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00:00These men are installing bunkers that can cost half a million dollars.
00:09This is the fat boy. This is the largest bunker we make in one single piece.
00:17Atlas Survival Shelters is the world's largest bunker manufacturer.
00:22And their shelters promise to protect people from almost every type of disaster, even nuclear war.
00:29I don't want it to happen in my lifetime. Nobody does.
00:33But I need to make sure that the bunker will work when the time comes.
00:37These days, more people are prepping for disaster than ever before.
00:42For some reason, it's 99% Trump-supporting, conservative, Christian Republicans.
00:49But his fastest-growing customers are the ultra-wealthy.
00:53Let's go hang out and party!
00:54Yeah! In a bunker!
00:56Game rooms, indoor shooting ranges, even stripper poles.
01:02So how did these bunkers go from fringe obsessions to mainstream?
01:07And who's actually buying them?
01:10At this factory in Texas, a team of 50 people cranks out bunkers priced between $20,000 and $20 million.
01:29Do I vet people that buy bunkers? Not really.
01:32I mean, is there a vetting process for buying a Rolls-Royce?
01:37No, but you've got to have the money to pay for it, okay?
01:40That's Ron Hubbard.
01:42He owns and runs Atlas Survival Shelters out of its Texas headquarters.
01:47Another person calling for a bomb shelter.
01:50Yeah, hello, there's Ron.
01:52If you called me today and said,
01:53Ron, I want one of your big, fabulous bunkers.
01:55How long would it take?
01:56I usually will tell somebody it's about six months.
02:00One of his biggest bunkers is called the Fat Boy.
02:03This is pretty impressive.
02:05This bunker costs at least $300,000.
02:09This is how the ultra-rich have decided they want to survive the end of the world.
02:15It's got LED lights, built-in speakers, a beautiful sunken living room.
02:21You got a staircase, you come down the stairs right here.
02:26I mean, you're like, this is a bomb shelter.
02:28Look how tall and big it is.
02:31Today, Ron's company installs more bunkers than any other.
02:38His team is so busy, there's a wait list.
02:41I mean, there's bunkers everywhere.
02:43There's new equipment coming in.
02:46And this place is full.
02:50The clientele that I have are usually high-net-worth people.
02:53And they all want that VIP service.
02:55So they're like, hey, I don't want to wait in line.
02:57But guess what?
02:58Everyone who has a private jet is a VIP.
03:01And almost everyone who buys a bunker from me is a VIP.
03:04So I try to treat them all the same.
03:07When he takes an order,
03:09the only personal information he uses to track it
03:12is his customer's first name and state of residence.
03:16This bunker right here that says Barber on it is an 8x16.
03:20We never know the last name of the clients.
03:22So they could put a gun to my head and say,
03:25where are all the bunkers at?
03:26And I would, I don't know.
03:27Next, Ron has to decide the kind of bunker the customer needs.
03:34And that depends on the soil.
03:37The round ones are easier to bury really deep.
03:40While the square ones are more watertight and good for wetter ground.
03:45It's like a doctor giving medicine.
03:48You don't give every patient the same prescription.
03:50Today, his team is working on one of their most popular models.
03:57A 10 by 30 foot bunker.
03:59Which goes for at least $150,000.
04:04It's made from American steel.
04:06So the steel will actually come on this long trailer here.
04:16And they'll actually cut their pieces to size.
04:21One of the first things they build are the walls.
04:24These are made in a crisscross pattern
04:26to prevent the steel from buckling under pressure
04:29when the bunker is buried.
04:30So they'll fit it up, as you can tell.
04:36And they're going to weld it out.
04:37And then it'll all stand up.
04:39And when we're done, we've basically created a big box.
04:43Then, the walls are welded from the inside and outside.
04:46So the bunker is watertight.
04:48The enemy to a bunker is water.
04:52If a bunker floods, it's ruined.
04:55This way, his shelters are able to withstand most natural disasters.
04:59If you're in Florida, your fear is a hurricane.
05:03If you're in California, your fears are earthquakes and wildfires.
05:07And if you're in other places, it might be a volcano erupting
05:10or Yellowstone exploding.
