Rich Kids is the ‘world’s most exclusive social network’

A new social media app for the rich keeps the riff-raff away, thanks to a whopping $1,000 monthly fee. Rich Kids, the so-called “world’s most exclusive social network,” lets the wealthy subscribers share snaps of their lavish lifestyles, while the rest of us are only allowed to watch in envy as they party on yachts, drink bottlesof champagne and cruise in sportscars. The members-only app is also designed to help the affluent “gain new followers that could never find you among the millions of users on Instagram.” Metro chats withRich Kids CEO Juraj Ivan about why even the superrich would pay to post on a social media app.

When did you come up with the idea for Rich Kids?

It was a few years ago when I first saw the Rich Kids of Instagram Tumblr blog. I was surprised that there was no service or social network for rich people, which isn’t private. All of the social networks for the rich are closed to the eye of a random user. We think that “being rich is boring when nobody sees you.”

So it’s just for showing off?

It’s not only to showcase the life of the rich and famous but also to inspire and motivate our users. Think of it as a modern tabloid newspaper with the rich and celebrities in the position of the editor.

But do rich people really need a separate social network?

Yes, they do. From the point of view of the rich, they are annoyed by people who are only pretending to be rich — people who pose with other people’s stuff to get more attention and likes.

How is your social network different from all the other existing ones?

First of all, we offer exclusivity to our members. You can’t have that on Instagram. Next, we are bringing them a new audience that would never find them within millions of users on Instagram. And there is also a social aspect of helping others thanks to charity donations.

Is the subscription high to price out certain people or are you doing your bit for charity?

Our pricing is relative and it’s not so much for everyone. We cannot personally check everyone who wants to join Rich Kids. The membership and its price exists as a filter and quality guarantee for both our members and followers. The money from subscriptions goes primarily to the operation and further development of the service. The decision to donate to charity is my personal decision (one-third of the subscription is donated). I want the Rich Kids social network to have a real and positive impact on this world.

I’ve heard you had some problems with Apple…

Apple has recently removed Rich Kids from the App Store. Rich Kids didn’t break any App Store guidelines or rules and it was purely a decision of Apple’s App Store review team which found our app inappropriate. Rather then let people decide if they like the Rich Kids app or not, Apple made this decision on behalf of all iPhone users. The app will continue to work for everybody who downloaded the Rich Kids app before removal.

What’s next?

Now we are working on a website and Android version of Rich Kids.

-Dmitry Belyaev