It happens at every drag brunch in San Francisco. Lip-synching queens in wigs and heels work the room, their manicured fingers accepting tips from adoring onlookers. For a diva wearing a sequined gown, those dollar bills typically have only one place to go: between the amply padded breasts.
But what happens to the money after that?
Rahni Simpson is San Francisco’s only drag performer who doubles as a financial adviser, helping members of the city’s nightlife community — drag performers, bartenders, burlesque dancers, and anyone else in the service industries — work toward financial security and plan for the future.
Drag aficionados have likely seen Simpson’s fierce alter ego, Rahni NothingMore (opens in new tab), aka Miss Rahni, at popular shows such as Reparations (opens in new tab) or Princess (opens in new tab) at the temporarily closed SoMa club Oasis. Led by some enviable cheekbones, she rules the night. But by day, Simpson works for Northwestern Mutual, where he advises clients from a desk on the 16th floor of the Transamerica Pyramid — an appropriately fabulous office for drag’s finance queen.
Simpson has a single, overarching principle: “If you don’t tell your money where to go, you won’t know where it went,” he says. This goes double for LGBTQ+ service workers who may find themselves with extra cash after, say, picking up bar shifts during Pride Month. “I keep trying to tell these hoes: Open a Roth IRA and max that the fuck out.”
A South Carolina native in his 40s, Simpson moved to San Francisco in the late aughts to pursue drag, and the Rahni NothingMore persona became a local icon, known for high glamour, a commanding stage presence, and fearless crowd work. While holding the title of Miss Gay San Francisco 2022-23, Simpson worked for Levi’s and briefly pursued a career in tech sales — “I was like, ‘I want an office job. I want Martin Luther King Day off!’” he recalls — before pivoting to finance.
These days, his clients run the gamut from part-time massage therapists who earn less than $20,000 per year to software engineers with extensive portfolios. A recent retiree just handed him a $3 million check. His pitch boils down to a simple idea: “It’s never too late to start preparing for your future.”
Nightlife professionals — who often have irregular or under-the-table employment and poor or nonexistent credit histories — require the most hand-holding. So he starts by gently pitching a consultation. “Think of me as your financial fairy godmother,” he says. “I’m here to help you secure that bag and be ready for whatever twists and turns life throws your way.”
‘I keep trying to tell these hoes: Open a Roth IRA and max that the fuck out.’
Over the past year, Simpson has “singlehandedly gone around the drag scene getting each performer a savings plan,” says Mary Vice (opens in new tab), a 13-year veteran. She felt at ease during their first meeting, largely because they’d performed together as part of the Hot Boxxx Girls (opens in new tab) at Tenderloin bar Aunt Charlie’s. As a result, “I have a high-yield savings account — and life insurance!”
She is here to make your money werq, honey.
Simpson pivoted to finance after a brief career in tech sales.
Luke O’Leary, who performs as Curveball (opens in new tab), says he started working with Simpson after they did shows together at Lookout, a lively queer bar in the Castro. By O’Leary’s own admission, he had “zero savings” and wasn’t even on the hunt for an adviser until Simpson tapped him for a fiscal glow-up. Having someone from the community built immediate trust. To make a full-time career out of drag, “you have to be smart with how you save,” O’Leary says. “Now my wealth is building and not just sitting somewhere.”
Miss Rahni doesn’t grace the stage as much these days — a show or two, one weekend per month. She’s more about high yields than high heels. And however supportive Northwestern Mutual may be — Simpson says the corporate culture is inclusive, colleagues aid one another, and everyone has a mentor with at least five years’ experience in wealth management — a queen must forge her own path. Many of Simpson’s colleagues are avid golfers, for instance, while he is allergic to the idea of playing nine holes.
“They say the deals are made on the golf course,” Simpson notes. “For me, they’re made in the dressing room.”