05:13Any time a global crisis hits, interest spikes.
05:18When the Ukraine war broke out,
05:20there was a big spike that lasted about two, three weeks.
05:23When Israel happened, there was a spike that lasted for about a week.
05:27When the COVID happened, there was a spike that lasted for about a month.
05:32In 2025, bunker sales soared again
05:35when news broke about Iran's advancing nuclear program.
05:40And this factory in Texas got busy.
05:43When I first started, we were literally cutting things on it
05:49with a single saw, one piece at a time.
05:51So now, of course, I've got automated saws.
05:54I've got laser tables.
05:55I've got plasma tables.
05:57I've got massive forklifts that can lift up to 36,000 pounds.
06:02Basically, what would take us 20 hours,
06:05we can probably do now in two hours.
06:07So our production is picking up.
06:09Finally, Ron coats his bunkers with a tar-based paint,
06:14the same stuff offshore oil rigs use,
06:17because it lasts 150 years.
06:21People are hiring me to save their families' lives
06:25at the worst moment in their history of their family.
06:29And that would be thermonuclear war
06:32and a pandemic of a biblical event.
06:35It's real stuff.
06:35Survival bunkers date back hundreds of years,
06:41though early versions were usually above ground.
06:45During the Civil War,
06:46Americans built shelters from soil,
06:49wood, or stone for defense.
06:52But in 1941,
06:54the U.S. started building more bunkers underground
06:57to protect from airstrikes.
06:58Japanese bombs rained on Pearl Harbor.
07:03Shortly after,
07:04President Franklin Roosevelt
07:05ordered a bunker be built under the White House.
07:09His successors then used it during bomb drills.
07:12President Eisenhower and his aides
07:13rushed to the underground shelter,
07:15which has complete communications,
07:16telephones, teletype, and radio.
07:19Most Americans were introduced to the concept
07:22during the Cold War.
07:23You know the places marked with the S sign?
07:26There are safe places to go
07:28when you hear the alarm.
07:30Congress even set aside $169 million
07:34to outfit public buildings with fallout shelters
07:37that could protect from nuclear radiation.
07:41That's also when tiny personal bunkers,
07:44built mostly out of concrete,
07:45started popping up in backyards across the country.
07:48But in the early 1960s,
07:51a man named Jay Swayze reimagined
07:54what a bunker could be.
07:56He built a 2,800-square-foot luxury house underground
08:00with four bedrooms and murals
08:03to make it seem like you were outside.
08:06Ron went to visit for inspiration.
08:10He's got shuffleboard in here, huh?
08:12The bunker was designed to be livable
08:14and could protect against nuclear radiation.
08:18As global tensions continued to rise
08:22in the 1970s and 80s,
08:24a growing subculture of doomsday preppers emerged.
08:28More people joined the movement after 9-11.
08:31TV shows also helped bring survival culture
08:34into the mainstream.
08:35I mean, that's good, but just clean it up a little bit.
08:39Right, that's what I'm doing.
08:41All right, good deal.
08:42But Ron wasn't part of that crowd
08:44when he got into the bunker business.
08:47I had no plans to build one.
08:49I never even heard of the word a prepper.
08:52But in 2010,
08:54when a friend sent him a YouTube video
08:56of someone's bomb shelter,
08:58it changed everything.
09:00My entire life,
09:01I've literally been a welder.
09:03I was pretty damn good at it.
09:05I was like,
09:06God, man,
09:06I could do a better job myself than these guys.
09:09And then somebody says,
09:10hey, can you make me one?
09:11Can you make me one?
09:12Can you make me one?
09:13Then in 2012,
09:15a producer from National Geographic's reality show
09:18Doomsday Preppers called.
09:20They wanted to film an episode
09:22showing Ron building a bunker.
09:25You get no better than this.
09:26Hey, don't.
09:27Bring on doomsday, huh?
09:29My phone was ringing off the hook.
09:31Ron says these days,
09:34building a survival shelter
09:35isn't just an emergency plan.
09:38Do we live for those spikes?
09:39They're a gift.
09:41My business is not based upon the spikes.
09:46My business is based upon new home construction.
