Mansion owners have hilarious complaints about how difficult it is to be rich


In a new article in The Wall Street Journal, mansion owners have gone on the record to say that living large isn't as easy as it sounds.
The homeowners have complaints ranging from employing enough staff members to contacting family members in opposite ends of the house.
The first homeowner profiled, Claudio Stivelman, owns an 11,000-square-foot house in Golden Beach, Florida. Stivelman said that hiring staffers was just too much work, and that he's leaving his home. He employed "two housekeepers, a weekly handyman, and regular visits from a pool guy, landscaper and pesticide sprayer," the Journal reports. Stivelman said he was "tired of...all this maintenance."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Carolyn Mullany-Jackson, meanwhile, resides in a comfortable 20,000-square-foot home in Paradise Valley, Arizona, and said it's far too difficult to contact others in the home "when they are out of shouting range." Mullany-Jackson told the Journal that sometimes she will resort to texting the others rather than use the house's intercom system.
Norm Snyder, who, along with his wife, is selling his 14,000-square-foot house on Kent Island in Maryland, had a similar problem with his residence. The home includes a nightclub with a stage and full bar, a car showroom, and a two-story movie theater, along with eight bedrooms and 11 bathrooms. "It took me six months to find my way around and feel comfortable," Snyder said.
The Journal also notes that while the size of the average American home is increasing, the 2013 average was still only 2,598 feet, making these mansions far from common. And if you're wondering, the average asking price for homes larger than 10,000 square feet is $3.5 million.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Meghan DeMaria is a staff writer at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked for USA Today and Marie Claire.
-
Taking aim at Venezuela’s autocrat
Feature The Trump administration is ramping up military pressure on Nicolás Maduro. Is he a threat to the U.S.?
-
Comey indictment: Is the justice system broken?
Feature U.S. attorney Lindsey Halligan has indicted former FBI Director James Comey on charges of lying and obstructing Congress
-
Government shuts down amid partisan deadlock
Feature As Democrats and Republicans clash over health care and spending, the shutdown leaves 750,000 federal workers in limbo
-
Judge bars Trump’s National Guard moves in Oregon
Speed Read In an emergency hearing, a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump from sending National Guard troops into Portland
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denial
Speed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels
speed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feud
Speed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protesters
Speed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’
Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US
-
US government shuts down amid health care standoff
Speed Read Democrats said they won’t vote for a deal that doesn’t renew Affordable Care Act health care subsidies
-
YouTube to pay Trump $22M over Jan. 6 expulsion
Speed Read The president accused the company of censorship following the suspension of accounts post-Capitol riot