When Gloria Richards, 34, is not busy acting on off-Broadway stages, she nannies for the children of ultra-wealthy across the world. In an interview with CNBC Make It, Ms Richards talked about the perks and drawbacks of her job.
She spoke about her lucrative gig as a nanny for the billionaire's children, it pays her $2,000 (Rs 1.6 lakh) per day. What's more? She gets to travel across the world in private jets, plus covered accommodations. She said that caring for billionaires' children makes up 80 per cent to 90 per cent of her annual income.
Ms Richards said, "I could nanny for, like, two months at the top of the year, and I'd be fine for the rest of the year," Richards, 34, tells CNBC Make It. "What feeds me is being able to work so closely with these kids."
While explaining her job profile, she said that nannying for the ultra-rich isn't always about childcare. She said that she spends most of her working hours coordinating children's education and social calendars. She recalls how one time, she was introduced to her charge just minutes before she became their chaperone on a private jet trip to Barbados.
She gets $2,000 for 12 to 15 hours of work. She revealed that she travels the world by private jets and yachts, drives Porsches and Teslas on the job, and attends toddlers' birthdays where iPads are party favours.
"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.
However, she shared that working with the billionaires comes with its own set of challenges, especially for a Black woman nannying white children. She said that she has to navigate cultural situations tactfully- or risk losing her paycheck.
"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," Ms Richards says. "That's also how they communicate when they don't like something you did. They'll stop paying you."
Balancing her mental well-being with unpredictable client mood swings is taxing, Richards says.
"I've had families go through an immense amount of grief in the public eye. I'm watching their divorces or deaths within the family," she says. "Sometimes I'm literally a shoulder to cry on. A second later, they'll turn on me."
