Doomsday lairs: How the ultra-rich are assembling their high-tech bunkers for the end times

When you’re a billionaire, it’s not just about living grand — 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-rich are turning their palatial homes into modern castles, complete with all the bells and whistles to ward 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 wealthy safe. His company, SAFE (Strategically Armored & Fortified Environments), has been catering to the needs of the super-rich for half a century. He works alongside his wife, Naomi, who handles the health and wellness aspects of the business, such as emergency medical services and supplies.

Fancy gadgets aside, it’s no secret that the very rich have always been targets, be it kidnappers, activists or angry mobs looking to “eat the rich”.

Argentine soccer superstar Lionel Messi, for example, was recently the victim of a major incident of vandalism at his residence in Ibiza, Spain by a radical climate activist group.

“Demand has always been there in the ultra high end and even somewhat in the high net worth. But the extremely high net worth, it’s a standard part of their fear,” Al Corbi told The Post, adding that “King has always had the castle in the moat.”

“Actually, recently, since there’s been so much fame going down… there’s been an increase in demand. It’s a different category of people. Maybe someone who was worth $10 million five, ten years ago would never have thought of that. Now they’re starting to think, wait a minute, maybe I need that to be part of my portfolio.”

Nowadays, it’s a little different.

“If you’re going to be able to survive underground, we want you to have fun,” Corbi told CNN, which also reported on the luxury trend.

Take one of Corbi’s latest projects: a sprawling, top-secret estate set on 200 acres of US desert.

This isn’t your typical doomsday prep hangout. This one has a moat – a 30 meter deep moat, but this one comes with a modern twist.

“You look at medieval times, a ditch is one of the biggest deterrents,” Corbi told CNN, though he was quick to point out, “they didn’t have jet skis back then.” His client, an adrenaline junkie with a penchant for water sports, plans to use it as his personal race track.

If it sounds luxurious, that’s because it is—and these bunkers can take their time to build.

“The more elaborate they get, the longer they last and can last,” Corbi told The Post, adding that one of his builds, one north of $100 million, was carved out of solid granite. “Four years was the longest I’ve ever done,” he said of that stone masterpiece, though others can take several months. One bunker, he says, allowed its owners to live there for up to 30 years with their supplies. SAFE can even provide a bunker with a two-lane bowling alley.

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 defeat each other is also a driving question.

When news broke about 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 upgrade their homes.

Bill Gates is said to be one of those who have taken the bunker craze to new heights, with doomsday shelters under all his properties.

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 have all built bunkers or safe rooms in their homes.

Graham Harris, a big name in luxury design with London’s SHH Architecture, has seen a shift in what his high-end clients are looking for.

“Now they’ve really grown in size and stature,” Harris told CNN, noting 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 theater set up like a bunker, complete with filtered air, secure doors and enough supplies to last a week.

Hidden passages and secret rooms are no longer just for show – they are real security features.

Companies like Creative Home Engineering in Arizona are making a killing installing revolving chimneys that double as secret doors and phone booths that reveal slips in underground bunkers. Forget running for the hills; today’s rich are gliding down into their luxury hideaways, straight past the shark tank and into a flight simulator.

But even the best security systems can only do so much. Corbi said: “If someone breaks in overnight, they will get back in, but they won’t be able to get into the bedroom, where the family is safe enough for the police to finish their coffee and donuts.”

Health is also a major concern for the rich and paranoid, especially after COVID-19.

SAFE’s business has expanded to include rooms that can pass for hospital operating rooms, complete with decontamination rooms and custom pharmacies.

“We prepare them for this potential situation by providing them with emergency medical supplies and prescription medications,” Naomi Corbi told The Post. “But then the other component of it is that we really jump in and teach them how to use it so that in a crisis, they feel empowered to be able to help themselves.”