16 Wild Stories And Secrets Straight From Those Who Worked For The Uber Rich

So, here are some shocking things rich people have done to their employees:

Disclaimer: We can't confirm 100% of these stories, but these people are supposedly speaking from their own experiences working for the rich.

1. "I work in a reputable ski resort in the French Alps during the winter, and we often have worldwide celebrities coming on vacation here. Last year a famous singer rented a hotel complex for his wife and kids, and one evening, he asked the reception to send a technician to his room to fix a light fixture. That technician (a 25-year-old friend of mine) found the singer alone in his room with dimmed lights, lying on the bed with his legs spread while wearing only bright red underwear. There was no light to fix. The man apparently thought his coded request for a sex worker was clear enough (it definitively wasn't — my poor friend can tell you that)."

—Anonymous

2. "As an assistant I was asked to find the plane wherever it was routed to in Europe after they had disembarked. They later realized they’d left something important on board — I was to have it grounded so they could retrieve the bag of charging cables they’d left behind. They thought it was a completely legitimate request instead of just buying more."

—joehoover3

3. "I worked for a rich chairman of a board for 16 years and frequently assisted with personal stuff, mainly for his wife. When he died, I spent weeks organizing his personal paperwork to assist the estate. His widow asked me to go with her to the meeting with the lawyer. The lawyer complimented my work and informed the widow I had saved her THOUSANDS of dollars, as he didn’t have to do the work. Her thanks was trying to get me fired, as I had asked her to be reimbursed for my travel expenses to attend this lawyer meeting in another state! Gratitude wasn’t in her vocabulary. Her attempts to have me fired failed, and she was forced to reimburse me. I don’t miss her!!!"

—Anonymous

4. "My mother was a live-in nanny for a wealthy family in the '90s who paid her pretty crappy money to take care of their four kids. It during one of those big snow blizzards, and the woman realized there wasn't a lot of work for mom to do inside with the kids. During one of those big snow blizzards, the woman realized there wasn't a lot of work for mom to do inside with the kids. Every time the snow stuck to the windows, she would ask mom to go back outside and clean it (that went on for most of the afternoon)."

"I remember my mom crying when she told us, as she didn’t have the proper attire to be in the weather. She had to soak her hands and feet in hot water to defrost them. She didn’t wear pants for religious reasons, but wore the two heavy shoe stockings she had (we didn't have good shoes and winter clothes — layering was the norm). 

Every time I think of this lady’s cruel ways, I pray she lives to see when karma visits. That’s life. Period."

—peacefulaardvark95

5. "I did a private Scotch tasting for an Oscar-nominated actor and their entourage just before the pandemic. I was given $50,000 in cash to go and buy products for this one-evening event. No receipts were asked for, so I spent some to go to Las Vegas and get some nice stuff. I spent the rest on clearing off a credit card. At the event though, there were a bunch of A-list stars listening to this Oscar-nominated actor give a Scotch lesson, all very attentive. An actress there was hitting on me, and everyone was throwing Benjamins at me for a tip while I'm wondering if my girlfriend would understand if I strayed this one time. I turned her down, and went to my guest room at this guy's Malibu mansion."

"At about 1 a.m. an assistant knocked on my door to sign an NDA. Why? Because this actress (and another actress, who I later learned was becoming a star) wanted to show me 'what I was missing.' So, I signed it and watched this  acrobatic show while nursing what was left in a bottle of 47-year-old Mortlach Single Malt."

—Anonymous

6. "Worked for a wealthy man who embezzled from his company for decades, paying employees who did not exist. He cashed payroll checks in the names of fake people with a bank where the bank manager got a kickback — it took 23 years for any tax agency to question the guy. He used the money from the paychecks of fake people to give to his secret wife and kids. He lived in one of the richest zip codes in the country, and his second wife lived in a trailer park and believed he was a sales person who traveled for business. The real shocker came when the man passed away and a third wife was discovered."

—Anonymous

7. "I’m a licensed veterinary nurse, and I used to work at this animal hospital that had incredibly affluent clientele. Many pet owners had multiple homes in other countries or drove expensive cars. But, I remember this one owner who specifically bought a car for EACH of her dogs. Whenever one of her dogs would come in for an appointment, her assistant would drive them in the car that belonged to the dog that was visiting us. Some people need their wallets taken away."

