



Recent developments show that the plutocracy of 1% that holds 50% of global wealth is planning to "escape" from urban centers, by building "castles" in remote and inaccessible shelters, or, in armored undergrounds.





According to a recent report by New World Wealth, many millionaires have started to leave the cities. The biggest exodus of millionaires is observed in Paris (7,000), followed by Rome (5000), Chicago (3000) and Athens (2000).





According to the report, 22,000 millionaires were living in Athens and 55,000 across Greece in 2015, of which 9% and 5%, respectively, left the country during the year. The New World Wealth believes that the exodus of millionaires will be accelerated over the next 10 years, mainly from France but also from Belgium, Germany, Sweden, the UK, Italy, Spain and Greece.





The main reasons for the exodus of the wealthy from these cities are the rising religious tensions, acts of terrorism and the economic crisis in Europe, as well as the riots in many American cities after the killings of African Americans by the police. A former hedge fund manager, Robert Johnson, explained last year in Davos what worries the wealthy: many of them observe a growing social instability and they fear that there will be unrest and uprisings like those in the US.





The UK and the US are the most popular destinations for millionaires who fled from Paris, Rome and Athens. Both countries offer tax and other benefits to the incoming plutocracy, but their cities remain vulnerable to social unrest (for example in London 2011, in Oakland 2010, Anaheim 2012, Ferguson 2014, and Baltimore, 2015).





Thus, for several wealthy, the greater the distance from possible riot centers, the more the feeling of security is provided. For this reason, some have bought farms with runways in remote places like New Zealand.





For those who prefer to stay in the cities or near the source of their wealth, an alternative is a private shelter to be built by companies specialized in this sector. Much more popular are the Safe Rooms. These are specially fortified and shielded rooms that can be used in case of riots, assault and even burglary of the residence.





These shelters resemble those of the "godfathers" of the Italian Mafia: the adapted undergrounds into which they were hiding from the authorities. The Mafia leaders were choosing self-imprisonment in such shelters, rather than face justice and be imprisoned in ordinary prisons.





The millionaires who "escape" into shelters, make a similar choice. To avoid potential explosions of rage from the society, and also to avoid to confront the consequences of inequality from which they become wealthy, they prefer self-imprisonment in luxurious and secluded shelters. The question is whether these shelters can provide something more than a temporary asylum to their owners. For, as John Donne says in his poem, "No man is an island entire of itself".





Key parts from the article “The millionaires are leaving the cities (and Athens)” by Michalis Yianneskis, translated from the original source:







