Luxury medical services in the Hamptons
One weekend in August, Dr. Alexander Golberg boarded a yacht moored in Sag Harbor, New York, carrying a Louis Vuitton medical kit bag—a gift from a regular patient. On board were Abe and Giovanna Haruvi, real estate entrepreneurs who often summered in New York.
Golberg opened the bag, took the medicine from the icebox that had been used to store caviar, and administered Botox to Giovanna, while also giving Abe a general check-up. “We jokingly call it Boat‑tox – Botox on the boat,” explained Golberg’s son and partner, Mark.
According to Mark, this group of customers considers filler injections almost an “emergency” situation, requiring a doctor to be present immediately before every major event. For minor injuries such as water skiing or children being bitten by ticks, they do not wait for the emergency room but immediately call private doctors to come to their homes or swimming pools.
“It’s an area of medicine that the general public doesn’t know much about,” says Dr. Asma Rashid, of Hamptons Concierge Medical Center.
The rise of ultra-private healthcare
Wealthy areas such as South Florida, San Francisco Bay Area, New York City and Los Angeles are witnessing a boom in high-end private healthcare. Doctors in this field operate flexibly, discreetly and are extremely expensive: membership fees range from several thousand to millions of dollars per year, each home visit costs a minimum of about $1,000 and almost no insurance is accepted.
“Money is not an issue. What they need is speed and advanced medical technology,” said Dr. Rashid, who, after 15 years in the Hamptons, opened a branch in Palm Beach in 2021 to serve the “seasonal migration” clientele between the two coasts.
Since 2020, as the wealthy have moved to their beachfront homes to work remotely, many private doctors have been quick to see the opportunity. Sollis Health opened a center at a luxury horse farm in Water Mill in 2021; Casa Health, White Glove Medicine, and private doctors like Magdalena Swierczewski and James Giugliano have also quickly joined the race.
Many self-described “one-stop medical centers” cater to every family need, from cosmetic and anti-aging treatments to general wellness. Some even go to lavish midnight parties to handle VIP clients.
A tour of the Hamptons in a black Range Rover
Golberg and his son Mark still maintain clinics in Manhattan and Brooklyn, but they really keep busy back in the Hamptons. They travel around in a black Range Rover, offering a variety of in-house cosmetic services like the “Doctor G lift” – a non-surgical facelift, rhinoplasty, buttock augmentation, and the sought-after NAD treatment.
Mark said not all requests were accepted. Some patients taking the weight-loss drug Ozempic wanted a doctor to come to their home to give them weekly injections. “I’ve had people call me just to say, ‘I’m so nauseous, come give me an IV,’” he said.
Discretion remains a top priority. The father and son have secretly treated professional athletes who wanted to hide their injuries, even administering stem cell injections in silence to avoid affecting their careers.
When the super-rich are stuck in pressure and psychological instability
Not only do the wealthy invest in physical health, they also spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to treat psychological problems – the result of their own huge fortunes. The burden of inheritance, identity crisis, depression and substance abuse are increasingly common.
Paracelsus Recovery – where each patient has their own team
In Zurich (Switzerland), the Paracelsus Recovery center operates on a “one patient – one treatment” model, providing isolated treatment services in luxury villas or apartments. The cost ranges from 105,000–135,000 USD/session, serving Middle Eastern royalty, billionaires, famous artists or top athletes.
Each client has a team of 15–20 specialists: psychiatrists, psychotherapists, nutritionists, yoga, massage therapists, and even hypnotherapists. Treatment is based on bio-data, tests, and daily progress reports.
The center only receives 30–40 cases a year, but demand has increased sharply with the increase in the number of people with assets of over $50 million – from 175,000 in 2011 to 265,000 in 2021. According to internal reports, the rate of mental disorders and substance abuse among this group is 3–5 times higher than the average.
Similar injuries at both ends of society
Psychiatrist Thilo Beck, who treats both the poor and the super-rich, sees a common thread: the damage from a lack of emotional connection. The poor lack attention because their parents have to work; the rich grow up in isolated homes, cared for by nannies instead of family.
Mr. Beck spends 90 minutes a day talking and adjusting the treatment. One method he often uses is the “third wave,” which helps patients face and accept their symptoms rather than fight them.
After one to two months, many patients see dramatic changes – something that in conventional treatment facilities can take years.
Two groups of patients: old rich and new rich
According to experts at Paracelsus, the traditional rich often feel lost, living in the shadow of their family’s success and sometimes feeling self-conscious because their lives are “too ordinary”. In contrast, the newly rich are torn by trade-offs: rushing into work, forgetting their families and themselves.
Despite their different starting points, they all seek the answer to the original question: “What do we live for?”. Behind the luxury are voids that money cannot fill.
