I am in my mid-twenties, and I am looking to marry an extremely
affluent gentleman. Is there a Matchmaker located in Manhattan who
specializes in this? Or marriages of convenience?

Hello, nycblonde-ga!

  Well, you certainly know what you want in a marriage, and are not
afraid to declare your intentions! Hopefully, by knowing your
criteria, you will avoid many unproductive years in the dating game!

  After all:
  “Love is an investment. Once upon a time, this was discussed openly.
Marriage was created largely to secure property, power and other
assets. Pick a Jane Austen novel -- any Jane Austen novel. Or just
read the opening line of "Pride and Prejudice":
"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a man in possession of a
good fortune must be in want of a wife."
And for those in want of a partner, someone in possession of a good
fortune might not be a bad idea.”
 From “Would You Pay 200K for the Perfect Mate,” by M.P. Dunleavey at
http://moneycentral.msn.com/articles/family/basics/9520.asp

  There are several, discriminating, high-profile matchmakers in New
York City. Their services do not come cheaply, however! I have
highlighted two of the most prominent names in the New York City area.
 
Janis Spindel Serious Matchmaking 
http://www.janisspindelmatchmaker.com/ 
(212) 987-1582
 “Janis Spindel Serious Matchmaking, Inc. is New York's most elite
one-on-one personal matchmaking service. With over 301 couples wed and
511 in monogamous relationships, Janis's track record speaks for
itself. She uses a rigorous screening process, in-depth interviews and
a keen intuition to seek out the best of the best.”
 *“JSSM is known for attracting ultra-affluent single people, with
heavy concentrations of investment bankers, lawyers, entrepreneurs,
doctors, real estate developers and celebrities.”
http://www.janisspindelmatchmaker.com/AboutUs.html 

Samantha Daniels 
http://www.samanthastable.com/
Phone Number: 212-717-6033
 “Samantha's Table attracts upscale, sophisticated very successful
professionals who are all interested in meeting new people with whom
they share common interests.  All of my clients are college-educated,
many have graduate degrees and many are leaders or up and comers in
the New York business, legal, medical and creative communities. More
specifically, my clients consist of CEO’s of Major Corporations,
Business Owners, Entrepreneurs, Presidents of Companies, High Level
Executives of Investment Banks, Lawyers, Doctors, Models and Actresses
to name a few.”
  “My clients are driven and success-oriented.  They tend to travel
extensively, eat at the finest restaurants, attend the theatre, admire
and acquire art, and patronize many of the most worthy and visible
charities in the city. They have worked hard to succeed in their
professions and now they are ready to enjoy life and all it has to
offer with that one person who is ready to do the same.”

 If you are Jewish or of a particular ethnic origin, there are
specialty matchmaking services available as well. I did not list them
because you did not specify an ethnicity or nationality. However, if
you are interested, you may peruse the search results at
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=%2Bmatchmakers+%2Bmanhattan


For additional reading:
 “Yenta Takes Manhattan,” by Vanessa Grigoriadis. New York Metro.com
(10/23/2000) at http://www.newyorkmetro.com/nymetro/nightlife/singles/features/3936/
 “Paying the (Very) High Price of Love,” by Catherine Donaldson Evans.
Fox News (3/28/2002) at
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,48780,00.html

Also……scrutinize the men who may be looking for a wife!
 Read “Dating Blame Game,” by Jim Fitzgerald. Associated Press
(8/23/2001) at http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/DailyNews/matchmaker010803.html
 Read “A New York dermatologist is suing a dating agency after
claiming he was set up with unsuitable women” at
http://www.only-dating.com/object=4611

 Let me know if I can be of further help. Best wishes and happy
dating!

 umiat-ga

Google Search Strategy
+matchmakers +manhattan
janis spindel serious matchmaking
samantha daniels matchmaking

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Request for Answer Clarification by nycblonde-ga on 04 Dec 2002 14:42 PST

I am aware of the two Matchmaking services you have mentioned, as well
as VIP and Millionaire's Club. I am in the process of looking into
them. Are there any others?

---

Clarification of Answer by umiat-ga on 04 Dec 2002 18:02 PST

Hello again, nycblonde-ga!
 
 I am glad you have already found the matchmaking services I mentioned
in my answer. If I can just add a bit of advice for future
questions…..it is very helpful if you state the services or websites
you are already familiar with in your original question. It saves the
researcher valuable time by avoiding certain search avenues and allows
us to answer your question in a more timely and efficient manner.

