U.S. Bases and Britain Prepare for Widespread Power Losses
WHO:
Fortune - The Pentagon is developing a requirement for major U.S. military bases in the contiguous states.
Fortune - The U.K. government launched the Be Ready campaign for households.
Fortune - Mark Zuckerberg, Meta CEO; Sam Altman, OpenAI CEO; Reid Hoffman, LinkedIn cofounder; Brian Daniel, founder of The Celebrity Personal Assistant Network; Jessica Julian, Palm Beach luxury real estate agent; Philip Farina, chief advisor at Risky Business; and Samuel Strauch, principal at Metrik Real Estate, were cited in reporting about preparations for emergencies.
Newsweek - The Pentagon’s FORTRESS initiative concerns U.S. military energy resilience.
WHAT:
Fortune - Under the proposed FORTRESS program, each major base in the 48 contiguous states would need to operate independently for at least 90 days if war disrupted the power grid and supply chains. The requirement would cover water, fuel, communications, and power.
Fortune - In 2024, U.S. cybersecurity, intelligence, and law-enforcement agencies warned that Chinese state-backed hackers had infiltrated American energy, water, and communications networks, possibly to disrupt them during a future conflict.
Fortune - The U.K.’s Be Ready campaign urges households to keep enough water, shelf-stable food, and cash to manage for three days if essential services fail.
Fortune - Wired reported that Zuckerberg was developing a roughly 1,400-acre Kauai compound estimated to cost about $270 million. Plans showed an underground shelter larger than 5,000 square feet with its own energy and food supplies. Zuckerberg disputed that it was a doomsday bunker, saying, “No, I think that’s just like a little shelter,” and, “It’s like a basement.”
Fortune - Altman described preparations in a New Yorker profile: “guns, gold, potassium iodide, antibiotics, batteries, water, gas masks from the Israeli Defense Force, and a big patch of land in Big Sur I can fly to.”
Fortune - Daniel said clients are installing backup power and stocking months of supplies, buying multiple properties, and, in some cases, luxury underground bunkers costing millions. He said clients worth $100 million or more keep full-time security staff.
Fortune - Farina said clients seek real estate with self-sufficient equipment, food and beverage stockpiles, go-bags, weapons training, and family communication plans.
Fortune - Strauch said Miami buyers ask about grid reliability, property elevation, and generators; he said impact-resistant glass and windproof construction are expected features.
WHERE:
Fortune - The proposed base requirement applies to the 48 contiguous U.S. states. Zuckerberg’s reported compound is on Kauai, Hawaii; Altman cited land in Big Sur. Other locations mentioned include Palm Beach and Miami, Florida.
WHEN:
Fortune - The Be Ready campaign launched Oct. 22; the article does not specify a year.
Fortune - Zuckerberg’s compound was reported by Wired in December 2023; Altman’s preparations appeared in a 2016 New Yorker profile, and Hoffman discussed “apocalypse insurance” in 2017.
WHY:
Fortune - The Pentagon planning described in the article addresses possible war-related disruption to the grid and supply chains; the U.K. campaign addresses potential failures of essential services.
Fortune - Daniel said wealthy clients seek peace of mind; Strauch said Miami buyers are concerned about outages and hurricane exposure.
HOW:
Fortune - Hoffman said more than half of Silicon Valley billionaires had invested in “apocalypse insurance,” generally a retreat in the U.S. or overseas.
(UPDATED October 30, 2026 22:03 UTC)
The Pentagon plans to require major U.S. bases to withstand power and supply disruptions. Bases would maintain essential services independently for 90 days. Britain urges household emergency preparations, while wealthy Americans invest in shelters and supplies.