09:51Contractors often ask him to build bunkers
09:54for new residential developments.
09:56This is what's going on.
09:5886 houses are being built
10:00with these secret Murphy shelves.
10:02You open this up,
10:03and then this room,
10:04this is going to take you to the bomb shelter.
10:07This bunker is being utilized as a movie theater.
10:11It's even got a secret gun shelf over there.
10:14And demand isn't just spiking in the U.S.
10:18Ron's been consulting in the Middle East,
10:21where ongoing conflict has driven bunker sales.
10:24You'll get some Saudi prints
10:27or somebody like that,
10:29and they'll have a 50,000-square-foot bunker built
10:31that might cost $100 million.
10:34Mark Zuckerberg also has a bunker in Kauai
10:37worth $270 million.
10:41When you deal with a billionaire,
10:43you get contacted by some guy,
10:45and they send you a nondisclosure.
10:47And then at some point,
10:48it may slip out who the actual customer is.
10:51That is how billionaires work.
10:52Vladimir Putin has a secret shelter
10:55beneath his Black Sea Palace near Gelencik,
10:58worth about $1.3 billion.
11:01The opulent complex,
11:04often referred to as Putin's palace,
11:06hides a bunker lying more than 160 feet underground,
11:10and has about 6,500 square feet of living space.
11:13It includes tunnels reinforced with 15-inch-thick concrete walls,
11:20designed to withstand explosions.
11:23Elon Musk hasn't confirmed he owns one yet,
11:27but architects in Russia have designed a concept
11:29based on the Cybertruck.
11:32It's an 8,000-square-foot structure,
11:34meant to withstand nuclear threats,
11:36and powered by solar and wind.
11:38It would house seven people,
11:40and would reportedly cost over $850,000.
11:45Look at it from their point of view.
11:47They've made a billion dollars or $100 million,
11:50and in the instant,
11:52through a cyber attack,
11:53they could not have access to any of their money.
11:56So all they have
11:57is what tangibly they can touch.
12:01Analysts predict the shelter industry
12:03will continue to grow,
12:05reaching about $4.5 billion by 2033.
12:11Isn't this crazy?
12:14Even though the fat boy
12:15isn't Ron's most extravagant model,
12:18he still outfits it with high-end finishes.
12:21So of course, a full bathroom,
12:23matching granite counters for the vanity,
12:27flushing toilet, walk-in shower,
12:29hot and cold running water.
12:31The electrical appliances
12:33are mainly powered by lithium batteries
12:35that are charged by solar panels
12:38and wind turbines,
12:39or diesel generators.
12:42You've got to have
12:43a secondary source of power
12:46because the grid will go down,
12:49and you've got to be able to live
12:50off the grid in the shelter.
12:53And there are other hidden features.
12:55And this is really cool.
12:57Look at this.
12:57Everything has floor access
13:00to your storage.
13:02Under the floor,
13:03they leave a gap
13:04where they'll install
13:05two 300-gallon tanks
13:07to supply water
13:09for drinking and plumbing.
13:11That's enough for a family of four
13:13to survive for about three months.
13:16This bunker here
13:17actually has a walk-in closet.
13:20The shelter can comfortably
13:22sleep eight people,
13:24but can fit many more
13:25in an emergency.
13:26And this doghouse,
13:30which would lay down
13:31if you had to access it,
13:33leads to the escape tunnel.
13:36And it's held up with magnets,
13:38but it also gives you a place
13:40where your dogs can go in and sleep.
13:42So you have all the comforts
13:44of a home,
13:45but this is my largest
13:47one-piece shelter
13:48that I can deliver
13:49to your property.
13:50Ron says the fat boy
13:53is also designed
13:54to protect you
13:55from nuclear radiation.
13:57He has dozens
13:58of YouTube videos about it.
14:00The video today
14:02is really for my bunker customers.
14:04Now, to get into
14:05when I buy bunkers,
14:06you have to go
14:07through a bulletproof
14:09nuclear blast hatch
14:10that's on the surface.
14:11Then, a series of stairs
14:13lead you down
14:14to a second door.
