The Elite Society focuses on an exclusive club: Millionaires who need help sorting out quality marriage material from the money-hungry.
By Associated Press
Published September 28, 2003
HOLLYWOOD - They came to the Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa wearing Carrie Bradshaw shoes and dreaming of ensnaring their very own Mr. Big.
With a nod to that meddling relative who always said it is just as easy to marry a rich man as a poor one, a group of investors has launched The Elite Society, an exclusive dating service in South Florida designed to fix women up with rich guys.
The deal: Men of means pay $10,000 a year to meet "quality marriage material." The fee does not include the cost of quarterly parties, yacht outings or makeovers. The women get in for free. There are no guarantees.
Company sponsors include cosmetic surgeons and tanning salon owners.
And The Elite Society is not alone. In fact, Paul "Chip" Bulloch, a rich, 33-year-old bachelor, founded the company after wife-shopping with The Millionaire's Club, a similar, high-end dating service based in Los Angeles with branches in New York and Miami. Bulloch didn't find a wife but spotted a business opportunity.
For women, The Elite Society offers the dream of a mortgage-free life, or at least one with more bon bons. As twice-divorced Pola Solomich, 54, of Miami Beach, said, "I don't want a man to move into my apartment so I can wash his underwear."
What these services are not, according to their henchmen, are match-dot-coms for gold-diggers. David Wygant, 41, a self-described dating coach working as a consultant to The Elite Society, says staffers screen out the money-hungry.
First clue: Their dress. "Is she 29 and an executive secretary, wearing Prada shoes? Somebody paid for that. They are eliminated right away," Wygant said.
Patti Stanger, 42, founded the original Millionaire's Club in 2000.
On average, about 30 percent to 40 percent of women who apply to Stanger's club are accepted.
And she won't take just any millionaire. She said she turns down guys who "treat women like a thing - and request someone who doesn't speak or have a job."
She accepted Rusty Pulliam, 45. Divorced for 14 years, he saw an ad for the service in New York magazine. A commercial real estate developer in Asheville, N.C., Pulliam paid $20,000 for access to women nationwide.
Pulliam wants a very smart, very fit woman in her 30s who loves life and wants a family. She must be willing to relocate to Asheville. Twelve women and 18 months later, he is still looking.
"A lot of folks build themselves up to be something they are not," he said. "I find out they are not in great shape or they don't really want kids. It's a little bit better than the Internet. At least you have someone who screens for you."
The easiest guys to place fall into two categories, Stanger said: a divorced man, new to the scene, who doesn't like to be single. He has more realistic expectations, she said. Or a guy in his late 30s or early 40s who has been working to amass his fortune. His friends are married. Maybe he is a little shy.
The worst? The narcissists and ones with "mommy issues."
The upfront fee for the Millionaire's Club, also $10,000, includes two hours of psychological analysis - 30 minutes each with a dating coach, a relationship counselor, an image consultant and a hypnotherapist. Men who want access to women nationwide pay $20,000.
Miami Beach marriage therapist M. Gary Neuman said relationships started through these dating services could present problems down the road. Men don't want to be loved for their checkbooks. The millionaire may not always be keen on sharing his riches, either.
He said women focused on money could find a man who has it all financially, but wind up in a relationship lacking warmth and connection.
"It takes away from the age-old concept of falling in love with someone and building a life together," Neuman said.
