If Hollywood movies are to be trusted, a personal driver to the ultra-wealthy should be quietly confident, happily discreet and a trusted friend who has their client’s back through the dastardliest of adventures.
In reality, however, the role of a chauffeur to the world’s richest clients can be implausibly demanding, absurdly surreal and at times deeply distressing.
Here, three people who have driven for the very wealthy share their experiences.
Jayne Larson, former personal driver to the U.S. ultrawealthy, actor, voice-over artist, and author of the New York Times bestseller memoir, Driving the Saudis
How did you come to be a driver for the ultrawealthy?
“I had been an executive at a film company working around the clock on other people’s projects while also juggling auditions and acting gigs … and it got to be just too much. So I quit and took a job as a chauffeur with a private car service hoping it would offer me flexibility and maybe even some much-needed cash tips too. Very soon I was approached by another driver and asked if I would like to drive for a ‘private family’ and that family turned out to be Saudi royals who came to Beverly Hills for shopping and plastic surgery … and they spent hundreds of thousands of dollars a day, day in and day out.”
As she notes on her website, it was a shock, after getting degrees from Cornell and Harvard, to be a struggling actress and producer with a huge financial abyss open in front of her. She was not the only overeducated chauffeur, meeting a law student, a retired engineer and a sculptor from Yale – all moonlighting as drivers. “We all do what we have to do to get by.”
Did anyone offer you some sort of “protection” training in order to prepare you to both protect yourself as well as the client in your career as a driver?
Other than that, she notes on her website that the rest of her training had to do with more practical matters.
“There were a series of tedious written tests that I had to pass to determine how well I knew LA streets (without GPS) and if I was familiar with the best high-end restaurants, shops, and nightclubs. Then I had a mind-numbing week-long “training” session at the premier limousine company where I was first employed during which we studied traffic light patterns (so boring!), memorized the airlines and their gates at local airport terminals (more boring!), and practiced easing to a stop to assure a smooth ride for the client (somewhat useful).”
How does a driver maintain professionalism whilst also offering a friendly, personal experience for the ultra-wealthy client? (Is this possible?)
“There’s a very fine line to maintain when chauffeuring for a [high-net-worth individual]. You have to be a fly on the wall most of the time, if not always, and yet be quickly responsive to any of their needs, and even anticipate those needs. Sometimes clients want to talk, sometimes they want complete silence. Most importantly, they don’t want to know you are there until they need you and then you need to be on!”
Can you share a few quick memories regarding over-the-top driver requests you had in your career with the ultra-wealthy?
“Really it was one ridiculous, horrendous, or heartbreaking experience after another and sometimes all at once. People had sex in the back of my luxury sedan (with no window in between), night clubbers regularly got sick in the car after too much partying, I saw a lot of obvious infidelity, lots of marital spats, lonely children of divorce shuttled from one parent to another, teary trips to rehabs, lots of young (way too young) prostitutes, lots of drugs, and many, many, many propositions from lonely men who conflated chauffeuring with sex work. That was always awful.”
Gurmit S. Dhanoya, General Manager of Elite Executive Car Service, Toronto
How do you prepare a driver to drive for wealthy individuals?
How do you ensure that both your drivers and your passengers have a respectful coexistence?
“It all starts with the first interaction with a client. We treat each of our clients like family, if something isn’t of satisfaction to our client, we make sure we go the extra mile to make that client happy – our staff are also highly trained and will make sure the client is satisfied.”
How does a driver maintain professionalism whilst also offering a friendly, personal experience?
“We always ensure our staff are properly dressed in professional attire, greet their clients and also ask for preference: If a client prefers silence, we will respect that. If a client is open to a conversation or suggestions, we are happy to help them. It’s about communication with your client and taking the time to get to know their preferences.”
Can you share a few quirky memories regarding over-the-top driver requests you had in your career?
“Once my customer forgot his wedding shoe at home. As we reach their destination, he realizes he forgot his wedding shoe at home. Then we send the second driver to his location and pick up the wedding shoe.”
Gerold Wunstel, former driver to the very wealthy in the U.S., now actor, hand model, screenwriter, and producer
How did you come to be a driver for the ultrawealthy?
“I started out in former West Berlin, Germany, as a cab driver, later as a security limousine chauffeur for the German government. Minimum requirement: You need a taxi license which is not easy to pass. But certainly not as difficult as the London Taxi license. This would be a two-year, full-time course. Meanwhile, I have a taxi license for Berlin, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Did anyone offer you some sort of ‘protection’ training in order to prepare you to both protect yourself, as well as the client?
How does a driver maintain professionalism whilst also offering a friendly, personal experience for very wealthy clients?
“Sometimes you get mixed up. If you are well educated and have some life experience like I do, that certainly helps to keep some healthy distance. I used to work as a butler in San Francisco, as well. That was very helpful in dealing with billionaires. I drove most Hollywood stars, by the way, from Leonardo DiCaprio to Bill Murray to George Clooney. Educated, decent fellows. Of course, you have to sign an NDA [Nondisclosure Agreement]. Therefore, I can’t tell too much.”
“One of my last and really fun jobs I had was for Christie’s auction house in New York City. Plenty of artwork had to be driven from Los Angeles to NYC, [with a net worth] of $450 million. Two professional drivers [and I] had to follow a slick truck filled with artwork. We drove from West Coast to East Coast in two-and-a-half days, non-stop, [with a] pit stop every six hours due to security reasons. We weren’t told the route in advance. When we arrived in NYC, I asked about the artwork. Well, [they were by] Cindy Sherman, Andy Warhol, Gerhard Richter, Rauschenberg, Ludwig Kirchner, Gaugin, etc. All the good stuff.”
You’ve spoken publicly about this, of course, but can you share a few quick memories regarding over-the-top driver requests you had in your career with the ultrawealthy?
“Plenty of bizarre requests, of course. I was a drug mule, for instance, for a sheik from Saudi Arabia. I had to tell him not to tip the drug dealer. I had one of the wealthiest [people] for a couple of weeks – quite annoying, as a matter of fact. His yacht was so large, it didn’t fit the San Francisco Bay. He was stingy, low class and not a happy person. But I was always very professional. When I was invited to parties with Elvis Costello, Blondie, Santana, Prince, etc. I always declined.”
“The last eight years I worked for the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. A very cool job. I was assigned for Maestro Gustavo Dudamel. One of his bodyguards got shot in Caracas, Venezuela. [The] biggest benefit of this job [was that] for eight years I saw the biggest stars in show biz. From Air, to Liza Minelli, to Lady Gaga, to Buena Vista Social Club, to Brian Ferry, and the B-52s. Liza Minelli still owes me money for cigarettes; so does Courtney Love.”
Responses have been lightly edited for clarity and length.
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