Upon hearing the word “prepper,” most people think about the conspiracy theorist, the religious doomsayer, or people who have simply become too obsessed preparing for the end of the world. However, more and more successful people, including industry leaders and CEOs, have taken considerable steps so that their families will be taken care of if something dire happens to the world.
The New Yorker reports that in private Facebook groups, wealthy survivalists are swapping tips on bunkers, gas masks, and locations safe from the effects of climate change. One unnamed member, said to be the head of an investment firm, told the media outlet that he keeps a helicopter gased up all the time if ever he and his family needs to flee immediately. He also has an underground bunker that has an air-filtration system.
Meanwhile, Mayfield Fund managing director Tim Chang admitted that he has been “stockpiling” real estate to generate passive income, but also to have safe havens for his family to seek refuge should doomsday come. Chang also said that he and his wife have packed bags for themselves and for their four-year-old daughter should a civil war or an earthquake decimate part of California.
Another executive copped to taking archery lessons to protect his family, apart from hiding away caches of food and water. As for Reddit CEO Steve Huffman, getting eye surgery is one of the best ways to prepare for a disaster.
“If we have trouble, getting contacts or glasses is going to be a huge pain,” he said.
So what has sparked the survivalist movement among so may wealthy and successful Americans? Former Facebook product manager Antonio Garcia Martinez suggests that it has something to do with today’s political climate. After the last Presidential campaign uncovered toxic divisions and biases in the country, Martinez bought five wooded acres on an island in the Pacific Northwest and outfitted it with solar panels, generators, and ammunition.
“I think people who are particularly attuned to the levers by which society actually works understand that we are skating on really thin cultural ice right now,” said Martinez.
It was reported that preppers from Silicon Valley and New York are getting ready for the worst by buying real estate in New Zealand before it’s too late.
Apart from wealthy individuals, it appears that some liberals who previously found the survivalist movement pointless are now getting ready for several worst case scenarios to unfold. Earlier this month, Buzzfeed reported that the Trump administration is turning cautious liberals into preppers.
San Francisco resident Jim Ray told Buzzfeed that there’s this undeniable feeling that they should prepare for the collapse of civilization.
“The world in general feels more tumultuous that it did, in a lot of ways,” said Ray. “For liberally minded people, the election made that a reality in a way that it wasn’t before.”
For more, check out Jobs & Hire’s report on whether people can jeopardize their career for talking politics at work.
