The (Idiotic) Rise of Billionaire Doomsday Bunkers

Summary

The video explores the rising trend of doomsday prepping among billionaires, who are investing heavily in bunkers and survivalist measures. It discusses the motivations behind this behavior, including a desire to protect their wealth and lifestyle, and the paradoxical nature of their reliance on a stable society. The script also touches on the concept of accelerationism, where some wealthy individuals may even welcome societal collapse as an opportunity to reshape the world. The video critiques this approach, suggesting that their resources would be better spent on preventing apocalyptic scenarios rather than preparing for them.

Takeaways

• 🌳 Doomsday prepping has been a part of human behavior since ancient times, but it gained significant traction during the Cold War due to the fear of nuclear war.
• 💵 The prepper industry has evolved into a multi-billion dollar business, catering to the needs of those planning for catastrophic events with products like bunkers, ration kits, and bugout bags.
• 🏰 A notable trend is the increased interest and investment in luxury doomsday bunkers by billionaires, such as Mark Zuckerberg and Peter Thiel, who see them as a safeguard against potential global catastrophes.
• 🔍 The demand for high-end bunkers is so high that even top-of-the-line air filtration systems have become scarce and are sought after by the ultra-wealthy.
• 💼 Billionaires are drawn to doomsday prepping due to their experience in preparing for adverse outcomes in business and their desire to preserve their wealth and lifestyle.
• 🌍 Some billionaires have multiple bunkers in various locations like Alaska and New Zealand, demonstrating a need for contingency planning in multiple geographies.
• 🛡️ The ultra-wealthy are accustomed to insulating themselves from the world, and bunkers are seen as an extension of this lifestyle, with private security and staff already part of their everyday life.
• 💸 The cost of survival bunkers is negligible for billionaires, making it an attractive option for them to ensure their safety and comfort in the face of potential disasters.
• 🤔 The script questions the logic behind billionaires' reliance on bunkers, given their dependence on modern societal systems and the potential futility of such preparations in a complete societal collapse.
• 🌐 The script also touches on the concept of 'accelerationism', where some wealthy individuals may be interested in destabilizing current systems to bring about radical change and rebuild society.

Q & A

What is the historical context of doomsday prepping mentioned in the script?

The script mentions that doomsday prepping has been around since prehistoric times, with mammalian creatures storing extra nuts to survive winters, and it became particularly popular among Americans during the Cold War due to the threat of nuclear Armageddon.

How has doomsday prepping evolved into a multi-billion dollar industry?

The industry has grown into a multi-billion dollar one by selling items like bunkers, ration kits, bugout bags, and hunting supplies, with demand increasing so much that top-of-the-line air filtration systems have become collector's items.

Why are billionaires particularly interested in doomsday bunkers?

Billionaires are interested in doomsday bunkers as they have the resources to invest in lavish accommodations to wait out potential end times, and they have learned the value of preparing for adverse outcomes through their business practices.

What are some of the amenities found in the bunkers of billionaires?

The script mentions that some bunkers boast amenities such as indoor swimming pools, golf simulators, and utilities to stay off the grid for decades.

How does the script suggest that billionaires' wealth is dependent on modern society?

The script argues that billionaires' wealth is highly dependent on the systems of modern society, including industrial capacity, global reach, and the people who work for them, which would be disrupted in a doomsday scenario.

What is the significance of the term 'accelerationism' in the context of the script?

Accelerationism is mentioned as an idea where radical change is brought about by intensifying capital accumulation, technological change, and demographic shifts to destabilize traditional systems, which some billionaires might find appealing.

Why might some billionaires be seen as hypocritical in their approach to doomsday prepping according to the script?

The script suggests that while billionaires have the resources to help avoid potential disasters, they instead choose to prepare for them individually, which could be seen as hypocritical given their influence and ability to contribute to societal stability.

What is the role of private security in the lives of ultra-high net worth individuals as described in the script?

The script describes that ultra-high net worth individuals, including billionaires, often live insulated lives and rely on private security, which has led to a boom in the private security industry, projected to reach almost half a trillion dollars by 2028.

How does the script critique the idea of billionaires preparing for the end of the world?

The script critiques the idea by pointing out the irony that billionaires, who depend heavily on modern societal systems for their wealth, are investing in bunkers instead of working to maintain or improve those systems.

What is the script's perspective on the practicality of billionaire bunkers in a doomsday scenario?

