Who owns Seeking Arrangement? Matt Gaetz got partners from sugar daddy site that found school girls for lawyer
Seeking Arrangement is a website like many others, but what makes it stand out is its appeal to the rich and powerful. Over the years, many public figures have been caught using the site to fuel their pleasures. The latest? Florida Rep Matt Gaetz.
The website is back in the news after it was revealed that Gaetz's ally Joel Greenberg used it to meet women for sex. He then introduced these women to Gaetz, who allegedly paid them via Apple Pay for sex. Others who have been caught on the site include Tiger Woods' mistress Rachel Uchitel, New York Congressman Anthony Weiner, and Virginia lawyer Matthew Erausquin. Erausquin was arrested after it was found he was using the site to have sex with minors.
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The site's dark and shady past hasn't deterred people though. It reportedly raked in around $30 million. The genius behind this is Brandon Wade, a graduate of MIT. Here's everything we know about him.
Who is Brandon Wade?
Brandon was born to ethnic Chinese parents in Singapore. In 1993, he graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he received a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering. He went to MIT on a scholarship awarded by Singapore's Public Service Commission. Since he opted not to return after graduating, his parents were forced to pay around $300,000 in damages.
Wade then went on to work for a software firm, allowing him to get a green card. He then went on to do an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management and graduated in 1995. He then moved to New York to work as a consultant at Booz Allen, before joining GE as a technology infrastructure manager. Founding Seeking Arrangement and other dating sites wasn't an accident, it was just a result of Wade's experiences in college.
In an interview with Insider, he said, "I was a very lonely, shy and perhaps socially inept child." He added, "I got my very first kiss when I turned 21 at MIT. Beyond that first kiss it was horrific." He attributed that to his looks. "I was wearing those Harry Potter glasses, just being a nerd. I hadn't really paid much attention to the way I looked. My clothes were mismatched. My pants were overly baggy," he said.
That is what led to the foundation of Seeking Arrangement, nearly a decade later in 2006. He told Next Shark, "I said, well, it’s time to really take matters into my own hands. Match.com, Yahoo Personals, those were not really working for me." The site leverages the concept of 'sugar daddies' who pay for gifts, clothes, sex, and almost anything else to 'sugar babies'. "I will say when I created Seeking Arrangement it really was for my own benefit," he admitted to Insider. The instant success led Wade to create a series of other similar websites, including Seeking Millionaire, MissTravel, and Whats Your Price.
He now lives in Las Vegas, ironically a married man. Wade met his wife Tanya when she was interviewing for a position at his company in 2010. In 2012, they got married. He claims that his marriage is his third, MEAWW couldn't find any traces of his first two marriages. Apart from being a controversial entrepreneur, Wade is also by some accounts an extremely generous man.
In 2019, Wade offered to help pay for abortions in states where it is illegal. "If lawmakers will not step in to help these desperate women, then I will," he said in a YouTube video. He launched a charity - Fight Against Poverty - to help pay for travel to a state where abortion is legal, as well as the procedure. Not much else is known about Wade, who maintains a low profile in public.
Seeking Arrangement in the spotlight
In the past, Wade has had to defend his websites from controversy. Many have accused them of enabling prostitution, but Wade is adamant the site is nothing like that. "I do get annoyed when words like ‘prostitution’ get thrown around so freely," he told news.com.au. That isn't the site's only concern though. Over the years, many public figures have been caught using the site to cheat on their spouses, and in some cases engage in sex with minors.
Gaetz is just the latest name in that long list. The New York Times revealed that the Department of Justice (DoJ) found Greenberg using the site. Greenberg would connect with women, and then introduce them to Gaetz. Allegedly, one of the girls Gaetz met and had sex with was 17 at the time. The Congressman has denied these allegations. If it turns out to be true, it could lead to further scrutiny of Wade and the website. Will he be forced to make changes? Only time will tell.