Ex-Bush Insider Claims America Built a Bunker World for the Rich
A former Bush White House official claims the US has secretly spent $21 trillion to build 170 elite-only bunkers — some hidden under the ocean — to shield the rich from an apocalyptic event. And she says they're powered by mystery energy tech straight out of science fiction.
It sounds like something out of a dystopian thriller — but these jaw-dropping allegations are coming from Catherine Austin Fitts, a former assistant secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President George H. W. Bush. She alleges that while the public was debating budgets and deficits, the government was quietly constructing a subterranean empire for the powerful — shielded from view, and from you.
The Source of the Shock
Fitts, now 74, appeared on Tucker Carlson's podcast earlier this month, where she outlined what she described as two decades of covert government spending, alleging that $21 trillion in taxpayer funds were siphoned off between 1998 and 2015 for a hidden infrastructure project of unimaginable scale, according to the New York Post.
She said the network of 170 underground bases — some of which are allegedly beneath oceans — are designed to shelter elites in the event of what she called a "near-extinction event," as reported by the New York Post. And it gets stranger. According to Fitts, the facilities are connected by a transportation system and powered by a secret energy technology not available to the general public.
Fitts offered no physical evidence to support these claims. But she referenced a 2017 report by Michigan State University economist Mark Skidmore, who had examined government accounting irregularities and said that he and his team found "unauthorized spending" across the Departments of Defense and HUD during the years in question, according to Realtor.com.
Secret Bunkers Aren't New — But This Scale Is
While her claims have not been independently verified, the concept of government bunkers is rooted in real history. During the Cold War, the US built several classified shelters, including the Cheyenne Mountain Complex in Colorado and the Greenbrier bunker in West Virginia — the latter reportedly designed to house all of Congress beneath a luxury resort in case of nuclear war.
These bunkers weren't just fantasy — they were actively funded and operated in secret. And that precedent may explain why some people are taking Fitts' allegations more seriously than others.
Adding fuel to the fire, she suggested the energy systems used in the alleged facilities are derived from advanced — possibly classified — technologies. She linked these theories to recent discussions about unidentified aerial phenomena and military craft moving in ways that defy traditional propulsion saying, "I'm convinced that this energy exists," as reported by the New York Post. "If you look at a lot of the really fast ships, flying around the planet, they're not using classical electricity."
Enter the Billionaire Bunker Boom
Even if Fitts' specific claims are speculative, one thing is clear: the ultra-wealthy are already investing in their own survival.
In Virginia, the company SAFE (Strategically Armored & Fortified Environments) is developing a $300 million luxury doomsday facility called "Aerie," pitched as a safe haven for elites. According to Realtor.com, membership starts at $20 million per person. The company describes it as a fusion of "protection and luxury," reportedly featuring AI-powered medical care, elite wellness programs, and survivalist infrastructure for the one percent.
SAFE plans to build similar bunkers across all 50 states. The first is being built in Virginia reportedly due to its proximity to Washington, D.C. — and its high concentration of wealthy residents.
Conspiracy or Catastrophe Planning?
Fitts says she spent two years researching the alleged underground network by examining existing records and unverified allegations of classified bases. She calculated the number of installations — 170 in total — as an estimate based on her own review of what she described as buried financial data.
Her allegations also include speculation that these facilities are a secret underground "city" possibly even involving what she called a "secret space program," according to the New York Post.
But beyond the claims themselves lies a deeper cultural question: why do so many people find this believable?
With growing economic inequality, visible climate change, and rising geopolitical tensions, the idea that the rich and powerful might have a literal escape hatch — hidden underground — hits a nerve. And while the existence of a sprawling, energy-advanced subterranean civilization remains unproven, the societal paranoia it taps into is very real.
The Bottom Line
Catherine Austin Fitts has not provided concrete proof of her claims. No agency has confirmed the existence of the alleged underground bases, and no whistleblower has come forward with corroborating evidence. The $21 trillion figure, while linked to documented accounting irregularities, has not been conclusively connected to any secret construction project.
But in a world where billionaires are building private bunkers and secret military installations have existed before, the line between fact and fantasy isn't as clear as you might think.
And if even a fraction of this story is true, it raises one terrifying question: when catastrophe strikes — who gets to survive?
References: Bush official claims US built secret $21T underground 'city' for rich and powerful to live if 'near-extinction event' happens | Former Bush Housing Official Claims Government Has Spent $21 Trillion Building an Underground Doomsday 'Base'