The script questions the practicality of billionaire bunkers, suggesting that in a doomsday scenario, the very systems that allow billionaires to maintain their wealth and lifestyles would break down, rendering their bunker preparations less effective.

How does the script discuss the concept of 'buying citizenship' in relation to doomsday prepping?

The script mentions the trend of buying citizenship as an escape plan from the end of the world or unfavorable situations, hinting at a broader strategy among the ultra-wealthy to secure their safety and assets.

Outlines

00:00

💰 Billionaire Doomsday Prep: The New Status Symbol

This paragraph discusses the trend of billionaires investing in doomsday bunkers as a form of survival preparation, which has become a multi-billion dollar industry. It highlights how the fear of nuclear war during the Cold War era led to a surge in prepping, and how the wealthy are now constructing lavish bunkers with amenities like swimming pools and golf simulators. The paragraph also points out the irony that despite their wealth, these individuals are reliant on the very societal systems they are trying to escape, suggesting that their investments might be better spent on preventing apocalyptic scenarios rather than preparing for them.

05:01

🛡️ The Billionaire's Dilemma: Security and Isolation

The second paragraph delves into the mindset of billionaires who are prepping for the end of the world. It discusses how these ultra-high net worth individuals are accustomed to insulating themselves from the everyday world, using private security and staff to maintain their lifestyle. The paragraph also touches on the challenges these individuals face in ensuring the loyalty of their security personnel in a post-apocalyptic scenario. It mentions an anecdote where the author, Douglas Rushkoff, was approached by billionaires seeking advice on how to maintain control over their security teams in such a situation, highlighting the lengths to which these individuals will go to ensure their safety.

10:04

🌍 Accelerationism: The Billionaire's Plan for Radical Change

The final paragraph explores the concept of accelerationism, a philosophy embraced by some billionaires who believe that radical societal change can be achieved by intensifying existing trends to destabilize traditional systems. It mentions high-profile individuals like Sam Altman, Elon Musk, and Rupert Murdoch, who may be influenced by this philosophy. The paragraph suggests that some billionaires might actually desire a catastrophic event as a means to reshape society according to their vision. It also critiques the idea of using wealth to build bunkers as a selfish act that diverts resources away from more productive uses, such as preventing the very disasters they are preparing for.

Keywords

💡Doomsday prepping

Doomsday prepping refers to the act of preparing for catastrophic events, such as natural disasters, nuclear war, or societal collapse. In the context of the video, it is highlighted as a hobby that has evolved into a multi-billion dollar industry, with a focus on the trend among billionaires to invest in lavish bunkers and survival accommodations. The script mentions how this prepping has become a status symbol and a way for the ultra-wealthy to ensure their safety and comfort in the face of potential global catastrophes.

💡Billionaires

Billionaires are individuals with a net worth of at least one billion dollars. The video discusses how a particular group of billionaires, such as Zuckerberg, Peter Thiel, Sam Altman, and the former CEO of Reddit, have invested significantly in doomsday bunkers. These individuals are portrayed as seeking to ensure their survival and maintain their luxurious lifestyles in the event of an apocalyptic scenario, which is a central theme of the video.

💡Bunkers

Bunkers, in this context, are fortified structures designed to provide protection from disasters or attacks. The video emphasizes the growing demand for high-end, luxury bunkers among billionaires, which are equipped with advanced air filtration systems, indoor swimming pools, golf simulators, and utilities to stay off the grid for extended periods. These bunkers symbolize the extreme measures taken by the wealthy to prepare for the end of the world.

💡Survival of the richest

The phrase 'survival of the richest' is used in the video to critique the idea that the ultra-wealthy are more focused on their own survival in a doomsday scenario rather than on preventing such a catastrophe. It underscores the video's argument that the resources spent on personal bunkers could be better used to address global issues and ensure the survival of society as a whole.

💡Status symbol

A status symbol is an item, action, or behavior that signifies high social status. In the video, survival bunkers are described as becoming status symbols among billionaires, alongside other luxury possessions like yachts and private jets. This reflects the video's critique of how even apocalyptic preparedness has become a display of wealth and privilege.

💡Doomsday scenarios

Doomsday scenarios refer to hypothetical situations where civilization faces catastrophic events leading to its collapse. The video discusses how billionaires are investing in bunkers and other preparations for such scenarios, which includes the potential for nuclear war, pandemics, or other global catastrophes.

