Kim Kardashian’s revelation that she has five nannies for four children caused a ruckus, but the world of the ultra-wealthy throws up far more extreme approaches to childcare
“I have the best advice for women in business,” Kim Kardashian told Variety in 2022. “Get your fucking ass up and work. It seems like nobody wants to work these days.”
The billionaire got a lot of flak for this comment, but no one can accuse her of being a hypocrite. It takes serious graft to spin a sex tape into lasting fame and a business empire. That said, like many high-flyers who preach the importance of hard work, the Skims co-founder is not above outsourcing the less glamorous domestic labor. She has primary custody of the four kids she shares with her ex-husband, Kanye West, and, according to an interview with The Sunday Times, employs five nannies to take care of them: “One nanny on duty, four on rotation,” she said. Despite having more nannies than kids, she apparently still does the school run. And I bet she does not turn up at the school gate with yoghurt on her shirt like I do.
The revelation about Kardashian’s numerous nannies has caused a bit of a ruckus. Largely because there is nothing people love more than judging how a woman mothers while ignoring the dad. And I will admit I was a bit judgy at first. However, if I could afford to contract out all the boring bits of parenthood I would too. You are not a better mother because you are running yourself ragged doing absolutely everything.
Back to being judgy though: While there is nothing wrong with getting help, I do not really understand the point of having four kids if you do not have time to parent them all. Particularly as Kardashian’s kids were not oopsies: Numbers three and four were born via a surrogate because of complications in her earlier pregnancies.
However, of course, four kids is rookie numbers compared with some other breeding-obsessed billionaires, many of whom seem keen on procreating, but not parenting. The Russian-born tech mogul Pavel Durov has more than 100 biological children in 12 countries via sperm donation. The Chinese billionaire Xu Bo (徐波) is reported to have more than 100 children via surrogates. And obviously there’s Elon Musk, who has 14 known children.
Meanwhile, for the rest of us it is getting tougher to afford kids at all. A 2024 Pew Research Center study found that, among adults under 50 who say they are unlikely to have kids, 36 percent cited costs as a key factor. Having big families used to be associated with lower economic status, but research shows that is gradually being flipped on its head. Having multiple kids, and a team of nannies to take care of them, has become the ultimate status symbol. Albeit the only status symbol that is going to grow up demanding therapy.
Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist.
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