Whether it’s a large diamond perched upon neatly manicured fingers or a Lamborghini in the drive, money – as the saying goes – talks. But in a post-pandemic world, in which we’ve never been more attuned to our wellbeing, the newest, most exclusive status symbol isn’t an object, it’s access – to the best private doctors, to be exact. While it has long been acknowledged that health equals wealth, if the recent proliferation of money-can-buy medical services is anything to go by, it seems that the equation runs the other way around. Does wealth, in fact, equal health?
Longevity is a growing global obsession, and with it the concept of “health span” – ie, living as long, and as prosperously, as possible. In the US, luxury gym Equinox has introduced a longevity programme that includes blood tests and an Oura ring, plus sessions with personal trainers, sleep coaches and nutritionists for a cool $40,000 per annum. It is joined by Continuum’s $10,000-a-month Manhattan social wellness club, where you can work out, sample hyperbaric oxygen therapy and take Himalayan salt saunas, cocooned from the bustle of city life – a nice life if you can afford it.
In London, the newest operation in town is The Lighthouse, where some of the world’s most in-demand actors bolt for 360-degree wellness in a private, safe space away from lurking paparazzi. Then there is Solice Health (£6,000 a year) and Surrenne in Knightsbridge (starting at £10,000 a year), Bamford’s The Club in the Cotswolds (£15,000 per year for the whole shebang); Lanserhof, with outposts in London and Germany (from around £7,000 for the basic Longevity package); and Chenot Palace in Switzerland (from £4,900) – all destinations where high-net-worth individuals congregate to be treated by the best in their respective fields.
Dr Sabine Donnai, a world authority on proactive health management based at the Viavi clinic in Marylebone, was pushing the longevity perspective before it became a wellness obsession – prices for her services start at £14,000 for a one-off evaluation and health strategy. “We are the Formula 1 car of health MOTs, but fundamentally our aim is to give people a strategy for their health. What is it that they need to do to avoid cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s or autoimmune problems? And then what do they need to do to make the most of their life, slow down ageing and live as well as they can for as long as possible?”
Her aim is to be as precise as can be with each of her clients, analysing their current, medium, long-term and prospective health so that they can make maximum change with achievable effort. From blood to stool, saliva to skin and hair, sleep to hormone tests, as well as imaging and brain mapping, there is no area uninvestigated. “We can pick up Alzheimer’s biomarkers about 15 to 20 years prior to symptoms arriving,” she explains, by example. “Since 90 per cent of Alzheimer’s is a result of lifestyle and only 10 per cent is genetics, that means the individual can start making lifestyle changes to prevent it happening in the first place.” (Those changes, by the way, include reducing alcohol intake, eating a balanced diet with plenty of vegetables and oily fish, and exercising consistently.)
Flying regularly between London, Rome and Monaco is Dr Michael Sagner – professor of ageing research at King’s College London and founder of Sarena Clinic – who began his career in sports medicine, the only specialty in traditional medicine that focuses on prevention, rather than cure. “Anyone who graduated from medical school in the last 80 years is trained to treat symptoms and diagnose big diseases, but they’re not trained to think like engineers,” he explains. “If there’s a little crack in the system that’s not yet completely disastrous, they’re not going to look at it.” That’s not to say your local GP isn’t doing all they can, but the simple fact is that they have neither the time nor resources to investigate issues that haven’t actually arisen yet. They’re there to treat you when you fall ill.
As well as a highly bespoke service in which clients have round-the-clock access to Sagner and his team, Sarena Clinic in London is a proper hospital, with operating theatres, GPs, psychotherapists and cardiologists on hand to treat clients. He is clear that this is not just another wellness space, but an “advanced concept of healthy ageing medicine”. “We are seeing a lot of high-net-worth individuals and celebrities coming to us as patients, but they’re also investing a lot in this field,” he says. He won’t disclose how much his services cost, but he does say that many of his clients are on annual retainers. “Obviously, with the super rich, you have to be charging a certain amount,” he says wryly, “otherwise they don’t believe that you’re the real deal.”
Treatment is tailored to each individual based on tests and genetic predisposition, but – after optimising your lifestyle – some of the treatments he prescribes include metformin, which was once used to treat type 2 diabetes. It is now considered a “wonder drug” by those in the longevity field, thanks to its ability to balance blood sugar, improve cardiovascular health and lower the risk of dementia and stroke. Initial studies suggest that it may also slow the ageing process. As for NAD+ and semaglutide drugs, such as Ozempic and Wegovy, both of which are popular with the affluent, he is sceptical of the former and welcoming of the latter, provided the right support is there: “You have to optimise your diet and lifestyle in tandem to taking it – it can be very effective.”