💡Accelerationism

Accelerationism is a political ideology that advocates for the acceleration of societal and technological change to hasten the collapse of the current system, with the belief that a better system will emerge from its ruins. The video touches on how some billionaires might be influenced by accelerationist ideas, potentially viewing the end of the world as an opportunity for radical change and a chance to reshape society in their image.

💡Private security

Private security refers to the hiring of individuals or firms to provide personal or property protection. The video mentions that billionaires often insulate themselves from the world through private security, which includes having security personnel and staff on call. This is part of a broader trend of the ultra-wealthy preparing for potential threats and ensuring their safety in various scenarios.

💡Off the grid

To be 'off the grid' means to live independently of public utilities and services, such as electricity, water, or the internet. In the context of the video, it refers to the ability of billionaire bunkers to sustain life without reliance on external systems, indicating a level of self-sufficiency that the wealthy are preparing for in the event of societal collapse.

💡Citizenship as an escape plan

The video alludes to the trend of buying citizenship in other countries as a form of escape plan, which could be used in the event of a global catastrophe or unfavorable political changes. This concept is related to the broader theme of the ultra-wealthy seeking security and preparedness strategies beyond traditional national borders.

Highlights

Doomsday prepping has evolved from a basic survival instinct to a multi-billion dollar industry.

American humans, especially during the Cold War, have shown a significant interest in preparing for apocalyptic scenarios.

Billionaires are investing in lavish doomsday bunkers as a form of insurance against global catastrophes.

The demand for high-end air filtration systems has outpaced supply, turning them into collector's items.

Billionaires like Zuckerberg, Thiel, and Altman have reportedly invested in high-end bunkers for end-of-the-world scenarios.

Billionaires' bunkers are equipped with amenities like indoor swimming pools and golf simulators.

The ultra-wealthy are accustomed to insulating themselves from the world, making bunker living an extension of their current lifestyle.

Global spending on private security is booming, with projections reaching almost half a trillion dollars by 2028.

Billionaires' wealth is dependent on modern societal systems, making their bunker investments somewhat paradoxical.

Survival bunkers have become a status symbol among the ultra-rich, alongside yachts and private jets.

Douglas Rushkoff's experiences with the ultra-wealthy reveal their fixation on end-of-the-world preparations.

Billionaires have expressed interest in creating social systems to maintain control over their security personnel post-apocalypse.

Accelerationism, the idea of hastening societal collapse to build a better system, has been adopted by some high-profile individuals.

The trend of doomsday prepping among billionaires has created a lucrative industry for bunker construction.

Some billionaires may be drawn to accelerationism as a way to justify their wealth accumulation and technological experiments.

The growing trend of buying citizenship as an escape plan is linked to the end-of-the-world preparations by the ultra-wealthy.

Transcripts

doomsday prepping has been around since  prehistoric mammalian creatures stuffed some  

extra nuts into a tree to survive the winter  humans and especially American humans became  

particularly fond of planning for the end of the  world during the Cold War when nuclear Armageddon  

was a very real possibility ever since it has  become something of a utilitarian hobby for  

millions of people spawning a multi-billion dollar  industry selling bunkers ration kits bugout bags  

and hunting supplies the demand has grown so  quickly that top-of-the line air filtration  

systems have become collector's items because  there simply aren't enough for everybody who  

wants them what is interesting or maybe a little  bit concerning is the particular group that  

is planning for the end of the world in higher  numbers than basically anybody else billionaires  

in a game of survival of the richest people like  Zuckerberg Peter teal Sam Altman and the former  

CEO of Reddit have all reportedly invested tens  of millions of dollars in lavish accommodations  

to wait out the end times these are just the  ones we know about in a game where discretion  

is obviously a big advantage AG so why the [ __ ]  has there been such a boom in Doomsday Bunkers for  

billionaires and is this all just really stupid  inside this 54,000 ft complex boasts everything  

we could need to live through the end of sort  of a place where he can in fact go into hiding  

in case there is doomsday that happens according  to Forbes there are 2,781 billionaires alive as  

of March of 2024 there are likely many more that  the journalists at Forbes don't know about but  

even from the recorded list that is a lot of  individuals from a lot of different countries  

and backgrounds counting all of these people  together as a single consumer group shopping  

for the end of the world is a bit unfair but they  do all have three things in common that make them  

particularly willing to make big investments  into big holes in the ground the first is that  

to get to where they are they would have learned  about the value of preparing for adverse outcomes  

