It’s hard to find love, and for the affluent, it may be even harder. Many affluent, especially professionals and business owners, have little or no time to go out and meet people socially, let alone jump through the hoops of traditional dating.

With the divorce rate hovering around 50%, and assets torn to shreds when marriages go sour, making the right partnership choice in the quest for true love, is a long-term investment worth a fortune for the affluent. Not an investment they want to leave to chance. There are a number of dating services and online dating sites that are geared towards the single affluent person who is looking for love. Many of these services are for the affluent single man looking for that especially attractive special someone, but there are options out there for everyone.

One of the most cost effective options is online dating. Online dating is a $642 million a year industry and growing. There are specialized dating sites for almost every imaginable group from intellectuals, to Christians, to scuba diving enthusiasts, and practitioners of yoga. There are several online dating sites geared toward the affluent. One such site is Canada based:www.millionairesforyou.com. Membership fees start at $9,995 which includes a meticulous screening process. Other sites include: www.millionairematch.com, www.sugerdaddie.com (which was featured on the Dr. Phil television show), and www.millionairedating.org.

There are other, real world choices available to the affluent and single if you are looking for a more personal method of meeting your soul mate. In February of this year, a New York organization called Natural Selection held a speed dating event for the affluent, where 20-30 participants rotate through quick encounters with each other in a short period of time (3-8 minutes) to see if sparks fly. Tickets cost $500. Male participants under 25 must earn at least $250,000, 26 to 30 year olds must earn $300,000 and over 30 have to bring home $500,000. Men who have $1 million in invested assets or $4 million in trust are also welcome to apply. The men who attend have a plethora of beautiful women to meet. The requirements for the male participants here are stringent, while the women only have a $30 fee and need to submit five recent photos of themselves. This organization, like many in the match-making industry, banks on the assumption that rich men want beautiful women first and foremost, with intelligence, personality, morality and social skills left to chance. Without much track record, it’s hard to gauge whether lasting relationships will be formed from this method.

Matchmaking in the New Millennium

If speed dating is not your thing, another option is to hire a modern matchmaker. This no babushka-clad crone organizing inter-village marriages, but rather someone like Janis Spindel, a polished, experienced, professional matchmaker for the affluent. Her website’s (www.janisspindelmatchmaker.com) motto is “Where people who wouldn’t be caught dead doing this meet others who wouldn’t do it if their lives depended on it.” Spindel, the author of Get Serious About Getting Married, has more than 760 marriages to her credit, 40 on the way and a database of more than 10,000 carefully screened, affluent and professional people at her fingertips. This is not a dating service per se, but rather a match-by-match pairing (each runs $25,000-$100,000). Her menu of services is impressive, with items like pre-screening consultation or 30-minute interview with Janis (priced at $1,000) as well as the personalized pairing service.

Services for the More Traditional

There are several more traditional dating services specifically for the affluent. The Elite Society, an exclusive dating service based in South Florida, caters to the affluent looking for love. The yearly cost, $10,000, allows people to meet “quality marriage material” and does not include the society sponsored yacht outings, makeovers, or parties. There is also The Millionaires Club, based in Los Angeles with branches in New York and Miami. These services strive to weed out gold diggers and scam artists with rigorous pre-screening services and interviews of candidates. They understand the unique needs of the affluent and if you are willing to pay, they are willing to do the heavy lifting for you.

However, the responsibility of nurturing true love, once you find it, is still up to you. Consider the case of the ninety year-old man who, when asked why he never married said, “I never found the perfect woman.” There is no such thing as the perfect woman or the perfect man, but one of these services may help you find the perfect match for you. The needs of the affluent are unique; from their financial advisors to their tax preparation to their vacation planning and social circles. Why not treat looking for love with the same care and attention you give other aspects of your life? You may be surprised by what and who you find.

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