Woman nannying billionaires' kids earns up to Rs 1.6 lakh per day

A nanny for billionaires' kids talks about the perks and drawbacks of her job (Representational image)

A woman who nannies for the children of the ultra-rich has opened up about the perks and drawbacks of her job. Gloria Richards, 34, spoke to CNBC Make It about her lucrative side gig as nanny for billionaires – a job which takes her around the world in private jets and earns her up to $2,000 (Rs 1.6 lakh) a day.

US-based Richards spends half of each year nannying for billionaires’ kids to supplement her income as an off-Broadway actor. Her job as a nanny earns her 80 to 90% of her annual income.

Richards gets paid up to $2,000 per day for 12 to 15 hours of work, besides having her travel and accommodation covered. She recalls how one time, she was introduced to her charge just minutes before she became their chaperone on a private jet trip to the Barbados.

As a nanny, she is typically expected to accompany children on their trips abroad, coordinate their social calendars and, in many cases, act as a stand-in parent.

“I’ve had full-blown interviews where [parents] are like, ‘We’re looking for someone to raise our kids,’” she says. “They tell me they had kids to pass on their trust funds, [and that] ‘I’ll hang out with them after boarding school when they can drink.’” One time, parents even registered their child under her last name at an Italian boarding school.

Although she has travelled on yachts and private jets and driven Porsches and Teslas on the job, navigating the world of the ultra-rich comes with its own set of challenges, especially for a Black woman nannying white children.

Richards has watched her clients abandon $3,200 steaks after a single bite and buy entire houses on a whim – but despite being among the richest of the rich, they sometimes try to avoid paying her salary.

“I’ll be in, like, Switzerland, and they’re telling me they can’t pay me for three weeks because they don’t have cash,” Richards says. “That’s also how they communicate when they don’t like something you did. They’ll stop paying you.”

The 34-year-old has been blindsided more than once by her clients, and that’s why the backing of Madison Agency is essential for her. The agency helps her get her dues in time.

“Sometimes I’m literally a shoulder to cry on. A second later, they’ll turn on me,” she says. Richards has even faced racism on the job. “I’m a Black woman, and there are many times that I’m working for white families, and by the time the kids are six or seven, they have very specific thoughts about people who look like me,” she explains.

But the perks seem to outweigh the negatives, and setting firm boundaries helps Richards dictate how much and how long she is willing to work.