whether that's making sure that their business had  contingencies in place to get them through a bad  

quarter or adjusting the all of their trust fund  to write out down markets ultra high net worth  

individuals inevitably learn to preserve what  they have a multi-million dollar bunker with  

indoor swimming pools golf simulators and enough  utilities to stay off the grid for decades is just  

another way that they can hedge their comfortable  lifestyle against unforeseen downturns details  

are obviously scarce because these individuals  want to keep their plan secret but reporting  

by credible insiders have revealed that some of  these individuals have multiple bunkers set up in  

places like Alaska New Zealand as well as their  home cities so that they have contingencies for  

their contingencies the second similarity that  makes doomsday prepping particularly appealing  

to ultra high Networth individuals is that they  are already used to insulating themselves from  

the everyday world through choice or necessity  high-profile billionaires don't live normal lives  

for their own convenience and protection they  fly private have security personnel and staff  

on call to do mundane tasks like get groceries  for them according to the industry research firm  

technavio Global spending on private security  has boomed to $330 billion and is projected to  

reach almost half a trillion dollars by 2028  certain companies are now including security  

allowances in the salary packages of their top  Executives before he retired as the company CEO  

Jeff Bezos was given $1.6 million a year to cover  his security costs by Amazon according to company  

filings now to play Devil's Advocate on behalf of  the billionaires their public notoriety does make  

them targets for kidnapping blackmail or just  Revenge by disgruntled former employees who  

filled up one too many piss bottles the point is  that the idea of living in a bunker is not that  

insane to people who already live lives insulated  from the rest of the world the third reason rich  

people are so amenable to preparing for the end  of the world is because they're rich incredible  

journalism I know but to average people like you  or I even a modest survival shelter to write out  

basic natural disasters is a major investment to  them a decommissioned missile silo or a bunker  

in some country left off half the World's Maps  with Provisions to last decades Off the Grid  

is less than a day's work so why not a report  by the financial times describes how survival  

bunkers have become yet another status symbol  to collect alongside the New York Penthouse the  

yacht and the private jet now it's their money  and they can spend it on what they want but this  

is all incredibly stupid there are very few people  more dependent on the systems of a modern society  

than billionaires their wealth is only possible  because of the reach and Industrial capacity of  

our modern world as well as the people who are  willing to work for them because of systems that  

won't survive surv when Doomsday Bunkers become  Prime real estate flying around the world takes  

a coordination of Pilots air traffic control and  maintenance technicians not to mention the supply  

chains needed for the jet fuel to fill the planes  in the first place billionaires can motivate  

people to perform these roles because they have  a lot of money but if that system of exchange  

breaks down they might not even make it to their  far-flung bunkers in the first place what's more  

is that nobody stands to take a larger quality of  life hit than a billionaire in the modern day they  

might survive but the goods and services they  consume to give them the lifestyle they enjoy  

just wouldn't be available in a doomsday scenario  The Logical conclusion for people with this many  

resources at their disposal would be to focus on  avoiding the apocalypse rather than preparing for  

it but unfortunately this is not how they think  oh and this is far from the dumbest thing about  

these billionaire bunkers so it's time to learn  how many Works to find out why some of the world's  

wealthiest people are actually looking forward to  the end of the world as they know it this week's  

video is brought to you by motion balancing my  channels with my newsletter means my schedule  

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and see how much it can change your day Douglas  rushkoff is a writer and media theorist who is  

amongst other things one of the early pioneers of  the Cyber Punk genre and coining the term viral  

media he was also the first person to widely draw  attention to how much time effort and money ultra  

high net worth individuals were spending on the  end of the world Rushkoff is an advocate for open-  

Source systems and spoke about them a lot before  they were mainstream which For Better or Worse  

has made him very popular amongst the people  in the tech industry with that popularity he  

has said he frequently gets requests to come and  speak at events held by Tech leaders and their  

companies often for tens of thousands of dollars  a day in speaker fees in a 2018 article that he  

later turned into a book Rushkoff spoke about a  time that he was invited to one of these speak  

engagements and the money offered was simply too  good to turn down but instead of giving a speech  

he was instead directed into a small room to speak  directly with five super wealthy individuals who  

he didn't individually identify but he did  disclose that they were all from the hedge  

fund industry another surprise is that these men  weren't interested in discussing Rush cop's ideas  

about futurism technology Media or anything that  he is famous for researching the instead wanted  

to talk about how to prepare for the apocalypse  the reason they were interested in Rushkoff was  

not because he had any credentials in the field of  survival shelters but because they wanted him to  

use his expertise in developing open-source social  systems to fix the problem they were having these  

unidentified men and others like them had hired  highly trained teams of security Personnel to  

keep them safe when traditional National Security  could no longer be relied on according to a marker  

report by business research insights the global  primary military security Market is now worth 220  

