today, is "not only are the newer players these days in the industry younger, they're college educated," he says. "I get emails from people who have PhDs, people who were lawyers, people who were business owners, people who were in real estate."
You need a lot of energy
"In this industry with the celebrities and billionaires, you have to have a lot of energy because it's always breakneck speeds," says Daniel.
You must be willing to do whatever is necessary to help the "principal," the industry term for the client. "If the housekeeper went home and the dog did some doo-doo in the living room and you're there with the VIP, somebody has to do it," he says. "Then what happens is, you do something like that, and 30 minutes later or an hour later, maybe you're sitting in a movie studio with your boss helping him close a $50 million movie."
"The stress can be more than even on Wall Street," Daniel says, recalling a time he took himself to the hospital while having a panic attack after a particularly stressful day as an assistant.
You must be willing to do whatever is necessary to help the "principal," the industry term for the client. "If the housekeeper went home and the dog did some doo-doo in the living room and you're there with the VIP, somebody has to do it," he says. "Then what happens is, you do something like that, and 30 minutes later or an hour later, maybe you're sitting in a movie studio with your boss helping him close a $50 million movie."
"The stress can be more than even on Wall Street," Daniel says, recalling a time he took himself to the hospital while having a panic attack after a particularly stressful day as an assistant.
The long-term outlook
Once you get past that, private service quickly rewards excellence, says Daniel. He represented a Hollywood actor's personal driver who over 15 years became a personal assistant to the principal, then an executive assistant, and eventually was co-producing films with him and making "fabulous money."
