Participate in a survey, get paid

With so much wealth in the US in the hands of relatively few, their views and opinions can have economic consequences. So, while most people fight to get their opinions heard, the rich get paid for theirs.

For very high-net worth targets, research firm Spectrem Group promises Rs 18,000. Survey firm Ipsos MediaCT antes up Rs 30,000 for its highest-end surveys. For someone worth Rs 120 crore, that's chump change or 0.0025 per cent of their net worth. But one of the cash's functions is to get people to take the survey seriously. It works.

The rich who answer the surveys do take it seriously — at least the money part. Spectrem experimented with offering to send the money to a charity of the person's choice. All respondents asked for the money to be sent to them instead and they'd handle the donation, says Spectrem managing director Catherine McBreen.

Some even call to complain if they don't receive their cheques on time, she says. "The hardest thing to do is to get them to start talking," says Steve Kraus, who runs the Ipsos Affl uent Survey. "The second hardest thing to get them to do is stop talking."