Being a billionaire means more than simply living a lavish lifestyle; it also means a stylish means of surviving the end of the world.
The days of the world’s elite being able to relax in a subterranean panic room are long gone. Nowadays, the really wealthy are converting their opulent mansions into cutting-edge strongholds outfitted with every gizmo possible to ward off anything from burglars to the end of civilization as we know it.
Experienced in luxury security, Al Corbi has a lot of knowledge in protecting the wealthy. For fifty years, his business, Strategically Armored & Fortified Environments, has served the demands of the ultra-wealthy. He is coworker of his wife Naomi, who manages the company’s health and wellness division, including emergency medical supplies and services.
Apart from trendy clothes, it’s no secret that the extremely affluent have always been targets for abductors, activists, or enraged crowds that want to “eat the rich.”
Demand at the extremely high and even slightly at the high-net-worth levels has always existed. Al Corbi told The Post, “The King has always had the castle in the moat, but the ultra-high-net-worth, that’s a standard part of their fear.”
In actuality, demand has increased recently as a result of the widespread recognition that has trickled down. They belong to a different group of people. Perhaps five or ten years ago, someone with a $10 million fortune would not have given this much thought. They are now beginning to consider, “Wait a second, perhaps I should include that in my portfolio.”
It’s a little different now.
“We want you to be having fun if you’re going to be able to survive underground,” Corbi said to CNN, which also covered this opulent trend.
Consider one of Corbi’s most recent endeavors: an expansive, ultra-secret home tucked away in 200 acres of US wilderness.
This isn’t your average bunker for apocalypse preppers. This one includes a 30-foot-deep moat, but it has a contemporary touch.
While quickly pointing out that “they didn’t have jet skis back then,” Corbi told CNN that “looking at medieval times, a moat is one of the greatest deterrents.” His client, a watersports enthusiast and adrenaline addict, intends to utilize it as his own racetrack.
It sounds opulent, and that’s because these bunkers can take a while to construct.
“The more intricate they become, the longer they can take,” Corbi stated to The Post, saying that he had carved a structure worth over $100 million out of solid granite. Regarding the work of art made of stone, he remarked, “It took four years the longest I’ve ever done,” however some pieces can take several months. He claims that one bunker’s occupants were able to live inside, furnished, for as long as thirty years. SAFE may even supply a two-lane bowling alley within a bunker.
According to Corbi, bunkers from even fifty years ago resembled subterranean Ritz-Carltons. But something so humble would make today’s wealthy sneer at it.
Demand is also being driven by a competition to outdo one another.
Following the disclosure of Mark Zuckerberg’s 5,000-square-foot subterranean bunker in Hawaii, other tech titans and CEOs were compelled to quickly fortify their own residences.
With disaster shelters beneath each of his homes, Bill Gates is said to be among those who have elevated the trend of bunkers to unprecedented levels.
In New Zealand, entrepreneur and venture capitalist Peter Thiel is currently constructing an ornate bunker lodge. A safe room or bunker has also been constructed in the homes of famous people like Tom Cruise, Shaquille O’Neal, Kim Kardashian, Post Malone, and others.
Renowned luxury designer Graham Harris of London’s SHH Architecture has seen a change in the demands of his affluent clientele.
Harris told CNN, “Now they’ve really grown in size and stature,” emphasizing that having a bulletproof bathroom is no longer the only thing that matters. One client converted his 3,000 square foot art gallery into a secure space with a separate power source. Another person had his home theater converted into a bunker, replete with safe doors, purified air, and enough food to last a week.
These days, the secret tunnels and rooms are functional safety features rather than merely decorative elements.
Businesses like as Creative Home Engineering in Arizona are making a fortune by putting in phone booths that open to subterranean bunkers and revolving fireplaces that function as secret doors. The wealthy of today are sliding down into their opulent hideouts, down past the shark tank and into a flight simulator. Forget about bolting for the hills.
However, there are limitations to even the most advanced security measures. “A thief breaking in at night will still succeed in getting in, but he or she won’t be able to enter the bedroom, where the family is safe for as long as it takes the cops to finish their coffee and doughnuts,” Corbi stated.