Sonu Shivdasani, CEO of luxury resort group Soneva, where those who are able flock for optimised wellness retreats, is of the mindset that the one per cent has additionally been blessed with more “exposure to thinking, ideas and understanding. There’s a gap between what has been well studied and what makes its way into mainstream medicine,” he says. Having beaten aggressive lymphoma cancer twice (with a combination of chemotherapy and scientifically backed, but nonetheless alternative, protocols, including heat therapy, fasting and high-dose vitamin C), he knows firsthand the benefits of drawing advice from world-class specialists.
The annual Soneva Fushi Soul Festival in the Maldives brings together many of his little black book’s wellbeing experts, including Dr Katarina Le Blanc, a haematologist and stem cell expert; Dr Zach Bush, an endocrinologist and microbiome expert; and Jamie Wheal, a Pulitzer Prize-nominated author and the founder of Flow Genome Project. At $3,200 per night for two adults, you gain intimate access to this elite group, who are on hand to share ways to live a healthier life. “Their thinking will become conventional wisdom in around 25 years time,” adds Shivdasani.
Alma Festival at Ibiza’s Six Senses is another key date in the wealthy wellness seeker’s diary. While, alas, I do not qualify for the one per cent myself, researching this story was too compelling not to dip a toe. I fell on my sword and flew to the White Isle for three nights to experience the sights and sounds of, well, money. My fellow attendees were clad in only the best athleisurewear and boasted the kind of skin luminosity that indicates regular, top-tier facials. And me? I was more concerned with immersing myself in knowledge from hormone expert Dr Jessica Shepherd (who works with Halle Berry and Sheryl Crow), enjoying breathwork sessions courtesy of Niraj Naik, and being mentally and physically realigned via osteopathy and acupuncture expert Boniface Verney-Carron. My main takeaway? You don’t necessarily need lots of money to tap into next-level wellness – much of it lies in the essence of what we already have access to, such as our breath.
Amid the stories of having personal chefs, trainers, therapists and nutritionists on tap – not to mention personal reformer Pilates beds being flown on private jets – every expert I spoke to for this story agreed that being well is within all of our reach, whatever our income. However, there are some general rules: “We should all be looking after the gut and eating probiotic foods, which are inexpensive,” says Dr Donnai. “You don’t need to buy probiotics; ferment your own cabbage at home.” Fasting, whether that’s a seasonal 48-hour fast or doing the 16:8 intermittent fasting method, causes cellular renewal and is a great method for those wanting to reset.
“Stress – or uncompensated stress, when it is chronic and the brain becomes hypervigilant – is also a problem. We’ve forgotten how to be calm,” says Donnai, explaining that it can cause weight gain and impact our sleep. “You might think you’re sleeping well, but when you’re stressed the body doesn’t repair its DNA as it should at night. So you’re walking around each day with unrepaired DNA, or DNA adduct, which is compounded by environmental chemicals that significantly increase your risk of cancer,” she explains. “We very seldom see anybody in the clinic now who we don’t have to recommend a stress-relief method like meditation, yoga or mindfulness to help calm the system.” Having (rather vigilantly) embraced the holistic stress-relief methods I learnt at Alma Festival, including the aforementioned breathwork and regular yoga, I have noticed a huge difference in my mind and body – and hopefully, in the future, my long-term health too.
Both experts also emphasise the importance of resistance training to promote optimal muscle mass. As we get older, muscle becomes a “very expensive resource to keep, so the body starts to shed it”, explains Donnai. “When you lose muscle, you also drop growth hormone, and that’s when you start ageing.” So lift heavy things, use your body weight and get your squats in. Other fundamental lifestyle habits that can benefit all of us include limiting alcohol, caffeine and sugar, given they all cause inflammation, which is linked to a number of chronic diseases. The classics prevail: go for regular walks and drink plenty of water. More nichely? “Flossing your teeth minimises inflammation, particularly in the brain – people think it’s just about the teeth, but when you have bleeding gums, you increase your risk of Alzheimer’s by 13 per cent.”
What the rich are actually paying for is precision and in-depth information about their current and future health; a scrupulous, personalised strategy on how to prevent and treat the hallmarks and diseases associated with ageing. Of course, greater access to forward-thinking science has a powerful allure. Yet while many of us can’t afford that, we can still tap into the same, simple lifestyle habits that are being prescribed to the one per cent. Although, if you want to receive your care from a famous doctor you’re on first name terms with? Manifesting a lottery win might help.
