Mirror, mirror on the wall. Who’s the richest of them all?
Rich kid of Instagram Jamie Chua (okay, so she’s not exactly a kid) has over 600K followers on Instagram, beating influencer Naomi Neo and even Caldecott’s Social Media Queen Jeanette Aw.
With her youthful looks, the 42-year-old hardly looks like she’s been on earth for nearly half a century, and could be mistaken for someone half her actual age. On Instagram, followers get to have a glimpse of her picture-perfect life, from the branded goods she owns to her jet setting lifestyle.
It’s no wonder she has commanded such a huge following on Instagram.
Besides living the rich tai-tai life every girl dreams of, here are 10 things you never knew about Jamie Chua.
1. She famously demanded a $450,000 monthly maintenance fee
In a high-profile divorce with Indonesian multi-millionaire Nurdian Cuaca, she famously asked for $450,000 a month in alimony, and even successfully froze her husband’s $93m assets during their divorce case battle.
The pair filed for divorce in February 2010, citing “unreasonable behaviour”.
In November 2011, the pair reached an amicable settlement in their divorce.
2. She used to be a Singapore girl
What better way is there to fly than with Singapore Airlines?
At 17, Chua was an air stewardess with Singapore Airlines. Three years later, she met Indonesian tycoon Nurdian Cuaca when Cuaca flew in Business Class. She soon married him and began living the high life as a tai-tai.
3. She spends $14,000 a month to look good
And most of us don’t even earn $14,000 in two months.
In an interview with Her World Plus, Chua revealed that she puts in more effort into her beauty and skincare routine than her fashion one.
This means splurging $14,000 a month on herself so she can look like she’s in her twenties. Her beauty regimen, like most tai-tais, comprises of weekly massages, facials, as well as slimming and hair treatments.
Here’s a quick breakdown:
* Slimming at Cambridge Therapeutics twice a week: cryosculpt Body Shaping treatment, $1,100
* Hair treatment at Cambridge Therapeutics: Hair Growth Therapy, $250 for 30min
* Hair TLC at Kim Robinson once a week: $68 wash-and-blow, Restructure treatment ($318 for 60 min)
* Facials every two weeks at Dream Plastic Surgery: KKUM Facial Treatment, $588 for 60min
* Mani-pedi with manicurist Priscilla Ng who pops by her house every nine days: $150
* Full body massage at LS Philosophy every Sunday: LS Ultimate Rejuvenating Massage, $220 for 60min
4. She’s the mother of two
Chua is the mother of two, 17-year-old daughter Calista and 21-year-old son Cleveland.
5. She doesn’t believe in splurging on her children but splurges on her children
If I pamper my kids by giving them extravagant gifts at the snap of my finger, they will grow up not learning anything. I don’t want to spoon-feed them and watch them grow up to be overly dependent on their parents. It is not good.
Despite this, she once gifted her son with his most expensive present — a Range Rover that costs more than $270,000. She also buys him branded shoes from Givenchy and Valentino – brands he regularly wears — and they usually cost over $1,000 a pair. However, she had turned down his request to buy him an exotic supercar as he is still too young.
As for Calista, Chua buys her Chanel handbags at $6,000 each.
So much for not splurging on them.
6. She teaches her daughter how to pose
Which mum would buy her daughter branded Chanel bags, appear on magazines together, and teach her daughter how to pose?
Jamie Chua, that is.
Learn from the mother of all #OOTDs.
Cool mum is cool.
7. She has her own beauty line
In April last year, the entrepreneur started Luminous1 by Jamie Chua, her own beauty line.
Chua also swears by the masks from her brand:
I use facial masks twice a day – I use a brightening one when I wake up and a collagen one before bed. I’m using those from my own brand, Luminous1 by Jamie Chua. I’ve tried other brands such as SK-II and even South Korean brands, but I couldn’t find an ideal one, so I decided to make my own.
Maybe her products are made from the fountain of youth?
8. Her maid is Leticia
It seems like celebrity maid Leticia Bongnino has found a new employer and doesn’t have to carry boy boy’s bag anymore.
However, in 2013, Chua shared in an interview with The Straits Times that her helpers take her photos that are shared on Instagram, and they usually have to retake several times until Chua is satisfied.
9. She has one of the largest collection of Hermes Birkin bags in the world
In 2011, Lianhe Wanbao named Chua as the woman who owns “the most number of Hermes Birkin bags in the world”, which comes as no surprise since she’s known for owning over 200 of such bags – even more than celebrity Victoria Beckham. A Birkin bag costs between US$9,000 to US$150,000 (S$11,000 to S$190,000).
10. She has a supportive boyfriend
The social media savvy socialite often uploads pictures of her boyfriend on Instagram.
According to her, her boyfriend is…
The man who takes care of me like a father, protects me like a mother, endearing like my son and supportive like my daughter.
…basically like the holy trinity. Aww…
More of Jamie Chua to come
Chua has always been very open with her light and is constantly in the media spotlight.
Besides Chua’s fulltime job as a tai-tai, she is also an entrepreneur and endorses her own beauty line Luminous1.
It’ll be interesting to see what Chua will be up to next. In the meantime, we’ll be stalking her Instagram page and drooling over her Hermes Birkin bags.