They’re the billionaire clan that became a small-screen sensation in a blizzard of f-bombs, back-stabbing, PJs (private jets) and so many schemes and stitch-ups, Machiavelli would consider them a little bit slippery.
But as the final season of razor-sharp drama Succession begins tonight, who will emerge victorious in the boardroom of Waystar Royco, the Roy family’s global media empire, as tycoon Logan Roy, played by Brian Cox, fends off his vengeful children?
Yet there is another question many viewers outside the top 0.5% of society would like answered: how realistic is the lifestyle of the fictional clan? Here, we ask the experts.
The billions
© Supplied by Tessa WilliamsTessa Williams is a contributor to Channel 5 TV show The World’s Greatest Hotels and author of Hotel Of The Stars. She divides her time between her family’s country estate in Aberdeenshire and her research visits to the globe’s most iconic and luxurious retreats.
Rubbing shoulders with millionaires and billionaires is now second nature so she knows more than most the quirks and nuances of what she calls the “elite circles and clubs” of the super-rich. However, it’s not what you might think.
“Succession is really so well observed and the main thing they get right is the confidence of the super-wealthy,” she explains.
“That’s the thing you notice most about people with money. It’s not what you would assume, like their clothes or appearance that really sets them apart. Quite often you see the absolute uber-wealthy dressed in tracksuits and a cap – as with Kendall Roy in Succession. It’s the self-assurance that often only comes with having money because you can do anything you want.
“I came across a quote recently by the writer, William Somerset Maugham, in which he says ‘money is the sixth sense, without which you can’t make a complete use of the other five,’ and that really struck me. In the line of work I’m in, I can see how much of the world’s beauty money actually can buy you. But sometimes people who have the money to enjoy the world are the ones who end up appreciating it the least, as is so well portrayed in Succession.
“You see them on these yachts, on these jets, experiencing these incredible places and yet they’re not aware of it. Instead they’re just scheming. All they care about is making more money and being more powerful.”
Inside the boardroom
Mike Soutar is a former newspaper and magazine CEO who serves on the board of non-profit organisations including the V&A and Comic Relief, as well as working as an investor, portfolio director and adviser focused on technology, media and the arts. He is also more widely known as an interviewer on The Apprentice.
Many Succession viewers believe the Roy dynasty is a fictional version of the real-life Murdoch family, known for their global media empire but Soutar isn’t so sure.
He says: “The writer Jesse Armstrong, who created Succession, claims it’s not the Murdochs he based the series on, though he did once write a screenplay about that family which was never produced so who knows?
“The one big difference? I’ve met all of Rupert Murdoch’s grown-up children and they are all much smarter and far less toxic than Kendall, Shiv, Roman and the rest.
“There are definitely similarities between the boardroom scenes in Succession and real-life boardrooms. Making decisions about multi-million deals, what to acquire, what to dispose of, is high-octane stuff.
“Boardrooms I’ve been in are full of ambitious and clever people, well practised in corporate politics. There is a lot at stake and emotions can run very high.
“The one difference is that regardless of how heated the debate is, there is almost no swearing at real-life board meetings. Partly that’s because they are minuted and partly because once you swear you let yourself down and you lose the argument.
“Outside of the boardroom is where most of the swearing and strong-arming of executives tends to happen in real business.
“Having said that, I’ve never witnessed the sort of institutionalised executive bullying that is portrayed in Succession – I’ve never seen anyone being made to get on their knees to play Boar On The Floor, as entertainingly humiliating as that is on TV.”
The ruthless brutality of Succession’s characters in their dealings with their closest family members is often shocking but also appears necessary for progression. But having worked in some of the world’s most impressive boardrooms, Soutar doesn’t think this is a real reflection of doing well.
“I don’t think you need to be a bad person to rise up through the ranks. In fact I’d say it would be an impediment,” he said.
“I’ve always tried to be generous with my time and help lift people up. What’s the point of creating enemies who want to drag you down?
“Also, for you to ‘win’ as an executive it isn’t necessary for others to lose. The people who ultimately rise to the top in business are those supported by others.
“You don’t get to be the boss if the people under you don’t respect you and believe you have their best interests at heart.
“However, it is difficult to see any of the Roy kids living up to that, so perhaps a secret love-child from one of Logan’s previous relationships might come to the fore this series? Either that or they’ll have to cryogenically store Logan Roy’s brain…”
The on-boarding
Marta Drozdziel is a luxury travel blogger who visits some of the world’s most exclusive locations.
Because she so frequently stays at the fanciest of hotels, they must be something truly special to pique her interest.
For the average Joe, however, the perks enjoyed by the billionaire Roy family seem totally outlandish.
“Usually weeks leading up to your stay, your hotel will start on-boarding you, requesting tiny details and your preferences, from dietary requirements to what pillow scent you would like,” explains Drozdziel, who blogs as Marta D. Travels.
“All the staff will have memorised your name and you will often receive personalised items. For example, one hotel in Thailand – Soneva Kiri – actually had our names on the steering wheel of our personal buggy.
“At these exclusive hotels you will usually get a butler who will accompany you throughout your stay.
“You will be given a personal phone from the hotel to use WhatsApp to communicate your requests 24/7.
“Another key thing is that staff will often speak multiple languages and always perfect English.
“You will never have to wait for anything. There is a real immediacy to everything.
“These hotels take guests’ privacy extremely seriously as it is often of the utmost importance to guests themselves.
“They also often place a lot of importance on sustainability because it makes them look good and is a draw for people.”
The bacon sandwich
Sarah Smith is a former stewardess on super-yachts in Cannes and Monaco where she served celebrities and millionaires.
She has seen first-hand how children of the super-rich are often unable to complete normal, day-to-day tasks because they have always had someone else to do them on their behalf.
Like Kendall Roy being driven by a chauffeur or his brother Roman declaring he could never give up using private jets, they live a privileged life most people could only dream of.
“Unless their parents continue to encourage them to do things for themselves, they just don’t need to,” says Smith, whose real name we are not revealing for privacy reasons. “Staff are employed to look after the kids and clean up around them so it’s all they have ever known.
“The majority of wealthy families have a fully staffed house at home, as well as when they holiday on a super-yacht. They’ll have at least a driver/chauffeur, cleaner, chef and house manager depending on the size of their house.
“The eldest kid of the owner of one of the super-yachts I worked on always looked completely bored out of his skull, similar to the way the Roys behave when they’re in these amazing places.”
The people Smith looked after ranged from wealthy families to American celebrities staying on super-yachts during the Cannes Lions Festival or the Monaco Grand Prix.
“People staying on the yacht wanted really mundane food – like a bacon sandwich,” she recalls. “I think because they are surrounded by fine dining and eat out all the time, when they were on holiday with their families they just wanted to relax and for things to feel a little less formal.
“That didn’t mean we stopped putting out the crystal water glasses though!”
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