The pandemic, the political climate, or the threat of environmental collapse also worries the world’s billionaires, and many of them have helped drive this ‘preparation for the end’ trend on the rise among the wealthy.
From Silicon Valley to Wall Street, some of the biggest names in technology have begun to invest in preparing for the end of the world, be it for a global political, social or natural emergency. According to a Finder survey, an estimated 20% of Americans participate in some type of preparation for the end of the world . Let’s see some famous examples:
In 2017, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman told The New Yorker that he had purchased motorcycles, guns, and ammo to prepare for a potential disaster. He and Yishan Wong, the CEO of Reddit from 2012 to 2014, both underwent Lasik eye surgery to increase their chances of surviving some kind of global disaster . LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman estimates that more than 50% of his ‘fellow billionaires’ have bought some kind of apocalyptic hideaway.
“Tech developers don’t think there is going to be a crash. They consider it a remote event, but with a very serious disadvantage so that, given the amount of money they have, spending a small fraction of all their assets to protect themselves is quite logical, “Yishan Wong explained in statements to The New Yorker .
Resurface after collapse
As explained by The Guardian newspaper, billionaire venture capitalist Peter Thiel continually talks about a book with great influence on his life: The Sovereign Individual: How to Thrive and Live During the Collapse of the Welfare State. This book suggests that a social collapse would give way to the emergence of the ‘cognitive elite’ that, after hiding, would rebuild a new world.
