Mon 16 March 2020:
Like hundreds of thousands of people across the world, the super-rich are preparing to self-isolate in the face of an escalation in the coronavirus crisis. But their plans extend far beyond stocking up on hand sanitiser and TV boxsets.
The world’s richest people are chartering private jets to set off for holiday homes or specially prepared disaster bunkers in countries that, so far, appear to have avoided the worst of the Covid-19 outbreak.
Many are understood to be taking personal doctors or nurses on their flights to treat them and their families in the event that they become infected. The wealthy are also besieging doctors in private clinics in Harley Street, London, and across the world, demanding private coronavirus tests.
In a secret location in the state of Kansas, a 15-story luxury underground condominium complex has been built for secure “off-grid living in the event of a major disaster or emergency.” That includes coronavirus, technically called COVID-19.
Known as the “Survival Condo” project, its Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical (NBC) air filtration can filter out pathogens like COVID-19.
“We can and do offer an environment where you are less likely to come in contact with the virus,” says Survival Condo on its website. “However, we cannot guarantee that you will not pick up the virus from direct or indirect contact with an infected person or object either before or after you arrive at our facility.”
A cross-section shows the survival bunker – which goes 15-stories deep.Credit: SurvivalCondo.com
The development includes a medical facility, pool, spa, movie theater, gym, rock climbing wall, and a dog park. It claims to be “one of the strongest manmade structures ever created” and is designed to withstand a nuclear blast.
“The same quality of condo in New York would have cost me the same, if not more per square foot and you get peace of mind with this,” a Survival Condo client said according to a company press release.
This “peace of mind” costs $3 million for a full-floor unit and $1.5 million for a half-floor unit. Both units come with a three-year per person food supply.
The complex was previously a missile silo, set up by the American government during the Cold War.
Project developer Larry Hall told American magazine Vanity Fair he has seen a “spike” in inquiries amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Build your own private bunker
Those who can afford it also have the option of constructing their own private underground shelter.
US company Vivos, which builds private underground shelters, has seen a surge in inquiries and sales since the coronavirus outbreak.
“As a result of the current Coronavirus threat and the ripple of subsequent consequences, the demand for Vivos has exponentially grown,” the company’s media director told Al Arabiya English, adding that sales have recently gone up over 400 percent and the clientele “is shifting from middle class to upper class.”
The construction of a new bunker complex can take anywhere between three months to a year depending on the scale, location, and availability of materials and labor.
The company also offers space in a “lifesaving shelter” named Vivos xPoint, located in the state of South Dakota.
Formerly an US Army base, Vivos xPoint is now used to host 575 private bunkers that can accommodate more than 5,000 “like-minded survivalists.”
“Vivos xPoint is strategically and centrally located in one of the safest areas of North America,” according to the company’s website.
A private bunker is priced at $35,000 and comes unfurnished. To outfit the bunker, what the company calls “Bunker Glamping,” the price can range anywhere between an extra $25,000 to $75,000.
According to Vivos, each underground shelter complex is capable of caring for the long-term physical and psychological wellbeing of its residents “as they may need to ride out the extreme events that will be happening on the surface above.”
While the spread of the coronavirus has caused many Americans to stay at home, it has motivated the uber wealthy to seek new homes – ones they think will protect them against coronavirus and potential future disasters.
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