When you’re a billionaire, it’s not just about living large — it’s about surviving the apocalypse in style.
Gone are the days when a panic room in the basement was enough to calm the nerves of the world’s elite. Now, the ultra-wealthy are turning their palatial homes into state-of-the-art fortresses, complete with all the bells and whistles to fend off everything from intruders to the end of civilization as we know it.
Al Corbi, a veteran in the world of luxury security, knows a thing or two about keeping the rich safe. His company, SAFE (Strategically Armored & Fortified Environments), has been catering to the needs of the super-rich for half a century.
Nowadays, it’s a bit different.
“If you’re going to be able to survive underground, we want you to be having fun,” Corbi told CNN, which reported on this luxe trend.
Take one of his latest projects: a sprawling, top-secret estate nestled in 200 acres of US wilderness.
This isn’t your typical doomsday prepper’s hideout. There are blast-proof doors, windows that laugh in the face of a sledgehammer and a biometric entry system that makes James Bond’s gadgets look outdated.
And then there’s the moat— a 30-foot-deep one, but this one comes with a modern twist.
“Look at medieval times, a moat is one of the greatest deterrents,” Corbi told the outlet, though he’s quick to point out, “they didn’t have jet skis back then.” His client, an adrenaline junkie with a penchant for watersports, plans to use it as his personal race track.
It’s no secret that the uber-wealthy have always been targets, whether it’s kidnappers, activists or angry mobs looking to “eat the rich.”
But these days, those fears have escalated.
Argentine soccer superstar, Lionel Messi, for instance, was recently the target of a major vandalism incident at his Ibiza, Spain mansion by a radical climate activist group.
Corbi notes that even 50 years ago, bunkers looked like underground Ritz-Carltons. But today’s billionaires would turn their noses up at something so modest.
The desire to outdo each other is also driving demand.
When news broke of Mark Zuckerberg’s underground lair in Hawaii, which includes a 5,000-square-foot bunker, other tech moguls and CEOs couldn’t scramble fast enough to beef up their own homes.
Bill Gates is reportedly one of those who have taken the bunker craze to new heights, with doomsday shelters under all of his properties.
Graham Harris, a big name in luxury design with London’s SHH Architecture, has seen a shift in what his high-flying clients are asking for.
“Now they’ve really grown in size and stature,” Harris told CNN, pointing out that it’s no longer just about having a bulletproof bathroom. One client turned his entire 3,000-square-foot art gallery into a safe room, complete with its own power supply. Another had his home cinema outfitted as a bunker, complete with filtered air, secure doors and enough provisions to last a week.
The hidden passageways and secret rooms are no longer just for show — they’re real safety features.
Companies like Creative Home Engineering in Arizona are making a killing installing rotating fireplaces that double as secret doors and phone booths that reveal slides to underground bunkers. Forget running for the hills; today’s wealthy are sliding down into their luxurious hideouts, straight past the shark tank and into a flight simulator.
Corbi notes that the paranoia isn’t just for the billionaires anymore. Millionaires are starting to get in on the action, too. For a few thousand bucks, they can secure an existing room; for a few hundred thousand, they can drop a pre-made bunker under their new build.
Entrepreneur and venture capitalist Peter Thiel is currently building an elaborate bunker lodge in New Zealand. And celebrities like Post Malone, Kim Kardashian, Shaquille O’Neal and Tom Cruise all have built bunkers or safe rooms in their homes.
But even the best security systems can only do so much. Corbi said, “If someone breaks in at night, they’re still going to get in, but they’re not going to be able to get into the bedroom, where the family is safe plenty long enough for the police to finish their coffee and donuts.”
Health is also a top concern for the rich and paranoid, especially after COVID-19.
SAFE’s business has expanded to include rooms that could pass for hospital operating rooms, complete with decontamination chambers and personalized pharmacies.
“Forget nuclear bombs, the thing we should be prepping for is real life,” Corbi said.