Photo-Illustration: by The Cut; Photos: Getty Images
Very wealthy people have one thing in common with the rest of us: They find dating difficult. But unlike most people, they can afford to pay six-figure amounts (or higher) to ultra-high-end matchmakers who scour the planet for the right person who meets their super-specific criteria. If this sounds creepy, you’re right — it can be. “We do get clients who seem to think they can just pay a lot of money and we’ll wave a magic wand and make the right woman appear,” says one matchmaker. “But relationships are a two-way street. That woman still has to love them back.”
There are hundreds of matchmakers in the business, but the elite ones might charge upwards of a million dollars per client. Here, we spoke to three ultraluxury matchmakers about their work, their clients, and what it’s like to charge a $500,000 “marriage bonus.”
“A CEO can’t have their name out there and their picture flying around. Their employees might be on the same dating site, and that’s embarrassing.”—Simona Fusco, founder of Perfect 12 Matchmaking
In my 20s, I was an actress. I did about 30 movies and TV shows, and I was in GQ and Esquire and other magazines. And it was really difficult for me to date because of the business I was in. I couldn’t do online dating because I was bombarded with solicitations. Or people thought it was a fake profile. Putting myself out there was scary and overwhelming. Then I was approached by a matchmaker who offered to set me up with her paying clients. The men were vetted and based on my criteria. And it was amazing. I felt safe because the men had been checked out, and they were who they said they were. It was the perfect way to meet people and also save time and protect my reputation.
So it worked. I met the father of my daughter through a matchmaking service. I also had a couple of other long-term relationships through matchmakers, but then I noticed that they didn’t always do their due diligence. Sometimes they were a little sloppy with the background checks. I’m a beautiful woman, and sometimes they would just throw matches at me and hope they would stick without considering my needs or my lifestyle. When matches are based on Oh, he’s wealthy and she’s beautiful, that’s very superficial. I knew there had to be a better way.
I started my own company because I understand, from personal experience, the issues that high-profile and high-net-worth individuals face. They’re time constricted. They can’t be on a dating app because they’ll be solicited by people who want to get their rent paid. A CEO can’t have their name out there and their picture flying around. Their employees might be on the same dating site, and that’s embarrassing. Anytime you’ve achieved something in life, you have to be careful, because you have a lot to lose.
We have some women who are paying cl