It’s a sign that at least some of the ultra-rich are anxious about global events and are making contingency plans for the Big One — whatever form that may take.

The feeling is very much in the air. Architectural Digest named “luxury bunkers” one of the real estate trends of 2023, and a finely appointed redoubt figured prominently in the recent Netflix thriller Leave the World Behind.

Bradley Garrett said the most elaborate bunker he found while researching his book (Bunker: Building for the End Times) is the Survival Condo, located in a former missile silo in Kansas. Built around 2010 by a property developer who used to work for the U.S. Department of Defence, this “nuclear-hardened” structure features walls up to 2¾ metres thick and can house between 36 and 75 people.

In addition to providing each unit with a five-year supply of “freeze-dried and dehydrated survival food,” the complex contains an indoor pool, a classroom, a library and two floors of hydroponic gardens to “provide fresh produce.” It also has filtered air and water supplies. Units go for between $1.5 million and $3 million.

  • @DevCatEnglish
    50•9 months ago

    In a 2022 piece for the Guardian, technology pundit Douglas Rushkoff talked about attending a highly secretive gathering with ultra-wealthy people who wanted to pick his brain about how to prepare for “the event.” They peppered him with questions not only about shelters, but also the wisdom of acquiring mercenary armies and where on Earth they were likely to be most safe.

    His conclusion: “Their extreme wealth and privilege served only to make them obsessed with insulating themselves from the very real and present danger of climate change, rising sea levels, mass migrations, global pandemics, nativist panic and resource depletion. For them, the future of technology is about only one thing: escape from the rest of us.”

    These people seem to think you can just find ammo, fuel, food, etc. lying around, or it can be looted forever, or they’ll be able to stockpile enough. Ha!

    One, these are very wealthy people who have been accustomed to being served, and having unrestricted space to roam about and enjoy. Stick them in a small bunker with rationed resources for more than 48 hours, and they’ll be plotting how to get rid of each other within 6 hours.

    Two, resources are finite! Let’s say we have a reenactment of the French Revolution. How long do they think the peasants are going to wait for them? The peasants are going to build a town on top of their banker called “FU&FO”. Air vents will be blocked or used as toilets, solar panels will be repurposed, and their view will be of a guillotine building yard. Unless they have a small reactor and someone who can maintain it, they’ll be living in the dark, eating cold meals, and breathing ever more stale air.

    Ammunition and mercenaries? Got news for you, Bezos, there’s a whole lot more good ol’ boys parked out here, just waiting to return their shipment of whoopass.

    When will any of these idiots learn from the past? Read your Sun Tzu. The best defense is to surround yourself with friends.

    “Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys; look upon them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death. - Sun Tzu

      • @DevCatEnglish
        12•9 months ago

        Ok, I’ve given some thought to surviving in a societal collapse. Nuclear war is simply hopeless and leads to a long, lingering death if you should survive, so let’s leave it as societal collapse, like a COVID-27, but 10 times higher mortality.

        This assumes you have Money with a capital “M”.

        Find a piece of land with easy access to a reliable water supply, farmable land, reasonable sunlight, and forest. Preferably, 30–60 minutes from a major popular center, maybe a little more. Build a home using ICF. The windows covered with European rolling steel shutters. Masonry heater. Wood-fired auxiliary water heater. Wood stoves, plural. Solar panels with multi-day battery backup. Greenhouses, barn, workshop. Printed book library in the house. Reloading supplies and equipment. Archery supplies. Medical equipment and education. Food preservation.

        Do you want a loyal army? James Bond’s Kerim Bey in “From Russia With Love”: All my trusted employees are relatives. Become a foster parent. Help your community. Become a major factor in promoting community preservation and support. Become a loved and respected member of the community. Don’t go the Godfather route. Surround yourself with people who see you as a factor for good in their lives.

        • Flying Squid
          9•9 months ago

          Become a foster parent. Help your community. Become a major factor in promoting community preservation and support. Become a loved and respected member of the community.

          You don’t know billionaires very well.

        • @Illuminostro
          4•8 months ago

          Then die 2 months later when you’re raided by your desperate neighbors.

        • @[email protected]English
          2•9 months ago

          You had them up until the “good person” part.

          Much like governments only exist by the consent of the governed, the moneyed elite only exist by consent of the lower classes.

      • @Zahille7
        3•9 months ago

        I saw an interview where he talks about this very event. It’s fucking pretty bleak.

      • @[email protected]
        2•9 months ago

        FWIW his book is well worth the read. I went into it with my usual “this could have been a blog post” assumption but I enjoyed it quite a bit.

    • partial_accumen
      10•8 months ago

      They peppered him with questions not only about shelters, but also the wisdom of acquiring mercenary armies and where on Earth they were likely to be most safe.

      What are they going to pay the mercenary armies with? Money? Why would a mercenary accept money when civilization has collapsed? The things they’d want most are the things the rich want them to protect. At that point, what value does the rich person offer the mercenary? Why wouldn’t the mercenaries just shoot the rich person and live in the bunker now absent a resident?

      • @Illuminostro
        2•8 months ago

        Why, they’ll pay them with genuine 24 carat Alex Jones gold coins!

      • @frunch
        2•8 months ago

        That’s exactly how i see these scenarios. The rich are just keeping nice properties and resources for the local warlords to usurp when the shit really hits the fan.

        Furthermore, how capable are these people to begin with? Are they ready to personally run and oversee a survivalist camp for the rest of their lives? Can they do it themselves? I’m sure there’s a couple that would do just fine but i imagine most would quickly exchange hands without the police to protect their properties and assets (hell, they could wind up being the ones taking them)

    • @grueEnglish
      6•9 months ago

      Two, resources are finite! Let’s say we have a reenactment of the French Revolution. How long do they think the peasants are going to wait for them? The peasants are going to build a town on top of their banker called “FU&FO”. Air vents will be blocked or used as toilets, solar panels will be repurposed, and their view will be of a guillotine building yard.

      That’s why they’re trying to buy the entire island of Lanai.