Love in demand: How elite matchmakers help the wealthy find romance

Humans are returning to matchmaking for the personal touch that technology is missing. As of 2024, the matchmaking industry is valued between $1.2 and $1.5 billion annually, and 40% of all professional matchmaking services are located in the U.S.

Recently there has been an uptick in wealthy professionals enlisting the help of “elite” matchmakers to make them a match. These high-end matchmakers have often been in the business for decades, and have solid success rates when it comes to pairing people up.

Here’s a look at the rarified world of elite matchmakers: What they do, what they charge, and why more of the ultra-rich are signing on the dotted line.

Love as an industry

In the matchmaking industry, love is Big Business.

Elite matchmakers are selective, only working with clients who meet their qualification process. Many elite services work primarily with men, but there are a few, like Selective Search, that cater to both men and women.

If you’ve ever wondered how matchmakers can boast a “95% success rate,” the answer may lie in the clients they choose and their referral process.

Given that elite matchmakers are a selective group who only work with people earning above a certain income level, each company’s intake process seems to follow a similar pattern.

After a client’s initial application is approved, there is a follow-up consultation that can take between 60 and 90 minutes. A 40-minute “love consultation” with California matchmaker Gina Hendrix will cost $250.00. This could almost be called a mutual audition: Hendrix will only work with a maximum of seven or eight people at a time.

At Linx Dating, based in Silicon Valley, the matchmakers charge an up-front fee for the first consultation in the hopes that casual clients will be weeded out from the serious ones. During this interview, the matchmakers ask the client in-depth questions about the type of relationship they’re looking for, which helps with the next step, screening potential matches.

At the same time, the matchmakers discuss the various levels of membership they offer. Then, it’s up to the client to decide on the type of relationship TLC they’d like to pay for.

Money talks

Make no mistake: In order to get a bespoke dating experience of this caliber, it’ll cost you.

Many matchmaking services don’t advertise the prices of their membership tiers on their website, but describe what each level brings the client.

In general, most elite matchmaking services offer similar tiers of membership. First, there is the basic level, which gives you the minimum amount of matches in your geographical area, typically for either one or two years.

The next level of membership will give you more matches for the same time period.

If you don’t mind traveling or being in a long-distance relationship, you can buy a membership that will pair you up with suitable matches on a national or international level.

If you’d like even more specialized attention, many elite matchmakers also offer relationship coaching or concierge services (like wardrobe styling, travel arrangements and gift shopping) to make sure your dating game is in tip-top shape.

The modern matchmaking service VIDA Select has three tiers of annual membership: the basic package costs $14,340, premium costs $21,540, and elite costs $31,140.

In a 2017 article in Women’s Health, an elite matchmaking client named Donna claimed that basic packages with Selective Search started at $25,000, but that she chose a wider search area and more potential matches. She ended up spending more than $50,000 to find her boyfriend, and considered that money well spent.

It’s not you, it’s me

Qualifying to work with one of these elite matchmaking services can feel like you’ve paid money to go for a job interview.

In an interview with The New York Times, Jill Kelleher, founder of Kelleher International, admits they don’t take a lot of older women, because it’s too hard to match them.

In general, since the “end goal” is a long term relationship, or ideally marriage, the men who become clients are often in their 30s or early 40s and looking for women who take care of their health, are financially independent, and who can still have children.

Women’s magazine Evie reports that men consistently ask for three attributes in the women they hope to be matched with: Someone who’s tall, has a successful career of their own, and someone who practices yoga.

The future is coming up digital

While the resurgence of matchmaking can be explained in part by app-fatigue, there is an experience that is almost 50/50: The luxe dating app, where the pools of prospective partners are just as refined, but the audiences are younger.