14:15And then, when you get
14:16to the bottom of the stairs,
14:18you take a left or a right
14:19and you turn
14:20and you walk into a bunker.
14:23That L-shaped design
14:24is supposed to shield you
14:26from direct exposure
14:27to gamma rays.
14:30And once you make it inside,
14:32you'll need sustenance.
14:33So, let's say we have
14:35complete nuclear obliteration
14:39of America.
14:40So, you need to have
14:42enough food to make it
14:43to the next year's
14:44growing cycle.
14:46As long as you have that,
14:47you really wouldn't
14:48need to leave.
14:51And I do have clients
14:52who actually do live
14:54in their shelters,
14:55not full-time,
14:57but a lot of the time.
15:00Ron says ventilation
15:01isn't a problem.
15:02If you decide
15:03to hunker down.
15:04This is the air pipe.
15:07It's basically,
15:08this is the mouth, okay?
15:10Just like the human body,
15:11we gotta breathe in.
15:12So, the air comes in one side
15:14and actually goes out the other.
15:16It's almost like, you know,
15:17you eat food,
15:18it goes in your mouth
15:19and then it comes out
15:20and it's c*** out your ass, okay?
15:22He only uses Swiss
15:24and Israeli-made air systems.
15:26They're the most advanced
15:28because bunkers
15:29are so common there.
15:30In Israel,
15:33every home is legally required
15:34to have a built-in safe room.
15:37Switzerland has enough
15:39fallout shelters
15:40to house its entire population
15:42of nearly 9 million people.
15:45Bomb shelters is a way of life
15:46for a lot of the world
15:47and Americans just haven't
15:49grasped onto the idea.
15:52Historically,
15:53preppers have been
15:54overwhelmingly right-leaning.
15:56Now, it doesn't mean
15:57that I haven't sold
15:58some shelters
15:59to some Democrats.
16:00It's just not very many.
16:01I can literally name
16:03the four on one hand.
16:05But data shows
16:07that since President Trump
16:08was first elected in 2016,
16:11more left-wing folks
16:12have joined the movement.
16:14Black Americans
16:15are prepping more, too.
16:17George Floyd!
16:18That trend rose sharply
16:20after the death
16:21of George Floyd.
16:22With gun ownership
16:24among Black Americans
16:25spiking 58%.
16:27But most people
16:30don't have the resources
16:31to actually buy
16:32a survival home.
16:35So, Ron is working
16:36on expanding access.
16:38The rock bottom
16:39we can get a shelter
16:40out now is $20,000.
16:42It's called
16:43the pre-cast shelter.
16:44They will actually
16:45pour the moles themselves
16:47and pop them out
16:48kind of like cupcakes
16:49and actually produce
16:50one every single day.
16:52This one can house
16:53four people
16:54in two bunk beds.
16:56There's nothing fancy
16:57about it,
16:58but it will give you
16:59an old-style
17:00fallout shelter
17:01from like the 1960s.
17:03And you'll only be
17:03in a shelter like that
17:04for maybe three
17:05or four days.
17:06As for the bigger bunkers...
17:08That's a big boy.
17:10That's 60,000 pounds
17:11right there.
17:12When they're ready,
17:13Ron's team drives them
17:15all the way from Texas
17:16to their destination.
17:17All right, here we go.
17:18First bunker is
17:20lifted in the air.
17:21We're gonna swing it down.
17:24Some parts,
17:26like plumbing pipes
17:27and the escape tunnel,
17:28are installed on location.
17:30They add concrete
17:31to help the bunker
17:32withstand pressure
17:33from the surrounding soil
17:34and as an extra layer
17:36of protection
17:37from a nuclear blast.
17:39And they bury it
17:40six feet below
17:41to help keep
17:42the temperature inside
17:44at a comfortable
17:4452 to 60 degrees.
17:47This one, worth $600,000,
17:50took Ron's team
17:52almost a week
17:53to install.
17:56So, how long
17:57will it last?
17:59Nothing is forever.
18:01But I'm making them
18:02to last more
18:04than a person's lifetime.
18:06Will they do that?
18:08I won't know
18:08because I won't be alive.
18:09I won't be alive.
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