Q & A: Orly the Matchmaker

Talk about an expensive date. How does $100,000 sound for the price of finding true love? That’s the going rate if you get set up by Orly the Matchmaker.

Orly, a former beauty queen in Israel who once served in the Israeli army, and who goes by just one name professionally, is officially the world’s most expensive matchmaker, according to “Guinness World Records 2003.” The paperback comes out this spring. (In contrast to Orly’s services, the paperback will cost just $7.50.)

The Guinness book lists her going rate at $100,000; she says it can run up to $200,000. We called Orly at her office in -where else-Beverly Hills to ask some questions. You can too, if you’re feeling rich enough; at (310) 289-9534. (Her website is www.orlythematchmaker.com.)

Q: Who are your clients?

A: They come from all over the world, and they are only very, very high end. We cater mostly to people ages 20-to-80.

Q: Why can’t they meet people on their own?

A: They’re very, very busy. They have anything and everything that money can offer, and they do not go to singles gatherings. They don’t have time for small talk.

Q: How is your business different from Match.com and all the other dating services out there?

A: We’re not video dating. We’re not computer matching. We’re not Internet matching. We’re not an escort service. We have a staff of six people and we give one-on-one personal matchmaking for marriage-minded people. I give a 100 percent guarantee that we’ll find your soulmate. The rest is up to you.

Q: How did you meet your husband? (Orly is 46 and has been married for 25 years to a surgeon. They have two children, ages 18 and 19.)

A: I didn’t go to a matchmaking service. I found him on my own. I went to temple to pray a little and met him.

Q: How did you get into this business?

A: My parents are matchmakers in Israel-they are still matching-so I grew up watching my parents and then I took their concept and the love of it and brought it to America.

Q: Do yo enjoy your job?

A: I eat, breathe and live matchmaking. I really love it. I’m sort of the mother of everybody.

Q: What does your family think of your business?

A: As long as I pay the bills, they’re happy. It’s a lucrative business. I make more money than my husband, and he’s a surgeon. He saves people and so do I.

Q: Is matchmaking more acceptable than it used to be?

A: Oh, yes. When I started 25 years ago it was like therapy - nobody talked about it, it was all very hush-hush. Some people wouldn’t come to my office. Now it’s in.

Q: Do you have some advice for first dates?

A: The first date must be over a quiet dinner, so you can look in each other’s eyes to see if you have any physical and emotional chemistry. Do not go to a movie. Do not have sex on your first date. On the second date, we advise you to go to an outing outdoors, like a picnic, so you can see each other not only dressed up but very casual. Then the third date you can go to an art show or a concert.

Lifestyle--Sunday, April 6, 2003

Matching the Rich & Famous

What would you be willing to pay to find your perfect soulmate--your dream man or woman? Would it be $1,000? Maybe $5,000? Maybe more? How about if the match was guaranteed? Would you pay up to $200,000 US?

No? Then you probably wouldn’t be a client of Orly Had, the most famous and successful matchmaker in the world.

Orly, who only uses her first name and prefers to be known as Orly The Matchmaker, is based in Beverly Hills, California, and is featured in the 2003 Guinness Book of World Records as the most expensive matchmaker in the world.

The $200,000 US is her highest fee and what she charges for finding partners for or matching clients with, “royalty, famous stars or international celebrities.”

For lesser mortals, (“the beautiful, elite, wealthy, famous and top business professionals”), the packages start at $25,000 (for finding your match in one state); $50,000 (to search all over the U.S.) and $100,000 for a worldwide search.

You not only get your perfect soulmate for that money but Orly guarantees you will get a match within 30-60 days and there is no limit on the number of introductions for up to three years, depending on the package you buy from her.

While it might sound as if she’s set herself a tough, if not impossible task, the beautiful and glamorous “yenta”, as Orly likes to call herself, says she’s totally confident about fulfilling such a mandate.

“We are very, very high-end matchmaking service,” she emphasizes in a phone interview from Beverly Hills, obviously very proud of her diamond-studded reputation. She also makes sure I understand that her business is “not a dating agency. I am a legitimate marriage broker drawing from a select group of serious marriage-minded men and women who are looking for mates with impeccable backgrounds.”

She says she’s 46 and been matchmaking for 25 years, carrying on a family tradition. “My parents were matchmakers in Israel for 50 years.” They matched her with her husband who she says is “still perfect” after 25 years and two children.

But whereas her parents did matchmaking for the love of it and made very little money, Orly took a business route when she came to America 25 years ago. She was immediately successful and her reputation is now known all over the world.

Savvy marketer

Over the phone, Orly radiates enormous confidence and enthusiasm for her business. She’s also a savvy marketer. Without pausing for breath, she tells me about her book--Finding the Perfect Man, her Web site, video, worldwide television and radio appearance, her ads in top magazines (she has a yearly advertising budget of a million dollars), a possible TV talk show and how it works when you sign up with her.

All of the introductions are custom-made, based on compatibility in lifestyle, careers, values and goals. Orly handles every client personally with the aid of a staff of six at her sumptuous Beverly Hills offices.

However, although you may be single, searching for a mate and very rich, it doesn’t guarantee you’ll automatically become one of Orly’s clients. She’s adamant about the type of client she’ll accept. “They must be very attractive, accomplished men and women who are slim, healthy and into a healthy lifestyle.” She also carries out a thorough background check and won’t accept men who earn less than a quarter of a million dollars (US) a year.

When you’ve filled out her application forms, (they can be found on her Web site www.orlythematchmaker.com), you then have an in-depth phone interview with her. If you’re accepted, the fee is paid upfront, (by cheque, no credit cards), and you fly to California to meet her. You’re met at the airport by a limousine and taken to a luxury Rodeo Drive hotel. Then comes a day’s shopping on Rodeo Drive, a visit to her offices for an appointment with her and a lavish lunch at a top restaurant.

“Everything is very high-end luxury, of course,” she says.

I ask her what she thinks of today’s world of everyday dating such as the Internet and both sexes paying their way. “Such rubbish!,” she snorts derisively. “The internet is full of people who lie--married people, criminals and losers. And I don’t know who invented going Dutch, she continues, “Its all wrong! The man should pay!”

Orly says she believes in “old-fashioned” values where the woman is cherished by the man and she looks up to him. She especially believes in people having the best manners and behavior.

“My clients are elegant, classy people,” she says, “ and they expect the very best. That’s what I give. I work very hard for them--seven days a week. There’s no other service like it in the world.”

Now if I could just win the lottery.