Last October Jan Gerber was on a beach on a private island in the Seychelles when \u201ca depression hit that had never hit me before. I\u2019d be brushing my teeth in the morning and I\u2019d feel the darkening coming on. I\u2019d crawl to the floor and just lie there crying. <\/p>\n
\u201cMy fianc\u00e9e would find me half an hour later and have to get me to bed. It was the most beautiful place in the world, a boutique resort surrounded by a national park, but I had plunged into a dark ocean. I saw so clearly there is no meaning, there\u2019s just pain, so why keep going?\u201d<\/p>\n
Gerber had plenty of experience of other people\u2019s breakdowns, as the founder and chief executive of Paracelsus Recovery, the world\u2019s most expensive \u2014 and exclusive \u2014 rehab clinic, costing clients about \u00a3100,000 a week. <\/p>\n
This is where film stars, royalty, elite sportspeople, and CEOs check in suffering from burnout, depression and\/or addiction. For them a white-walled psychiatric hospital simply will not do. <\/p>\n
Yet the strain of building up this business brought Gerber, 43, to this point where he wanted to commit suicide, but lacked the energy to form or carry out a plan. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t have minded if a bus ran over me.\u201d<\/p>\n
The son of a Swiss psychiatrist father and nurse mother, Gerber studied accounting at the London School of Economics before becoming a management consultant and serial entrepreneur. The idea for an ultra-exclusive clinic was born after a friend of a friend, who was the boss of a listed company, needed discreet help for alcoholism. Gerber curated his treatment, sourcing him a butler and a yoga instructor. <\/p>\n
\u201cI realised there was a niche of very exposed, famous and ultra-wealthy people who couldn\u2019t just walk into rehab or a clinic. Their family, or the public, or business partners might find out.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u2022 The man the ultra-rich call when they hit rock bottom<\/a><\/p>\n Gerber and his mother pioneered a fully holistic approach, with each client assigned a team of 15 to 20 people, including psychiatrists, nurses, masseuses, nutritionists and a live-in therapist. \u201cIf you really want to unearth all the factors that contribute to a problem and find bespoke treatments, you need to throw massive resources at it. That costs a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n Paracelsus Recovery was founded 12 years ago, since when about 400 high-profile clients \u2014 mainly American, but many from the Middle East and Europe, have checked in to its three (the maximum number of clients treated at any one time) apartments on the shores of Lake Zurich, complete with a live-in therapist available 24\/7 and personal chef. From there, they can walk discreetly \u2014 via the bins \u2014 the 30 seconds to the clinic, with sessions arranged so that no client ever sees another. <\/p>\n Its staff have become experts in understanding the issues that uniquely plague ultra-high-net-worth individuals \u2014 defined as people worth more than \u00a337 million \u2014 with research showing that despite their financial cushions, people in that bracket are three to five times more likely than the average to suffer from a mental illness or substance abuse problem. <\/p>\n \u201cThese people live in a separate reality,\u201d Gerber says. \u201cThey\u2019re surrounded by people who daren\u2019t say no, who want your money, who are affiliated with you for reasons other than being interested in you as a human being and that makes you very lonely.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s a 40-minute drive from Zurich to the restored 150-year-old house \u2014 we were chauffeured here in a Bentley \u2014 which Gerber shares with his fianc\u00e9e, Jil, and their adored retriever. Having shown us round the underground gym, with its sauna, steam room, Japanese onsen bath and sound-healing room, Gerber is now nursing a glass of fine Swiss wine, looking out over emerald woodland from the terrace. He is dressed in white trousers and an open-neck shirt. A swimming pool glistens below us. The clang of cowbells can be heard in the background.<\/p>\n Indoors, a 33ft Murano glass chandelier dominates the double-height living room, while a secret bar is hidden behind a bookcase. A chef prepares our three-course dinner, but often Jil cooks for clients whom they often entertain. \u201cOften they haven\u2019t had a home-cooked meal in a home environment since childhood.\u201d Their guest before me was the Duchess of York, there to explore mental health advocacy.<\/p>\n He\u2019s had a long day, which included bolstering staff after one client was \u201cquite mean to them \u2026 it\u2019s a cultural thing. The patience and the kindness you need to show is sometimes taxing.\u201d <\/p>\n Tomorrow will start early with a high-profile Turkish family wanting to check out the facilities. Gerber has worked non-stop for years to build his client base, with his first major mental health wobble coming during Covid. \u201cMental health issues were on the rise, but borders were closed. I should have declared bankruptcy, but I was like, \u2018I\u2019m not giving this up.\u2019 It was so close to my heart,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n The business survived but there were further grapples with a \u201ctoxic\u201d business partner. \u201cIt really took a mental toll.\u201d At the same time, Gerber\u2019s nine-year marriage began falling apart. \u201cI was having a midlife crisis, my six-year-old son was not doing well in kindergarten and as a parent you take on that energy. I was wondering, what is it all for. I was well-off but I\u2019d been much happier as a student watching my budget, not knowing how I\u2019d pay my rent the following month.\u201d <\/p>\n