INSIDER L.A. STORIES


Emad Ghobrial was four years old when his parents moved their family from Cairo to California in search of the American Dream. They found it. Now he lives with his glamorous wife and adorable baby in Hancock Park, an upper-middle-class neighborhood that's basically Hollywood on lemonade. The street lamps are short and upright with decorative bulbs; the lawns are blown and manicured on a weekly basis; and the entire place is so picture-perfect it would make you sick if you didn't fall in love with it and want to relocate immediately. His home's ornate gate seems somewhat redundant: despite it proximity to less desirable areas, it's hard to imagine a crime being committed in Hancock Park. One is almost certain that the criminals would have too much respect for the natural order of things here. In a city where nobody walks anywhere, here, people's cars sometimes stay in their driveways all weekend, while they walk the dog or push the buggy round to Larchmont, the local shopping area. There are no strip malls here. It's all French cafes and cute boutiques; it's both frighteningly twee and gloriously genteel.


Ghobrial makes his living providing a Private Concierge service (Preferred Group) to men and women who are cash rich and time poor. Despite a college education, he did not opt for Corporate America. Instead, he used his good looks and warm personality to get stuff done - first, at The Peninsula in Beverly Hills, an now from his own office at the top of the CNN building on Sunset Boulevard.


Reminded of hope and glory by a stunning view of the Hollywood sign, he now sorts stuff out for high net worth individuals whose only means of transport is a private jet or a chauffeur-driven town car. He shrugs at the suggestion that some of the demands may be a little extravagant. He is no longer surprised by anything and applies the same humility and enthusiasm to all of his clients' requests. Private jets filled with gardenias, front row tickets to 'sold out' concerts and other tasks that he's too professional to do more than hint at. He doesn't ask questions and never says no. Ghobrial is living his American dream and helps his clients to fulfill theirs.