See inside the luxury bunkers where the super-rich reportedly plan to save themselves from a future apocalypse

Grace KaySep 25, 2022, 20:06 IST

Tech billionaires are prepping for doomsday and buying luxury bunkers, according to a new tell-all book.
Douglas Rushkoff detailed his experience chatting with five of the richest men in the world about how to prepare for an apocalypse.

Tech billionaires are building luxury doomsday bunkers, according to a tell-all book by Douglas Rushkoff.

Vivos installing a shelterCourtesy of Vivos

Rushkoff, who often writes about the future of technology and is known for his association with early cyberpunk culture, said he was invited to a remote resort to talk with five of the world's wealthiest men about the future of the planet. (Rushkoff did not specify who spoke to him at the resort, but said at least two of the men were billionaires.)

At the event, the City University of New York professor said he was repeatedly asked about the best ways to survive climate change or societal collapse, as the executives detailed their plans to build underground bunkers and avoid what they called "The Event."

Source: The Guardian, "Survival of the Richest: Escape Fantasies of the Tech Billionaires"

Source: The Guardian, Survival of the Richest: Escape Fantasies of the Tech Billionaires

"The CEO of a brokerage house explained that he had nearly completed building his own underground bunker system, and asked, 'How do I maintain authority over my security force after 'The Event?'" Rushkoff wrote.

A Vivos bunkerCourtesy of Vivos

"The Event. That was their euphemism for the environmental collapse, social unrest, nuclear explosion, solar storm, unstoppable virus or malicious computer hack that takes everything down."

Source: The Guardian

"The CEO of a brokerage house explained that he had nearly completed building his own underground bunker system, and asked, 'How do I maintain authority over my security force after 'The Event?'" Rushkoff wrote.

The Event. That was their euphemism for the environmental collapse, social unrest, nuclear explosion, solar storm, unstoppable virus or malicious computer hack that takes everything down.

Source: The Guardian

In a post for The Guardian, Rushkoff highlighted some of the survival companies the ultra-wealthy are employing to build their escape, including Vivos and Rising S Company.

Rising S Company workers installing a shelterCourtesy of Rising S Company

Vivos and Rising S Company declined to provide details to Insider on specific clients or projects they've worked on, citing privacy concerns.

Source: The Guardian

In a post for The Guardian, Rushkoff highlighted some of the survival companies the ultra-wealthy are employing to build their escape, including Vivos and Rising S Company.

Vivos and Rising S Company declined to provide details to Insider on specific clients or projects they've worked on, citing privacy concerns.

Source: The Guardian

Vivos sells shelters that are essentially luxury underground apartments.

Vivos

Source: Vivos

Vivos' shelters are built into converted Cold War facilities and missile silos around the world.

Men work on steel shelters.Courtesy of Vivos

Source: Vivos

The sites operate as complexes, where individuals can gather in common areas, as well as maintain their own private space.

Vivos bunkers in a fieldCourtesy of Vivos

Source: Vivos

One of Vivos' most luxurious site — Europa One — is located in Germany and provides individual families with over 2,500 square feet of living.

Courtesy of Vivos

Source: Vivos

The company advertises the location as the world's largest private shelter.

Source: Vivos

It will have numerous amenities and operate almost as its own village with a bar, chapel, pools, and more.

A pub in Europa One.Terravivos.com

Source: Vivos

Residents will also get their own private luxury accommodations.

Living quarters in Europa one.© Copyright Terravivos.com

Source: Vivos

The site is designed to cater to the mental health of residents and attempts to simulate natural light in the underground shelter.

A bedroom in Europa One.Terravivos.com

Source: Vivos

The location will also have a movie theater, garden, and wine vault.

Terravivos.com

Source: Vivos

The site includes guard buildings lining the premises for security — an issue Rushkoff said was a major cause for concern for the billionaires he spoke with.

Source: Vivos, The Guardian

Despite the appeal of the luxury facilities, Rushkoff said he doubted the sites would be able to survive a true apocalypse.

Terravivos.com

"The probability of a fortified bunker actually protecting its occupants from the reality of, well, reality, is very slim. For one, the closed ecosystems of underground facilities are preposterously brittle," Rushkoff wrote in The Guardian. "Just the known unknowns are enough to dash any reasonable hope of survival."

Source: The Guardian

The probability of a fortified bunker actually protecting its occupants from the reality of, well, reality, is very slim. For one, the closed ecosystems of underground facilities are preposterously brittle, Rushkoff wrote in The Guardian. Just the known unknowns are enough to dash any reasonable hope of survival.

Source: The Guardian

Vivos also offers more modest accommodations at a site in South Dakota.

A Vivos kitchenCourtesy of Vivos

Source: Vivos

Vivos told Insider its shelters are designed to allow residents to operate for a minimum of one year without having to return to the outside world. It said its customers are not "'the elite 1%,' but rather well-educated, average people with a keen awareness of the current global events."