 I have located some additional matchmaking services for you to
consider.

 Bonnie Winston of Winston West Photography, with offices in Beverly
Hills and New York City, has launched a “small matchmaking business on
the side.” “Winston -- who claims to have helped set up Kevin Kline
and Phoebe Cates……says "Men and women will pay anything to meet the
right person."
  I was unable to find a contact for Bonnie Winston other than through
her photography business. You may contact her through the information
listed at http://www.winstonwest.com/contact/index.html . Note that
her e-mail address is also listed.

Selective Search of New York, Chicago and San Fransisco
 “Assisting high-caliber individuals achieve personal relationship
success.”
  http://www.selectivesearch-inc.com/ 
   As this page is nothing more than an introduction, you need to
click on “Relaunch site” at the bottom, and it will bring you to a
page with all the information about the company, clients, etc.
   Contact for the New York office is through the Chicago headquarters
at 312-396-1200.

M. Chatfield Ltd.
http://www.mchatfield.com/who.html 
 “We represent the people of style and substance.” 
Contact information for the New York office may be found at
http://www.mchatfield.com/direct.html

 Since your original question mentioned services in the Manhattan area
exclusively, I have avoided searching for matchmaking services located
in other areas of the country. However, there is one other service you
might want to consider:

DreamMakers
http://www.thedreammakers.com/ 
 “Specializes in finding beautiful young women for rich older men.
Promises medical testing, background checks, and professional
screening. Rich men pay the fees.”
 Contact information is at
http://www.thedreammakers.com/contact_us.html

 I hope these references provide additional avenues for you to
consider in your search for that “special someone.”

 umiat-ga

I have just seen this article and immediatley thought of your
question!

Dec 04, 2002 
"Eccentric Lord Seeks Lady of the Manor"
"Wanted -- an attractive 25-35 year old woman of independent means to
become the Lady of a stunning English manor house."
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=573&ncid=757&e=2&u=/nm/20021204/od_nm/life_britain_lonelyheart_dc

Good luck!

THX1138

this reminds me of something i watched on tv a while ago.  sometime in
the last 5 years i imagine.  anyways, there was a lady who was being
featured.  she was 'poor' and was tired of it!  so she did her
homework and tried to figure out what it is that rich men like and
what they are like.  she figured out what kinds of shoes rich men
wear, how to spot those kinds of shoes, how to tell if the suits a man
is wearing is a quality suit, etc.  im sure that this is old news to
most folks, but to me, i didnt really know that you could tell what
kind of shoe is an 'ultra rich mans shoe'.

she went around and started zooming in on these sorts of men.  the
problem with my story is i dont know where she met these guys.  i
really dont remember very much of the details.  it was a fluff piece,
maybe only 5 minutes in length.  but it is possible that she was
trying to write a book about it or something like that.  and its
possible that someone else has written such a book, on dressing,
manners, etc.  i think in order to attract ultra rich, you definitely
have to look the part too.  rich clothes, tight body, perfect hair,
flawless fingernails, just so makeup, etc.  whew.  no wonder i could
never attract rich guys!  it all sounds so tiring.

i dont know if this is true or not.  whether or not there is some back
door to finding rich men, but it would make sense to also hang out
where rich guys hang out, wherever that is.

however, from the title of your question, with the word 'convenience',
perhaps you are already quite wealthy and you already know where to
hang out and your main frustration is getting set up.  hence the
search for a matchmaking service.  still, other than merely relying on
a matchmaking service, try going to art shows, plays or the opera, or
someting of interest to you, but on an upscale level, somewhere where
the elite in "investment bankers, lawyers, entrepreneurs, doctors,
real estate developers and celebrities" hang out.  maybe a very
expensive gym?

just wanted to add my 2 cents...

Thank you for your help. If you happen to come across anymore
infomation on this subject, it would be well appreciated.

hello~

i dont know, i couldnt resist looking up some more info.  :)

http://www.topguys.com/tips/meet.html

the page above gives some concrete tips that you might want to check
out, but it also cautions: "making money your primary marriage
requirement will create future problems. She thinks that greed is a
sign of a manipulative or dependent type of person who needs to be
taken care of by others."

also, here are two books that you might want to consider buying:

How to Marry the Rich by Ginie Polo Sayles
How to Snare a Millionaire by Lisa Johnson

the first book by sayles seems to have more positive reviews than the
johnson book which has much more mixed reviews.

anyway, i add this just because i went out and looked it up for myself
(not that im looking <wave wave to bf>!  hehehe...)