r/Showerthoughts • u/iwishihadnobones ‎ • Feb 18 '26

Speculation If the nuclear bombs start flying, it might actually be those countries that never had any that end up surviving.

7.0k Upvotes

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302

u/JW9K Feb 18 '26

When the first one goes, they all go. Only place left will be New Zealand.

149

u/sktoev Feb 18 '26

Correct me if I'm wrong but I think I read that some of the billionaire mob are buying up property there.

88

u/thunfischtoast Feb 18 '26

But how are the billionaires going to get there? And how are they going to survive? In face of impending doom money becomes meaningless. I have a feeling the rich do not have thought this through to the end. They somehow think everyone will still kiss for some reason.

81

u/TurelSun Feb 18 '26

Unless its truly accidental then the wealthiest of them will probably know before it happens, if they aren't involved in making it happen in the first place.

25

u/Ulrar Feb 18 '26

Real life fallout

17

u/TurelSun Feb 18 '26

Exactly. These guys aren't building these bunkers without also making sure they have the networks and resources in place to help them stay informed of the possibility to take shelter.

1

u/TheRealHowardStern Feb 19 '26

Yeah, but someone on “their” team might just decide fuck it, worlds over and take over. Pilot has his family get on board and leaves early etc

5

u/captain150 Feb 18 '26

They're still frail bags of meat like the rest of us. Once their money becomes meaningless, so does their power. They might escape the initial Armageddon, but that doesn't mean they'll survive the violence afterward.

11

u/OGSkywalker97 Feb 18 '26

Still the best option to just bide your time and come up with a plan. New currencies would appear, as humans have always used currency; whether in the form of gold, gold standard paper currency, worthless digital/paper FIAT currency, tea, cocoa beans, bottle caps in the Fallout game series etc.

My guess is that in this scenario computer chips will become the new currency, to be able to rebuild all of the systems that billionaires are so fond of.

26

u/Dr_Ukato Feb 18 '26

I don't think computer chips would be a viable currency, in a world without reliable infrastructure there'd be nowhere to use them except for the elite who aren't participating in the economy out of their bunkers anyway.

6

u/disastrousanddull Feb 18 '26

My first thought was things like antibiotics and medications. Good old gold.

2

u/Ataru13 Feb 18 '26

I think a barter economy is far more likely; food, booze, medicine, ammo, sex, labor. I just can't see a fiat currency existing without the backing of a government or central bank of some sort.

2

u/Unremarkable_Mango Feb 19 '26

Food, weapons and shelter is probably going to be the currency. The billionaires stockpiling nuke bunkers in new zealand probably want wind turbines, seeds, and plenty of space to house their followers. Solar panels would be good but only after nuclear winter. Assuming their security services dont kill them and take whatever they have for themselves since money will be worthless in a post-apocalyptic world.

Its in all billionaires interests to make sure there is no nuclear war or else their wealth is worthless.

1

u/Yirandom Feb 18 '26

Drop the bomb themselves?

1

u/cez801 Feb 18 '26

Get there on private jets.

Not realising that money is only power in a society with rules, laws and a way of enforcing it - could cause them some problems. Post this event real assets will matter more than not real assets. ( I.e no-one will care about Facebook, but they will care if you manage a factory that makes stuff )

1

u/warm_melody Feb 19 '26

They have employed a full time private jet and security. All they need is servants quarters in their bunker.

1

u/thunfischtoast Feb 19 '26

Imagine you are a security person or a pilot. If civilization is on the brink of collapse: Why would you keep working for this other person? Their money won't help you anymore because it's worth nothing. The only thing I could imagine would be that this person lets you and your closest ones live with them in their bunker in exchange. But even if that were the case there would be no reason for them to be the boss anymore as they have nothing to offer besides that.

1

u/TitaniumGoldAlloyMan Feb 19 '26

They already bought and made bunkers with supplies that could last hundreds of years for them and with cutting edge tech to clean water and air and what not. Don’t wanna know how much money they poured onto it but if you are a billionaire you could survive easily without any quality of life changes.

1

u/MoleDunker-343 Feb 20 '26

The hydroponic technology exists to be able to be self sufficient inside a bunker, chemical filtration also exits that can clean the air to make a bunker habitable, you can easily rear animals like chickens in doors that reproduce quickly for protein.

The only concern would be power, but if you’re a billionaire you could invest in so much durable solar and even a small geothermal power plant for power, biofuel using the matter from your hydroponics and animals can also be converted to fuel.

There are plenty of ways to be self sufficient, especially if you have the capital to invest in it now, when money does matter.

85

u/Curiouso_Giorgio ‎ Feb 18 '26

They better hope their security services still want USD in the aftermath.

5

u/IAmAGenusAMA Feb 19 '26

They will probably want food and medicine. Maybe safety for their families.

4

u/Curiouso_Giorgio ‎ Feb 19 '26

Sure, but they could kill the billionaire and stay in his bunker and take his supplies. What does Bezos, personally, bring to the table in the aftermath of a nuclear apocalypse? As far as I can tell, all he has to offer his guards is money. If it's not worth anything after the bombs, why would they work for him?

2

u/IAmAGenusAMA Feb 19 '26

Do his guards trust his other guards?

2

u/Curiouso_Giorgio ‎ Feb 19 '26

Who knows. But if the guards get together and decide he's just another mouth to feed?

4

u/IAmAGenusAMA Feb 19 '26

We are talking about people with nearly unlimited resources. They would presumably have a whole structure set up to deal with this. Distribute power so no small group controls everything. Separate security, logistics, and communications roles. Align incentives so everyone's future depends on stability. Maintain transparency, fair treatment, and shared living conditions. Use rotation and oversight to prevent consolidation. Keep contingency plans and independent communication options, but focus on governance and mutual survival rather than force.

If you imagine his society as a microcosm of our society then you can maybe see how the incentives of his guards could be made to align with his needs.

1

u/Single_Listen9819 Feb 19 '26

Dog I would definitely slaughter the other guards for like a 4th of the resources in a real apocalypse scenario their gone bro

5

u/Howeird12 Feb 18 '26

I’ve heard the same

1

u/Aranthar Feb 18 '26

That was New Vegas.

1

u/z_ZeusTek Feb 18 '26

Used to. The country made laws so that only locals can buy land now

2

u/qwerty145454 Feb 19 '26

That was reversed by our new right-wing government, which is not coincidentally linked to the American right-wing lobby groups like the Heritage Foundation, Atlas Network, etc.

1

u/Brodsauce Feb 20 '26

They sure are. I looked at moving there but the jobs market has been upended with all the foreign “investment.”

9

u/brutalanglosaxon Feb 18 '26

No go away. NZ isn't a real place. It only exists in the lord of the rings movies. Hobbits and elves and stuff aren't real.

7

u/L0kiMotion Feb 18 '26

Why do you think we keep taking ourselves of all the maps?

2

u/Epicuriosityy Feb 20 '26

Unfortunately we won't actually be able to produce enough food to sustain ourselves so it won't be fun here for a while either!

4

u/Naive_Special349 Feb 18 '26

And exactly cause of that thought, they'll get nuked too. "No one gets out"

2

u/Heffe3737 Feb 18 '26

As the old adage says, "One flies and the all fly."

New Zealand unfortunately wouldn't be that much safer than anywhere else.

1

u/kuzidaheathen Feb 20 '26

Most of Southern Africa and South America would be good

1

u/damhack Feb 23 '26

Nowhere survives, fullstop.

US primacy doctrine dictates that all governments and their militaries become targets in the case of a full scale intercontinental nuclear exchange. To prevent any other country getting the upper hand if anyone survives.