B billion do and is expected to grow to over $300  billion by the end of the decade that growth has  

mostly been from commercial Transport Security  through unstable areas like the Suez canal and  

personal security for individuals in an end of  thee World scenario the teams of X Navy Seals that  

these people are hiring could certainly fend off  most would be looters but while they could keep  

their clients safe there was no way that their  clients could keep safe from them in a scenario  

where money had lost all meaning what they wanted  was for Rushkoff to figure out a social system  

to keep these hired security Personnel subservient  to the billionaire in a situation where they had  

all the power and there was nothing really  stopping them in their team from claiming the  

multi-million doll bunker for themselves and  their own families in his article he reports  

that they were experimenting with ideas like  putting shock cers on their hired mercenaries  

so that they could incapacitate them if they  tried to Rebel ultimately Rushkoff pointed out  

that most of these efforts would be futile and  perhaps the best solution was just to be nice to  

the hired help before the end of the world comes  about understandably the billionaire disregarded  

this advice as commy nonsense and are presumably  in talks with a more amenable cyberpunk author  

to design their bunkers now as with everything in  this world it's hard to independently verify what  

exactly was discussed at the secretive event or in  fact if it even happened it could be just a good  

premise to sell some books and I will be leaving a  link to it below but it still speaks to a clearly  

obvious trend of wealth becoming more and more  insulating one of the takeaways from Rushkoff's  

book and article was the question that has started  dominating the mind of ultra wealthy people the  

actual bunkers were just an extension of a trend  of people trying to hide themselves away from a  

society that doesn't like them now this isn't some  metaphorical the real bunkers are the enemies we  

have made along the way but it is the third reason  why this is all incredibly stupid there aren't  

many people in the world that have more influence  over how successful our society is than the people  

who can afford these multi-million dollar bunkers  it would be much better for everybody if they  

simply use their resources to avoid these problems  in the first place rather than planning on how to  

deal with them once they become a reality but an  increasingly popular philosophy amongst the same  

group of people means that some of them might  actually want this to happen accelerationism is  

the idea that radical change can be brought about  by intentionally intensifying capital accumulation  

technological change and demographic shifts to  destabilize traditional systems and effectively  

rebuild something better from the metaphorical  or literal ashes on the surface the whole thing  

sounds absolutely insane but the broad ideas  of the theory have been adopted by a lot of  

very high-profile individuals like Sam Alman tan  Elon Musk Rupert Murdoch and Peter teal most of  

these people are heavily involved in technology  so making big claims about how the world can be  

radically reshaped by their AI systems might  just be an effective way to create Buzz around  

the capabilities of their companies or it could  be that they are running these companies with  

this kind of inherently unstable future in mind  before he was a household name Sam Altman of  

open AI in an interview with the New Yorker said  that he had an arrangement with teal whereby in  

the eventuality of some kind of systematic  collapse scenario synthetic virus breakout  

rampaging AI resource war between nuclear armed  States so forth they both get on a private jet  

and fly a property teal owns in New Zealand now  another possibility is that all of this could just  

be a way for people to justify to themselves that  hoarding wealth and recklessly experimenting with  

potentially dangerous technology is all to serve a  bigger purpose than their own personal enrichment  

who is to say Joe Scott made an amazing and fairly  balanced video on accelerationism a few months ago  

where he went into a lot more details than I did  here so I will leave a link to him down below most  

of his videos are awesome now even if all of  this is just something for really rich people  

to work on in their spare time it has created a  huge industry in it and of itself and there are  

people ready to Hype up the inevitability of the  end of the world if it secures them a contract to  

dig a multi-million dollar hole in the ground now  another element to this is how these billionaires  

have handpicked countries to set up these rather  serious operations in I am going to be writing  

an article over on my completely free email  newsletter compounded daily about the growing  

trend of buying citizenship as an escape plan  from the end of the world or just an unfavourable  

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at the link below or go and watch this video to  find out who companies are going to sell their  

products to once they have replaced everyone  with AI to keep on learning how money works