As the mastermind of $50mn weddings and “no budget” birthdays, Ken Fulk has views on conspicuous consumption. “We work for people for whom money is not an obstacle. Time is their limited resource. For them, luxury is not about accumulation, but time well spent,” he says.
Fulk, age 60, is the founder of an interior design firm that guides the creative direction of his clients’ lives. “Your son can graduate from college one week, and your mother can die the next,” he points out. “When my clients have an opportunity to be together and find joy, it’s not frivolous.”
Ken Fulk at home in 2021 © Brian Flaherty
In the rarefied world of the ultra-wealthy, there is one scarcity or deep need, which, for lack of a better term, we might call “meaningful experiences”. Billionaire lives are so complex that an army of butlers, house managers and personal concierges is not enough. The solutions require the services of world-building designers who can tailor every inch of their social life, including the creation of family gatherings with 2,000 expenses that can be paid for with a single cheque.
Designers of elite lives are not just involved in parties, but the process of getting to them. Take a long-range, top-of-the-food-chain jet like a Bombardier Global 7500. Fulk improves the travel experience down to the smallest detail – the glassware and rare whiskies in the bar, comic safety videos, and Dopp kits that include custom “mile-high” condoms. “It’s not about impressing people, but imprinting memories,” he affirms.
