How the World’s Billionaires Prepare for the Apocalypse

The age of apocalypse paranoia is now. Whether this stems from political turmoil or climate change, people around the world have plenty of reasons to prepare for an impending doomsday. The rich, of course, have taken these precautions up a notch.

As doomsday paranoia rises, a growing number of companies are catering to the elite's apocalyptic preparations. The world’s one percent is preparing for the ensuing chaos with luxury bunkers that resemble the comfort of their own homes. It may seem ridiculous, but the demand is real. Since Donald Trump’s inauguration, for example, overall sales of Texas-based Rising S Company’s decked out underground bunkers skyrocketed by 300 percent.

Coincidence? Maybe not.

Rising S Company’s over-the-top bunkers are constructed from plate steel and are designed to last for generations. Its structure was made to withstand earthquakes and hold one year’s worth of food per person. Their slogan, “We Don’t Sell Fear, We Sell Preparedness” seems to be working. Their 2016 sales have increased by 700 percent from 2015.

There are other options worldwide for those who prefer to be above ground when judgment day finally comes. For the more introverted elite, The Oppidum in the Czech Republic is a private residence with high-security features. Secret passageways lead residents into the home, which has a spa, cinema, an underground garden, and personal vaults.

A secret bunker in South-East London was transformed into a $4 million luxury home with state-of-the-art furnishings, a pool, and spiral staircases. Shelters such as these were initially designed to protect government officials during nuclear wars. Companies are now buying these military bunkers and missile silos to remodel them into extravagant bunkers. Developer Larry Hall’s Survival Condo, for example, converted abandoned missile silos from the 1960s into multimillion-dollar condos with a pool, convenience store, theatre, bar, and library.

In the black hills of South Dakota, where 575 military bunkers were in operation until 1967, Vivos xPoint is building customizable shelters meant to house around 5,000 people. Another option, Vivos Europa One, utilizes former Cold War-era storage facilities, placing units constructed out of solid-bedrock in the area. Their website claims these “irreplaceable complex” are designed to combat any sort of natural disaster.

The clients of these companies aren’t necessarily the unknown rich: some of them are extremely high-profile. Bill Gates, for example, is rumored to have these types of facilities across all his properties. CEOs, hedge fund managers and tech executives across the Silicon Valley were also reported by The New Yorker in 2017 to be making all sorts of arrangements for the arrival of doomsday.

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