The rich kids of the rich and famous
by digby
Following up on my post here and David’s here, I thought I should check in with the Rich Kids of Instagram. It’s been a while and since I’ve recently been informed that the future of the world depends on their largesse it’s a good way to see what they’re interested in so we can all tailor our hopes and dreams around their hopes and dreams.
Basically, kids, don’t go to college, go to butler school:
Christopher Ely is prone to philosophizing about his life’s work. “You should be invisible, to a certain point,” he explains carefully, wearing a navy blue pinstriped suit and well-polished shoes. “You exist, of course, but you don’t.” Ely, of course, is describing the secrets of the manservant trade. As one of New York’s most famous butlers, he’s enjoyed a storied career that began as a footman at Buckingham Palace and led to a job as the butler and estate manager for philanthropist and power widow Brooke Astor. Ely, 48, does not use the term “manservant.” The word, he says, “has such connotation to it.”
This is one of the many tips Ely is preparing to pass on to the next generation of butlers, housekeepers, chauffeurs, governesses, housemen, personal assistants, laundresses, and chefs. This week he and Manhattan’s French Culinary Institute inaugurate the Estate Management Studies program. Tired of hearing people tell him, “We couldn’t get good staff,” Ely says, he set out to reinvigorate the entire domestic-service industry with a curriculum that combines its ancient hallmarks—efficiency, decorum, and discretion—with what the institute calls the “contemporary skills necessary to manage modern-day residences.”
Update: Also too, apparently this peek inside the lives of the rich and shameless “old money” of Charleston South Carolina has the old guard all in a tizzy. They don’t like to have their (lazy children’s) dirty laundry exposed on national TV.
Frankly my dear, these heirs to Antebellum gentility really don’t give a damn.
It reminds me of this earlier peek into the rich and shameless youth of New York City, featuring PC Peterson, the worthless heir to Pete Peterson, the man who openly admits he’s trying to save the country for his grandkids. He doesn’t tell us that his plan is to turn the nation into a feudal state.
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| Peter Cary “PC” Peterson, 18 years old and a senior at Dwight, is sitting at Philippe on the Upper East Side, talking about the way the world works, based on his extensive experience. “Everything in New York City is about connections,” he explains, his eyes glinting and head lolling back. “It’s who you know and how much money you have. It’s really sad. And I am not saying I’m like that. But that’s what New York is: money and power.” |
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