—Anonymous

8. "My mom worked as a nanny for a rich couple. One year, she gave PLENTY of notice that we would be going on vacation to Disney so they could get help for their two young children (they were about one and three). So there we are in Disney World (we lived in PA), and I go, 'Mom, that looks like (names of children she watches).' She goes, 'Don't be silly, they're all the way back home in...oh, son of a bitch.' Yep, instead of asking their parents who lived nearby or dropping them off at daycare, the rich couple flew down to Disney hoping my mom would continue to watch her kids in the park. My mom firmly put her foot down refusing, and instead said since they were already there, they should take the time to actually bond with their own kids. They had a one in four chance in picking the park we were at and even then, Magic Kingdom is pretty big. So the fact we even stumbled across each other was good luck on their part."

—Anonymous

9. "I once worked for a millionaire in Florida. He employed several full-time sex workers, who all lived together in one of his mansions. It was unbelievable. I didn’t interact with them very much, but I did every now and then. They were lovely, empathetic, and polite."

—Anonymous

10. "I was a personal assistant to a very wealthy man in Newport Beach for seven years, and my good friend was his wife’s personal assistant. One day my friend was driving their car to the mechanic and got into an accident. She was injured and ended up needing months of physical therapy. The wife and I were discussing the accident, and she laughed and said, 'She did us a favor — we have waaaaay too many BMWs.' Oh, and the guy I worked for had a habit of peeing in the plants in the board room during meetings. Classy."

—Anonymous

11. "I once worked as a nanny while going to college full-time. I had submitted my two-week notice because the man I worked for was insufferable. The night before my first final exam, Mr. Insufferable came into my bedroom, sat on my bed, and told me that he didn’t want me to leave his employment. So, instead of being a nanny to the children, I would, 'take care of him.' When I replied that he already had two girlfriends, he said, 'Well, sometimes I just want a massage or a blowjob.' Yes, he said blowjob 🙄. Since my priority was to study for my final exam, I said, 'That’s a very flattering offer! May I think about it since I’m currently studying for an exam?' He was so pleased with himself that he happily exited my room. I promptly locked my door and the next day packed up all my stuff and moved out. I thankfully never heard from him again."

—Anonymous

12. "My first job out of college was as an editorial assistant for a famous journalist/author working on a story and book about 9/11. The attacks had just taken place (as in, my first day on the job was a week after the attacks). I had never heard of this person before, but after checking with my college guidance counselor, she assured me no matter how belligerent they were it would be good for my career and resume. Anyway, they were belligerent to just about everyone, but here's one of the worst things I experienced. I got mono over the holidays and they wanted me to come into work. When I nearly choked on my own saliva telling them I had mono (my glands were so swollen), they told me, 'Everyone gets colds' and hung up. I got an email a few days later from my replacement asking me for help with something (and no I did not respond)."

—Anonymous

13. "I won’t name my occupation to keep this as secure as possible. But, I did have one client admit to fraud in paying their kids through their company who did not work for their company. Those kids were grown adults who had jobs, but were just collecting extra income by doing nothing. That company has since been sold to new owners who are hopefully acting with more honesty."

—Anonymous

14. "I worked for a group of very wealthy landlords, and one of them would actually refuse to speak to our janitorial staff. They'd say 'hi' when they dropped by to do building inspections, and he outright ignored them every single time. Anyone in a corporate role got his full attention, bubbly conversation, and of course, he laid it on thick for the investors, but the immigrants and refugees who took care of the properties he made his fortune from got the silent treatment. My family is Ukrainian, so it particularly bothered me just how disrespectful he was. I hated that place."

—Anonymous

15. "I thought it would be fun to let the kids pick snacks for their lunches one week. One of the kids packed himself Goldfish crackers as a snack. When the mom saw the lunch, she told me I shouldn’t feed her kids 'shit.' Another day, close to the end of my shift, I was going to pack the kids their lunch when the mom asked me to bathe their dog while she napped (which wasn't part of my duties). When I finished, it was time for me to leave. She woke up angry that I hadn’t packed the kids their lunch."

—Anonymous

16. And finally, "I had a wealthy client with two young children — they built a huge custom house with a pool and pool house on the river. They moved in and the kids wanted to swim. The wife complained that she had to sit outside with the children the whole time because she couldn’t see the pool from the kitchen. So, her husband bought the house next door (which was also a huge custom home not on the market). He tore it down, tore the original pool house down, put in a new (even bigger) pool, and built a new pool house in full view of the kitchen."

—Anonymous

Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.