(Bloomberg) English butlers, synonymous with Reginald Jeeves in the novels of P.G. Wodehouse, are answering more calls from super-rich Chinese and Russian clients as wealth shifts between east and west.

The Guild of Professional English Butlers has trained 20 percent more butlers this year than last, placing them with clients as soon as they are ready, according to Robert Watson, head of the firm in southern England, last week. The number of domestic staff registered with Greycoat Placements has trebled over the past three years, Managing Director Debbie Salter said.

"Demand is outstripping supply," Watson said by telephone. "We deal with people who often are cash rich and time poor. The credit crunch did affect things for a time, but before you get rid of the butler, get rid of the Ferrari."

As Europe struggles with a debt crisis and the U.S. tries to revive its economy, burgeoning growth in emerging markets is boosting spending on luxuries like never before, and creating opportunities for more people to look after them.

The ranks of millionaires in 10 major Asian economies will more than double to 2.8 million by 2015, according to a Julius Baer Group and CLSA Asia Pacific Markets report on Aug. 31. China's economy grew 9.1 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, compared with U.S. growth of 1.5 percent.

Mulberry Group Plc, an English maker of luxury bags and accessories, said on Dec. 8 that first-half pretax profit more than tripled as sales in the Asia-Pacific region grew more quickly than in any other area.

"We have been doing a lot of business in China particularly," said Robert Wennekes, chairman of The International Butler Academy, which trains servants in formal white gloves and tails at a castle in the Netherlands. "Every month for the past 15 months, I have been travelling from Amsterdam to China to service our clients there."

Watson estimated that his company trains more than 1,000 butlers per year and around a fifth of those go into personal service for the wealthy, with the remainder at hotels.

Demand for placing butlers in the homes and yachts of the wealthy increased about 20 percent this year, according to Sebastian Hirsch, owner of Butler For You, a company registered in Berlin placing household staff across Europe. Hirsch has 30 percent more butlers on his books this year.

Sara Vestin, director of Bespoke Bureau, Peek-a-boo & Cupcakes Domestic Staff & Nanny agencies in London, said her company trained 52 butlers this year, up from 20 last year, and they all got jobs. The highest paid placement was for a 101,500- pound ($158,390) salary in the United Arab Emirates, she said.

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