Inside the Hidden Workforce Powering the Homes of the Ultrarich
As a property manager to the 1%, Sarah Korpela’s duties over the years have ranged from mundane to whimsical to downright bizarre. She has tuned bicycles and picked up takeout, planned parties and cleaned up parties. One Christmas Eve in Aspen, she bought a vintage Rolls-Royce for a client’s girlfriend, only to have the client skid off the road into a ditch four days later. “That was a sad moment for the car,” she said. (The client was unharmed.)
Not long after, Korpela helped the same client move out of his roughly 10,000-square-foot house and sell seven of his cars, five ATVs, seven motorcycles and a few horses. She also sold his $1 million wine collection to a local restaurant for about $400,000—but she put her foot down when the client asked her to ship his gun collection overseas. “There’s something called trafficking,” she recalled telling him. She sold the guns instead. “If it’s legal, I have done it in this business,” said Korpela, president of Luxury Estate Managers of Aspen.
Upkeep on mansions is expensive and labor-intensive, frequently outsourced to an army of property managers, decorators, housekeepers, chefs, landscapers and more. In recent years, demand for these jobs has ticked up as the number of ultrawealthy households has swelled. In 2024, there were 2.2 million individuals in North America with a net worth of $5 million, up from 1.5 million in 2020, according to global wealth intelligence firm Altrata.
Affluent buyers have scooped up second, third and fourth homes that are increasingly larger and more complex. Some are forming “family offices” to manage a multitude of personal investments, from staff to property to charitable foundations.
“It becomes a business,” said Jamie Gagliano, a real estate agent at Douglas Elliman who spent nine years as a chief of staff for hedge-fund executive Larry Robbins. She oversaw his homes and vehicles, including a helicopter. “We’re talking about assets that are sometimes north of $10 million—each of them.”
Typically, the hierarchy of staff includes a director of residences, who can earn $350,000 to $600,000 or more a year and oversees a portfolio of real estate. Often, wealthy property owners have full-time caretakers, jacks of all trades who change lightbulbs and handle small repairs. “We call it the ideal husband,” said Peter Mahler of Mahler Private Staffing, noting the job can pay $60,000 to $200,000 depending on location, size and complexity.
The latest “it” job among the uber-wealthy is a tech specialist—effectively a personal Geek Squad—who makes sure the Lutron shades, Crestron lights and Sonos speakers are working, along with all of the televisions, remotes, and high-tech appliances. The person, who can make $90,000 to $140,000 a year, is also responsible for cellphones, iPads, computers, and security-camera updates and backups.
Regardless of the staff makeup, daily upkeep is constant. Even empty houses need to be inspected regularly. Mahler recalled a client in the Hamptons whose house was left alone for four days during the offseason—during which time the ice maker leaked. Several inches of water pooled on the floor, causing millions of dollars in damage. “Everything was ruined, every leg of every chair, every piece of drywall,” he said.
Luxury homeowners pay handsomely to avoid such scenarios. Someone with four homes can easily spend $1 million on staff annually, and demand has gone up since Covid, along with staff wages.
Chief of Staff
Salary: $300,000 to $500,000+
Gagliano oversaw a 25-person team for Robbins. During her tenure, he renovated a home in New Jersey and added an indoor ice rink. She was heavily involved in the complex approvals process, acting as an owner’s representative with the team of architects and engineers. A perk? She learned to drive a Zamboni.
Estate Manager
Salary: $200,000 to $350,000+
Years ago, when Kelly Fore Dixon worked for the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and managed his house in Beverly Hills, she slept with her phone by her ear. The 12,000-square-foot estate had a recording studio, home theater, pool, 30 HVAC units, and $50 million worth of artwork—including a Monet that was inadvertently sprayed with soda. They pulled security footage to find the culprit: it was Allen.
Housekeeper
Salary: $60,000 to $150,000+
“People are passionate about how their pillows look,” said Korpela. One client prefers toiletries placed in identical positions in multiple homes so she can reach into a drawer without thinking. Rob Vadas, who owns a $3 million condo in Naples, said their housekeeper works four hours a week to keep the place spotless, even when they’re away. She replaces half-used toothpaste, changes sheets, and dusts meticulously.
Interior Designer
Salary: Project-based; Bryan Graybill charges $1,000 an hour for follow-ups
When owners have multiple homes, they appreciate having identical mattresses, linens, and towels in each. Some housekeepers even travel with clients to ensure every residence looks the same. Andrew Sheinman recalled a client who showed him a photo of a Moroccan-style chair and said, “You see the chair? Now build the house.”
Chef
Salary: $100,000 to $300,000
“Before we know what food they do like, we really want to know what food they don’t like,” said chef Mike Shand, who has cooked for Beyoncé and Adele. Christian Paier once bought three one-kilo tins of Beluga caviar for a 70-person party. Guests didn’t finish a single tin, so the staff ate the rest by the spoonful. “I left a kilo in the fridge, but who is going to eat that much caviar?” he said.
Landscaper
Salary: Varies
Some clients spend up to $300,000 a year to keep their grounds pristine. “You don’t just mow it and take a hedge trimmer to it,” said Jay MacMullan, who once replaced $25,000 worth of flowers after a rabbit devoured them. When cold weather ruined a client’s hydrangeas before a wedding, he opted for realistic fakes.
Driver
Salary: $100,000 to $225,000
Rob and Bonny Vadas once left their Bentley in humid Naples without a dehumidifying bag and returned to find green mold on the white leather interior. Despite a thorough cleaning, they traded it in. “I just felt like there was mold in there somewhere,” said Rob, who disclosed the situation to the dealer. “They laughed and said, ‘You’re too honest.’”
By: E.B. SolomontI The Wall Street Journal I July 10, 2025