Nannies for New York's Super Rich are Earning More Than $180,000 a Year

"Nanny" may not seem like a lucrative job, but there are now some nannies out there making more than a typical Wall Street salary.

The New York Times Magazine's Adam Davidson writes this week that a new kind of elite nanny is now capable of raking in a six digit salary, despite that the average nanny might make about $15 to $18 per hour.

Zenaide Muneton, for example, makes $185,000 a year, plus a $3,000-a-month apartment on Central Park West (and a Christmas bonus). That salary rivals the $200,000 some Russian and Chinese families are willing to pay for a top-notch nanny.

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So what's her secret? Writes Davidson:

The simple answer is hard work — plus a strange seller’s market that follows a couple of quirky economic principles. A typical high-priced nanny effectively signs her (and they are almost always women) life over to the family she works for. According to Cliff Greenhouse, Pavillion’s president, that kind of commitment is essentially built into the price. Many clients are paying for the privilege of not having to worry about their child’s care, which means never worrying if their nanny has plans. Which, of course, she can’t, pretty much ever.

Plus, while there are plenty of nannies out there, the ones deserving six figures are much harder to come by.

And if you want to become a six-figure nanny, Davidson offers a few handy tips:

According to Pavillion’s vice president, Seth Norman Greenberg, a nanny increases her market value if she speaks fluent French (or, increasingly, Mandarin); can cook a four-course meal (and, occasionally, macrobiotic dishes); and ride, wash and groom a horse.

Sounds like the kind of person who might have been reared by a very expensive nanny herself.