4 ms·

Doomsday Prep for the Super-Rich

28 points by SanderMak 9y ago

tristanj 9y ago
Discussions of this article from earlier this year https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13462865 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13462865 (154 points, 173 comments) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13482107 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13482107 (136 points, 124 comments)
rc_kas 9y ago
jokes on them, doomsday came and went already.
elipsey 9y ago
maybe the luxury prepper buisiness will stimulate demand, and thereby prevent doomsday.
- jonbarker 9y ago
  This reminds me of Says Law: http://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/says-law.asp http://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/says-law.asp
FLUX-YOU 9y ago
"Welcome to New Zealand, where you'll find a bunch of doomsday homes on sale for cheap ever since people decided that the world wasn't ending after all."
bithive123 9y ago
Who needs other people when you've got lots of money?
- holydude 9y ago
  Well you need people to give that money any real value in the first place.
QAPereo 9y ago
If you really believe in something like a doomsday which you could reasonably escape from using one of these retreats, then really you believe in an extraordinarily specific set of circumstances which might arise. Far more realistic is the general decline in civilization, uptick in conflict, and growing paucity of resources. Frankly I don't see most of that affecting the C-level exec anyway, and if it does I don't see a glorified bomb shelter as the solution, more of a delay to get the guts up to shoot yourself. It's a really stupid notion at this particular time in human and technological development that we can live without other people and without the biosphere in general. That day may come, but it's probably quite a ways away and in the meantime we do need each other to some extent whether we like it or not, regardless of how wealthy we are. The smartest bet now is not to throw your money into the ground on the shelter, but to invest in the planet and its people.
- fapjacks 9y ago
  Yes, but if you look to history's example, even during times of relative chaos, if you're a relatively wealthy person in a relatively neutral place, you're likely to have a fantastic life, even while the rest of the world burns. It's not a totally crazy idea, I think, although I do agree with you generally. I think a bunker north of Wichita is the worst idea in the universe, though.
cletus 9y ago
We now live in a world where capital is mobile at a global level. We have an increasingly large number of wealthy people who got that way in countries that are political stable and have costs to run and maintain who now don't want to contribute to the upkeep of that same infrastructure. War is the ultimate means of wealth redistribution. Perhaps instead of prepping for a doomsday that's going to be bad for everyone, buying off more politicians and finding more loopholes to pay no tax, the truly wealthy should be supporting the institutions that make their wealth possible. Crazy I know.
Xoros 9y ago
“The media is under attack now. They wonder, Is the court system next? Do we go from ‘fake news’ to ‘fake evidence’? Well isn't it what happened in Baltimore last month ?

28 points by SanderMak 9y ago

Discussions of this article from earlier this year https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13462865 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13462865 (154 points, 173 comments) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13482107 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13482107 (136 points, 124 comments)

rc_kas 9y ago

jokes on them, doomsday came and went already.

elipsey 9y ago

maybe the luxury prepper buisiness will stimulate demand, and thereby prevent doomsday.

jonbarker 9y ago
This reminds me of Says Law: http://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/says-law.asp http://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/says-law.asp

FLUX-YOU 9y ago

"Welcome to New Zealand, where you'll find a bunch of doomsday homes on sale for cheap ever since people decided that the world wasn't ending after all."

bithive123 9y ago

Who needs other people when you've got lots of money?

holydude 9y ago
Well you need people to give that money any real value in the first place.

QAPereo 9y ago

If you really believe in something like a doomsday which you could reasonably escape from using one of these retreats, then really you believe in an extraordinarily specific set of circumstances which might arise. Far more realistic is the general decline in civilization, uptick in conflict, and growing paucity of resources. Frankly I don't see most of that affecting the C-level exec anyway, and if it does I don't see a glorified bomb shelter as the solution, more of a delay to get the guts up to shoot yourself. It's a really stupid notion at this particular time in human and technological development that we can live without other people and without the biosphere in general. That day may come, but it's probably quite a ways away and in the meantime we do need each other to some extent whether we like it or not, regardless of how wealthy we are. The smartest bet now is not to throw your money into the ground on the shelter, but to invest in the planet and its people.

fapjacks 9y ago
Yes, but if you look to history's example, even during times of relative chaos, if you're a relatively wealthy person in a relatively neutral place, you're likely to have a fantastic life, even while the rest of the world burns. It's not a totally crazy idea, I think, although I do agree with you generally. I think a bunker north of Wichita is the worst idea in the universe, though.

cletus 9y ago

We now live in a world where capital is mobile at a global level. We have an increasingly large number of wealthy people who got that way in countries that are political stable and have costs to run and maintain who now don't want to contribute to the upkeep of that same infrastructure. War is the ultimate means of wealth redistribution. Perhaps instead of prepping for a doomsday that's going to be bad for everyone, buying off more politicians and finding more loopholes to pay no tax, the truly wealthy should be supporting the institutions that make their wealth possible. Crazy I know.

Xoros 9y ago

“The media is under attack now. They wonder, Is the court system next? Do we go from ‘fake news’ to ‘fake evidence’? Well isn't it what happened in Baltimore last month ?