Where do high-power executives turn to find love? While the majority of them aren’t making appearances on Millionaire Matchmaker, you can bet they’re not swiping right on Tinder either. So how do you find “The One” when you have a lot of money but very little time? Easy – you pay someone else to do it for you. Here’s a look at four people who can introduce you to the gazillionaire of your dreams.
Kelleher International
Jill Kelleher-Andrews founded Kelleher International in 1986. Today, it’s run by her daughter, Amber (a former Baywatch and Melrose Place actress), and it's grown to be the largest, privately owned matchmaking company in the country. The upscale firm describes its typical client as “smart, successful and elegant.” “Wealthy” must be a given as well, considering the service starts at $15,000 per year of unlimited matches in one city. Adding a second city will cost clients an additional $5,000. And for upwards of $150,000 a year, you can join the CEO club and upgrade to an international search and personal consultations with Jill and Amber Kelleher-Andrews themselves.
Here’s the catch—if you happen to marry or enter a long-term relationship with your match, you must shell out additional “success fees." And if you want some great love advice (for free), Amber says actress Julianne Moore put it perfectly in a January interview: "You have to make your personal life happen as much as your career."
Selective Search
Selective Search Founder and President Barbie Adler knows a thing or two about making the perfect match – in business and in love. Before launching the luxury matchmaking service, Adler was an executive headhunter at search firm Encore. Adler says she took Fortune 500 executive recruitment strategies and modified them into her company’s matchmaking process. "Apply the same strategy to your love life that you have used to achieve success in your professional life," Adler says. "Have a plan, and make it a process you work on daily. Remember to keep your heart open." The price tag for the service? A membership starts at $25,000, and increases depending on the client’s custom preferences and criteria. Selective Search boasts an 87% success rate, so how much would you shell out for those odds?
Linx Dating
In the San Francisco Bay Area, Linx Dating Founder and CEO Amy Andersen is known as “Silicon Valley’s Cupid.” Andersen launched her business in 2003 with the idea to connect the “Silicon Valley man” with the “attractive professional San Francisco woman.” She teaches tech execs from the likes of Apple, Google, Facebook and Salesforce how to date, according to a 2013 Fortune article. With close to 1,000 paying clients, Linx Dating prides itself on its exclusivity—the company has a “no advertising” policy and a rigorous vetting process. You could choose to shell out anything from $2,500 for the basic "referral" membership (includes an unspecified, non-guaranteed number of dates over 2 years) to $50,000 for the VIP service (includes extras such as wardrobe shopping and social etiquette lessons). And the cost could even reach $100,000 to conduct an expansive search for the international clients.
Andersen's piece of advice for the busy executive? "Artfully prepare for your date," she says. "Take some 'you' time beforehand – go on a jog or do some yoga. Mentally get in the right state of mind, so you're not distracted by any work stress."
Janis Spindel Serious Matchmaking
If you’re a gold digger or a commitment-phobe, you will not get accepted into this high-end matchmaking club. Serious Matchmaking CEO Janis Spindel got into the matchmaking business in 1993 and now runs the business with her daughter, Carly. She’s straightforward and to the point, much like Bravo’s “Millionaire Matchmaker” Patti Stanger. It could be because Stanger was actually Spindel’s assistant for five years before she began her own business, according to New York Magazine. Spindel’s clients are all exclusively men – ranging from celebrities to bankers to entrepreneurs. She then introduces them to potential matches that she’s screened beforehand. Spindel's fees range from $50,000 to upwards of $250,000 depending on the service her client selects. Carly's clients are men and women, and her fees range from $25,000 to $100,000. Here’s a free love tip from Janis Spindel about what all men want: “It’s the four Bs: beauty, brains, body, and balance.”
