Mark Zuckerberg’s Secret Hawaiian Compound and Tech Billionaires’ Obsession with Doomsday Bunkers
Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook and Meta, reportedly began constructing his vast Koolau Ranch compound on the Hawaiian island of Kauai as early as 2014. Spanning more than 1,400 acres, the secluded estate is said to include advanced security systems, underground structures, and a self-sustaining shelter with its own energy and food supply.
According to a detailed report by Wired, the workers building the estate—carpenters, engineers, and electricians—were all bound by strict non-disclosure agreements, preventing them from discussing any aspect of the project. The construction site itself was hidden from public view by a six-foot-high wall, adding to the mystery surrounding Zuckerberg’s latest endeavor.
When questioned about whether the underground facility was a “doomsday bunker,” Zuckerberg flatly denied it. “It’s just like a basement,” he said, describing the 5,000-square-foot underground space as a normal feature, not a survival shelter.
Still, the denials haven’t stopped speculation. Reports also surfaced about his decision to buy 11 properties in Palo Alto, California, where he allegedly built another large underground space. Though official permits refer to these as basements, neighbors have dubbed them “bunkers” or even “the billionaire’s bat cave.”
The Billionaire Bunker Trend
Zuckerberg isn’t alone. A growing number of tech elites appear to be quietly investing in remote properties and underground shelters. The trend has raised questions about what these billionaires might be preparing for—whether global conflict, climate disaster, or the unintended consequences of their own technology.
LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman once referred to these efforts as “apocalypse insurance.” He estimated that nearly half of Silicon Valley’s wealthiest individuals have some form of escape plan, with New Zealand often being the top choice for survival homes due to its isolation and stability.
This fascination with security and self-preservation comes at a time of massive technological advancement, especially in artificial intelligence (AI). Many experts—and even the very creators of AI—are voicing deep concerns about the speed at which machines are becoming more capable.
AI, Fear, and the Push for Shelters
Among those raising alarms is Ilya Sutskever, co-founder and former chief scientist of OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT. By mid-2023, Sutskever and his team had launched ChatGPT to global success, quickly amassing hundreds of millions of users. But as the technology evolved, he reportedly became increasingly convinced that AI was on the verge of reaching Artificial General Intelligence (AGI)—the point where machines rival human intelligence.
According to journalist Karen Hao, Sutskever once suggested that OpenAI should build an underground shelter for its top scientists before releasing AGI to the public, reportedly saying, “We’re definitely going to build a bunker before we release AGI.”
It’s a curious paradox—many of the very people driving AI innovation are also the most anxious about its potential consequences.
The Race Toward Artificial General Intelligence
Tech visionaries have made bold predictions about when AGI might arrive. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman claimed it will emerge “sooner than most people think.” DeepMind’s Demis Hassabis believes it could happen within the next five to ten years, while Anthropic’s Dario Amodei suggested it might appear as early as 2026.
Others, however, remain skeptical. Dame Wendy Hall, a professor of computer science at the University of Southampton, dismissed the hype, saying, “AI is impressive, but it’s nowhere near human intelligence.” Similarly, Babak Hodjat, CTO at Cognizant, argues that true AGI will require several “fundamental breakthroughs” that are still far away.
Even if AGI does arrive, experts say it won’t happen in a single moment. Instead, it will be a gradual process, as companies around the world race to develop increasingly advanced AI models.
From AGI to ASI: Beyond Human Intelligence
Some futurists believe AGI will pave the way for Artificial Super Intelligence (ASI)—technology that surpasses human intellect altogether. The concept dates back to the 1950s, when mathematician John von Neumann first proposed the idea of a “technological singularity”—a point where machine intelligence exceeds human understanding.
This idea was revived in the 2024 book Genesis by Eric Schmidt, Craig Mundy, and Henry Kissinger, who argue that once super-intelligent systems emerge, humans may eventually hand over control to them.
AI’s Promise and Peril
Advocates of advanced AI claim it could revolutionize the world for the better. Proponents like Elon Musk say AGI could lead to a future of “universal high income” and “sustainable abundance,” where everyone has access to personalized AI assistants, top-tier healthcare, and renewable energy solutions.
However, critics warn of existential dangers. What if AI systems are weaponized—or worse, decide that humanity itself is the problem? As Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, told the BBC: “If it’s smarter than you, we have to be able to switch it off.”
Governments and Safety Measures
Global leaders are beginning to take AI safety seriously. In 2023, President Joe Biden introduced an executive order requiring AI firms to share safety test results with the U.S. government. However, President Donald Trump later rolled back parts of the order, calling them “barriers to innovation.”
Meanwhile, the UK established the AI Safety Institute, a government-funded body dedicated to studying the risks of advanced AI systems.
The Human Flaw in Bunker Thinking
Even as billionaires prepare their “apocalypse bunkers,” some security experts question whether they would actually help. One former bodyguard to a tech billionaire once admitted that if disaster truly struck, “the first priority would be to take over the bunker ourselves.” It was only half a joke.
Skeptics Call It All Hype
Not everyone buys into the AGI apocalypse narrative. Neil Lawrence, professor of machine learning at Cambridge University, calls it “nonsense.” He argues that the idea of AGI is as unrealistic as building an “Artificial General Vehicle”—a single machine capable of being a car, a plane, and a bicycle all at once.
“The technology we already have is transformational enough,” he says. “We’re letting Silicon Valley’s obsession with AGI distract us from improving the tools that can actually make people’s lives better.”
For now, AI remains a powerful—but not sentient—tool. It can detect patterns, translate languages, and write convincing text, but it doesn’t truly “think” or “feel.”
And as the world debates the risks of AI and the motives behind billionaire bunkers, one thing is clear: the fear of the future—whether from war, machines, or nature—still drives even the richest among us to dig deep into the earth in search of safety.