A Vivos shelterCourtesy of Vivos

Vivos told Insider its shelters are designed to allow residents to operate for a minimum of one year without having to return to the outside world. It said its customers are not "'the elite 1%,' but rather well-educated, average people with a keen awareness of the current global events."

The company has said it saw a surge of interest in its shelters at the onset of the pandemic as well as Russia's attack on Ukraine.

A Vivos bunk roomCourtesy of Vivos

Source: Insider

Online, Vivos application prices start at $35,000 per person with "significant discounts" available for individuals with key survival skills.

Terravivos.com

Source: Vivos

Rising S prices start at $40,000. But, its luxury series starts at about $3.78 million and the company's most expensive shelter costs about $14 million, the company told Insider.

Rising S bunkerCourtesy of Rising S

Rising S prices start at $40,000. But, its luxury series starts at about $3.78 million and the company's most expensive shelter costs about $14 million, the company told Insider.

Unlike Vivos, Rising S builds its shelters individually into customers' existing properties.

A Rising S bunkerCourtesy of Rising S

Source: Rising S Company

The company said it often customizes its shelters for luxury clients, and has built anything from operating rooms to horse stables, shooting ranges, basketball courts, and crypto mining rooms into its shelters.

A medical facility on a Rising S bunker.Courtesy of Rising S

The company said it often customizes its shelters for luxury clients, and has built anything from operating rooms to horse stables, shooting ranges, basketball courts, and crypto mining rooms into its shelters.

Ultimately, Rushkoff said the idea behind billionaires seeking an escape hatch indicates a larger trend, and pointed to Elon Musk looking to colonize Mars.

A Rising S bunkerCourtesy of Rising S

"It's as if they want to build a car that goes fast enough to escape from its own exhaust," he wrote in The Guardian. "Never before have our society's most powerful players assumed that the primary impact of their own conquests would be to render the world itself unlivable for everyone else."

Source: The Guardian

It's as if they want to build a car that goes fast enough to escape from its own exhaust, he wrote in The Guardian. Never before have our society's most powerful players assumed that the primary impact of their own conquests would be to render the world itself unlivable for everyone else.

Source: The Guardian

Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen's $1 billion art collection, containing more than 150 masterpieces, is heading to auction — take a look at some of the best paintings

Cookies on the Business Insider India website

See inside the luxury bunkers where the super-rich reportedly plan to save themselves from a future apocalypse

Tech billionaires are building luxury doomsday bunkers, according to a tell-all book by Douglas Rushkoff.

"The CEO of a brokerage house explained that he had nearly completed building his own underground bunker system, and asked, 'How do I maintain authority over my security force after 'The Event?'" Rushkoff wrote.

In a post for The Guardian, Rushkoff highlighted some of the survival companies the ultra-wealthy are employing to build their escape, including Vivos and Rising S Company.

Vivos sells shelters that are essentially luxury underground apartments.

Vivos' shelters are built into converted Cold War facilities and missile silos around the world.

The sites operate as complexes, where individuals can gather in common areas, as well as maintain their own private space.

One of Vivos' most luxurious site — Europa One — is located in Germany and provides individual families with over 2,500 square feet of living.

The company advertises the location as the world's largest private shelter.

It will have numerous amenities and operate almost as its own village with a bar, chapel, pools, and more.

Residents will also get their own private luxury accommodations.

The site is designed to cater to the mental health of residents and attempts to simulate natural light in the underground shelter.

The location will also have a movie theater, garden, and wine vault.

The site includes guard buildings lining the premises for security — an issue Rushkoff said was a major cause for concern for the billionaires he spoke with.

Despite the appeal of the luxury facilities, Rushkoff said he doubted the sites would be able to survive a true apocalypse.

Vivos also offers more modest accommodations at a site in South Dakota.

Vivos told Insider its shelters are designed to allow residents to operate for a minimum of one year without having to return to the outside world. It said its customers are not "'the elite 1%,' but rather well-educated, average people with a keen awareness of the current global events."

The company has said it saw a surge of interest in its shelters at the onset of the pandemic as well as Russia's attack on Ukraine.

Online, Vivos application prices start at $35,000 per person with "significant discounts" available for individuals with key survival skills.

Rising S prices start at $40,000. But, its luxury series starts at about $3.78 million and the company's most expensive shelter costs about $14 million, the company told Insider.

Unlike Vivos, Rising S builds its shelters individually into customers' existing properties.

The company said it often customizes its shelters for luxury clients, and has built anything from operating rooms to horse stables, shooting ranges, basketball courts, and crypto mining rooms into its shelters.

Ultimately, Rushkoff said the idea behind billionaires seeking an escape hatch indicates a larger trend, and pointed to Elon Musk looking to colonize Mars.