Tech billionaires are building luxury doomsday bunkers, according to a tell-all book by Douglas Rushkoff.
Courtesy 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”
“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.
Courtesy 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
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.
Courtesy 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
The sites operate as complexes, where individuals can gather in common areas, as well as maintain their own private space.
Courtesy of Vivos
Source: Vivos
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
