The Institute Le Rosey Remains the Most Expensive School in the World

The Institute Le Rosey, locate 32km (20 miles) out of Geneva, has held on to its status as the most expensive school in the world.

Even today their fees structure makes it twice as expensive as high profile schools like Eton. The Institute Le Rosey charges Euro 113.200  ($120.000-£80,000) -a-year in fees and naturally attracts only the super-rich who can afford it. The European Royalty have a marked preference for the most expensive school. They have a long list of celebrity names who have sent their children to Le Rosey, including Sir Roger Moore and Elizabeth Taylor. The officials travel across the world to recruit new students and were in London last week to make their presentations. They are scheduled to travel to North America, Canada, Europe and the Middle East between now and March.

The fees at Le Rosey are no doubt very high but then they offer facilities to their students that are not normally associated with schools. They boast of a 38ft yacht as well as a 1,000 seat concert hall. There is also an equestrian center complete with 30 horses, allowing students to learn skills such as dressage. The elite campus is spread over 28 hectares of magnificent landscaped grounds. The focus of the school is not only on the academic curriculum but lays equal stress on arts and sports activities. The teachers live with their families in the boarding house itself to help maintain discipline and tidiness. They are also always available to take care of any problems the students may have.

Le Rosey is known for royalty. The Shah of Iran, the Aga Khan, King Albert II of Belgium, Prince Rainier of Monaco all went there. So did the scions of the royal families of Egypt, Greece, Yugoslavia, Italy and Britain. The school has long had a strong Arab contingent, including a multitude of sheikhs, the children of Saudi Arabian arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi, and his star-crossed nephew Dodi Al-Fayed (killed with Lady Diana in the car crash). Among the 3,000 Le Rosey alumni you will find the children of movie stars (David Niven, Elizabeth Taylor, Roger Moore), rock stars (John Lennon, Diana Ross) and innumerable European and American fortunes (Rothschild, Botin, Niarchos, Benetton, Duke, du Pont, Rockefeller).

The elite school has consistently invested in upgrading the facilities. The school features 179 en-suite bedrooms housing between one and three students. There are a total of 53 class rooms and eight science laboratories. For sports and leisure activities there are 13 games rooms along with ten tennis courts, two 25-metre pools, three football pitches, rugby pitch, shooting range and archery. There are two health centers to look after the students. Another unique feature of the school is that it shifts to the Gstaad ski resort in winter. The school consciously maintains the cosmopolitan nature of the school and ensures that no country has more than 10 percent of the student population. They also don’t tolerate snobbish behavior and provide the perfect environment for the growth of the children of rich and famous.

Proud members of the Le Rosey

The great thing about Le Rosey, of course, is the old boy network it produces–a network that is uniquely tight, uniquely wealthy and uniquely international. “Le Rosey is like a club,” notes Hong Kong billionaire Michael Kadoorie, who graduated in 1958. “The contacts made at Le Rosey are contacts one keeps.”

John Casablancas, who graduated in 1959, started his modeling business with a Le Rosey classmate. Inspired by his multinational education at Le Rosey, Casablancas did something no other modeling entrepreneur had done before: He went global, establishing 24 agencies worldwide. His Elite Model Management is now the biggest modeling company in the world. Several years ago he was trying to place his TV program The Elite Model Look in Venezuela, but no network would take it. Casablancas called his Le Rosey classmate, Alfredo Beracasa, in Venezuela. Beracasa introduced him to the man who ran the local Miss Universe contest and Casablancas got his airtime.

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