'With money, your brain thinks differently': 5 elite matchmakers on what their millionaire clients look for when they date
- Millionaire men are picky when it comes to dating, according to five elite matchmakers I spoke to for Business Insider's monthlong series, "Dating Like a Millionaire."
- Millionaire men primarily seek attraction in a male or female partner, but they also look for intelligence.
- Ultimately, millionaire men want the whole package.
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Millionaire men may take their dates on private jet trips to Paris and pick them up in sports cars, but they also have pretty high expectations of the people they date.
In Business Insider's monthlong series, "Dating Like a Millionaire," five elite matchmakers divulged what men look for in a partner. The matchmakers work with clients locally and globally, from royals and celebrities to entrepreneurs and CEOs, who have net worths ranging from the low millions into the billions.
According to Janis Spindel of Janis Spindel Serious Matchmaking Inc., rich men are very picky about what they want in a partner. Here's what they look for.
Men are visual and seek attraction
"First and foremost [men] need beauty and if they are not attracted, it's a moot point and not evolving to date two," Amy Andersen of Linx Dating in San Francisco told Business Insider. "Of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder."
"It really all comes down to human nature and what we as animals seek in a partner," April Davis of New York City-based Luma Search told Business Insider. "The number one thing males look for in a female is attraction. This may be because attraction signals 'healthy,' and healthy people can reproduce."
"Men are visual creatures," Spindel said. "It's in their DNA ... They want beauty inside and out."
She and her daughter Carly said men look for the four Bs: beauty, body, brains, and balance. Half of that equation lies in visual appearance. The same is true of men seeking men - they want a hot man and a fit body, Carly said.
Men look for an intelligent partner
The third element of the Spindels' four Bs - brains - signals that men seek intelligence in a partner. They want a woman who can teach them something, Carly said.
"Beyond looks and physicality, men need smarts," Andersen said. "They like the idea of someone who will challenge them in the most respectful, yet provocative in nature. They need someone who has a job, likes or loves what they do, and has passion in life. It could be passion for anything - but just something that motivates and excites them."
Mairead Molloy of Berkeley International, who is based in London, seconded this. She told Business Insider her male clients want someone who is well-educated and smart.
Men want the whole package
If there was one theme the matchmakers reiterated, it was that men want it all.
"With money, your brain thinks differently," Janis said. "They call the shots, they want the whole package."
"Men want the whole package and are absolutely not going to settle," Andersen said. Men, she said, also look for independence and happiness. "In other words, she has her 'own thing' going on and doesn't need a man to fulfill some void," she said. "She is content and a man will only add a new dimension to her already full, interesting life."
Men also need a woman who can hold her own socially, Andersen said, likening it to being a first lady: "If a millionaire or billionaire is taking her to one of his industry events, he needs her to look classy (not trashy), be friendly and contribute interesting things to the conversations - to have social awareness and be a good representative of his brand."
As Carly put it, "Men want someone who enriches their life and makes it even more fantastic."