A doomsday bunker in New Zealandj
Silicon Valley’s wealthy elite are viewing doomsday as a serious threat, building bunkers in preparation for the potential destruction of all mankind.In 2017, just after Trump’s inauguration, media theorist Douglas Rushkoff was invited to speak to tech executives at an exclusive resort about the digital future. However, when he showed up, his hosts had other plans. He recounted the story on VICE TV’s series ‘While the Rest of Us Die.’ “I was waiting to go on when five men came into the green room and sat around this little table they had there and I found out there was no talk for me to go do,” he said. “These guys were the talk.”
The men launched into a series of questions about topics like Bitcoin vs. Ethereum, augmented reality vs. virtual reality, and—most alarming—Alaska or New Zealand.“Meaning, where should they situate their bunkers for their event?” Rushkoff explained.New Zealand is considered an “apocalypse escape destination for America’s elite,” he said. For example, the billionaire tech investor Peter Thiel arranged for a New Zealand passport in case he needed to escape.“The rest of my hour with them was them asking me all of these really specific questions about how to water-test their plans for the apocalypse,” Rushkoff continued.
The men cited potential disasters caused by electromagnetic pulses, economic downturn, disease, or war that might “necessitate them leaving their Silicon Valley ranches and retreating to these fortified bunkers in the middle of nowhere.”These “luxury bunkers” include features most of us could only ever dream of, like indoor pools and artificial sunlight, allowing them to remain sealed off from the world for years at a time, if necessary.“The billionaires understand that they’re playing a dangerous game,” Rushkoff said. “They are running out of room to externalize the damage of the way that their companies operate. Eventually, there’s going to be the social unrest that leads to your undoing.”
“The most powerful people in the world see themselves as utterly incapable of actually creating a future in which everything’s gonna be OK.” –Douglas Rushkoff
Like the gated communities of the past, their biggest concern was to find ways to protect themselves from the “unruly masses,” Rushkoff said. “The question we ended up spending the majority of time on was: ‘How do I maintain control of my security force after my money is worthless?’”
That is, if their money is no longer worth anything—if money no longer means power—how and why would a Navy Seal agree to guard a bunker for them?“Once they start talking in those terms, it’s really easy to start puncturing a hole in their plan,” Rushkoff said. “The most powerful people in the world see themselves as utterly incapable of actually creating a future in which everything’s gonna be OK.”Celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Shaquille O'Neal, and Tom Cruise, among others, are alleged to have built bunkers or safe rooms within their own homes.This begs the question: If a disaster did, in fact, take us all out—and the only people survivors were the rich and famous—then what would happen?
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FAQs
The men cited potential disasters caused by electromagnetic pulses, economic downturn, disease, or war that might “necessitate them leaving their Silicon Valley ranches and retreating to these fortified bunkers in the middle of nowhere.”
What is the purpose of a doomsday bunker? ›
Doomsday bunkers have a long and varied history. Initially, they were constructed for military purposes, designed to protect against bombings and nuclear attacks.
How many people can fit in the doomsday bunker? ›
' The former army base, which stretches across 18 miles, is located deep in the Black Hills mountain range in South Dakota. Having previously been used to store bombs and munitions from 1942 to 1967, it has since been transformed into a community of 575 livable bunkers, which can house up to 10,000 people.
How long can you survive in a doomsday bunker? ›
Underground fall-out shelters can be designed to maintain acceptable thermal conditions for isolation periods of about 2 weeks, with minimal artificial heating or cooling and ventilation.
How much does Atlas Survival Shelters cost? ›
How much does it cost to install a shelter? This depends on the shelter, but to give you a rough idea, the small shelters typically average around $5,000 and the larger shelters which are around 500 square feet cost between $15,000 – $20,000.
Who lives at billionaires bunker? ›
Florida's Indian Creek Village is also known as 'Billionaire Bunker'. It has long been known for its incredibly deep-pocketed residents. They include Jeff Bezos, Ivanka Trump, hedge fund king Ken Griffin, Tom Brady, Carl Icahn, Eddie Lampert and singer David Guetta.
How much does a Doomsday bunker cost? ›
Building an underground bunker costs $200 to $400 per square foot or $40,000 to $80,000 total on average. Large, luxury doomsday bunkers cost $9 million or more. People typically build bunkers to withstand serious disasters like nuclear fallout or bombs, but some use them for natural disasters like tornadoes.
Where do most billionaires put their money? ›
High-net-worth individuals put money into different classifications of financial and real assets, including stocks, mutual funds, retirement accounts and real estate.
How far do you have to be from a nuke to survive? ›
First, most modern nuclear weapons have a blast zone of about one mile. For meltdowns, the most severe area of exposure will be even smaller. If you're outside this small radius, you've already dodged the greatest risk of fatality.
Where is the best place to build a bunker in the US? ›
Ragusa recommends rural parts of Texas, Florida and California (far from large population centres which might make attractive targets) as places to survive a nuclear exchange. He says: 'The reason why I picked these three states is because they are near water and have warm climates.
Fallout shelter
Many such shelters were constructed as civil defense measures during the Cold War. A blast shelter protects against more conventional bomb blasts. Its main purpose is to protect from shock waves and overpressure and also from earthquake.
Why were communities building fallout shelters? ›
Fallout shelters were designed to protect people from radioactive dirt and debris that can fall out of the air following a nuclear detonation.
Who would have built fallout shelters why? ›
Initially, owners of public buildings were urged by the federal government to create fallout shelters in their facilities. But as increasing numbers of above-ground nuclear weapons tests were conducted by both the U.S. and the Soviet Union, people began building fallout shelters of their own.
What was the purpose of bunkers? ›
Generally, a bunker is defined as “a reinforced underground shelter, typically for use in wartime.” It is a form of shelter. It protects the body. Although bunkers can be above or below ground, typically, they are below ground. Being below ground helps protect those in the bunker.
