FROM hidden wine cellars to underground theaters and shooting ranges, today’s doomsday bunkers can resemble luxury mansions buried beneath the earth.

But the latest rush for shelters is not only coming from billionaires and celebrities, with one leading builder claiming conservative Christians fearing the “end times” are fueling a dramatic surge.

Texas-based bunker boss Ron Hubbard told The U.S. Sun he currently has around 50 shelters under construction as global fears drive more families underground.

The CEO of Atlas Survival Shelters said demand from American Christians has grown amid anxiety over a potential World War III and religious beliefs surrounding the Rapture.

“In the U.S., demand is strong too, especially among conservative Christians,” Hubbard told The US Sun.

“Many believe we’re in the ‘end times’ or approaching them.

“They think this generation could see World War III and the Rapture, and they want to protect their families during that period.

“There’s definitely a religious aspect driving demand more than ever.”

Hubbard said many of the new buyers were not traditional survivalists and had never previously considered purchasing a bunker.

“A lot of people never thought about it before,” he said.

“But now, it’s all they can think about, especially in places that have experienced conflict.

“Governments, millionaires, billionaires, everyone wants a bunker once they feel threatened.”

A doomsday bunker is generally a fortified underground shelter designed to protect its occupants during nuclear fallout, war, natural disasters, civil unrest, pandemics, or a collapse of essential services.

Basic versions can resemble metal rooms buried beneath a backyard, while elaborate models contain bedrooms, kitchens, bathrooms, medical facilities, entertainment spaces and their own supplies of power and water.

Hubbard said Atlas shelters begin at about $25,000, although luxury bunkers designed to feel like underground homes normally start at around $500,000.

High-end buyers can add independent power systems, battery banks, water supplies, grow rooms and even shooting ranges.

“If you can put it in a house, you can put it in a bunker,” Hubbard previously told The U.S. Sun.

Some shelters are now being incorporated into newly built homes and concealed behind secret entrances.

During normal life, Hubbard said the spaces may be used as wine cellars, game rooms or private theaters before being converted into emergency shelters when required.

Most bunkers take between three and six months to construct, although major projects costing around $10million can take up to two years.

Hubbard said food and water supplies can be extended, but maintaining electricity is often the biggest challenge during a long emergency.

“With enough fuel, someone could stay underground for years,” he said.

Atlas has also become known for its links to some of the world’s most recognizable celebrities and tech moguls.

Hubbard said his company has worked with or designed shelters involving Kim Kardashian, MrBeast, Andrew Tate and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.

The bunker supplied for Kardashian was used for filming before being returned, rather than being permanently installed at her home.

YouTube megastar MrBeast used an Atlas shelter as part of a video challenge in which he spent 100 days inside a bunker.

Hubbard was also retained to design an underground shelter for Zuckerberg, although he did not remain involved in its construction.

He previously described the proposed space as containing around four or five bedrooms, a living room and several bathrooms.

Zuckerberg has publicly played down reports about his Hawaii shelter, describing it as closer to a basement or hurricane shelter than a sprawling apocalypse compound.

Hubbard also previously revealed that controversial influencer brothers Andrew and Tristan Tate requested a stripper pole inside their bunker in Romania.

The approximately $3.9million shelter was planned with 10 bedrooms and a living room, according to Hubbard.

Tristan Tate openly discussed the shelter on the brothers’ podcast, saying: “Underneath my house, I need another house.”

“So I’m building a fallout bunker with 10 bedrooms, stripper pole, living room, all the important things you need to survive the apocalypse.”

Hubbard said he was no longer surprised by unusual requests from wealthy customers who had the money to customize every inch of their shelters.

“When you’ve got all the money in the world, you’re running out of things to buy,” he previously said.

“I think buying a luxury bomb shelter is the next big thing on their list.

“If you can afford it, why not?”

He now estimates that demand for his company’s shelters has risen by about 500 percent over the past decade.

However, Hubbard said the market often moves sharply in response to wars, political crises and other frightening events before slowing once public anxiety fades.

Interest is also rising outside America, with Hubbard preparing to travel to the Middle East in response to requests from wealthy buyers, including billionaires in Dubai.

But another high-end security expert said the richest clients were no longer simply seeking a reinforced underground room.

Naomi Corbi, directing partner at security company SAFE, said elite buyers increasingly wanted entire homes designed to remain functional during major disruption.

“Yes, but not in the way people imagine,” Corbi said when asked whether bunkers had become status symbols.

“The real status symbol is not excess anymore, it’s continuity.

“The ability to keep living, operating, and making decisions when everyone else is waiting for systems to come back online.”

Corbi said clients often first believed they were purchasing survival, only to discover that what they really wanted was control.

“Control of environment, information, access, and outcomes,” she said.

“Survival is the baseline. Control is always the upgrade. Privacy and prestige are a given at this level.”

Buyers are increasingly requesting secure communications, medical facilities, and computer systems that can operate independently of vulnerable external networks.

They also want protection from insiders who could access, sabotage or override critical systems.

“A few years ago, the conversation was much more physical: walls, perimeter, hardening,” Corbi said.

“Now the question is what happens when the grid fails, the hospital is unreachable, the communications network is compromised, or the trusted inner circle is not so trustworthy.”

SAFE describes itself as fortifying entire properties using layers of surveillance, restricted access and integrated security.

Corbi warned that relying on one underground shelter could leave occupants trapped inside a fixed and known location.

The company includes secondary exits and escape options in its designs.

“We never build a bunker without an escape route,” she said.

“There is always a secondary option, because good security systems assume conditions can change.”

SAFE also considers how extended periods underground could affect sleep, stress and decision-making.

Its projects can involve specialist lighting, environmental design and layouts intended to maintain circadian rhythms and help occupants remain calm and functional.

“The objective is not simply to keep people alive, but to keep them functional,” Corbi said.

She added that modern customers no longer separate threats such as cyberattacks, civil disorder, kidnapping, military conflict and natural disasters.

Instead, they are preparing for a chain reaction in which one failure rapidly disables electricity, transport, communications and medical care.

Comment now