Super-rich
jet off to disaster bunkers amid coronavirus outbreak
‘Self
isolate’ for some of world’s richest means Covid-19 tests abroad, personal
medics and subterranean hideouts
Rupert
Neate wealth correspondent
@RupertNeate
Wed 11 Mar
2020 19.50 GMTLast modified on Wed 18 Mar 2020 10.56 GMT
Like
hundreds of thousands of people across the world, the super-rich are preparing
to self-isolate in the face of an escalation in the coronavirus crisis. But
their plans extend far beyond stocking up on hand sanitiser and TV boxsets.
The world’s
richest people are chartering private jets to set off for holiday homes or
specially prepared disaster bunkers in countries that, so far, appear to have
avoided the worst of the Covid-19 outbreak.
Many are
understood to be taking personal doctors or nurses on their flights to treat
them and their families in the event that they become infected. The wealthy are
also besieging doctors in private clinics in Harley Street, London, and across
the world, demanding private coronavirus tests.
To avoid
overwhelming limited testing facilities, the NHS said it would test only people
with a “high chance” of having the illness – meaning people who had had close
contact with a confirmed case or who had recently gone to a high-risk country.
Mark Ali,
chief executive and medical director of the Private Harley Street Clinic, said:
“This has led to huge demand from very wealthy people asking if they can pay
for private testing. Unfortunately, we are unable to offer testing, as the NHS
has said all tests should be done centrally.” The Department of Health and
Social Care has mandated that all tests must be carried out by the NHS and
Public Health England (PHE).
However, an
employee at another Harley Street practice, who declined to be named, said
their clinic had arranged for concerned clients to be tested in other
countries, or for samples to be sent abroad for testing.
Ali, a
cardiovascular surgeon, said his clients had pleaded for Covid-19 vaccination,
even though scientists said it would be at least a year until a vaccine was
developed. “[The Covid-19 outbreak] certainly fired up people’s reactions,” Ali
said. “We have given a lot general flu vaccines and consultations to people
wanting to talk in detail about their health and lifestyle.”
Ali said
his clinic was also offering the worried wealthy an intravenous infusion of
vitamins and minerals to boost their immune systems. “We know that 90% of
adults have a deficiency in vitamins – what better to improve that than an IV
immune boost? An intravenous infusion ensures instant and optimal delivery of
these nutrients to the body’s cells and the nutrients should include vitamins
such as vitamin C, vitamin B12 complex, glutathione, zinc and essential amino
acids such as arginine, taurine, lysine and citrulline.” The treatment costs
£350.
Ken
Langone, co-founder of the Home Depot chain, knew where to turn when seeking
medical advice on the outbreak. The 84-year-old billionaire called an executive
and top scientist at NYU Langone Health, the New York hospital named after him
and which he chairs. “What I’ve been told by people who are smarter than me in
disease is, ‘As of right now it’s a bad flu’,” he told Bloomberg.
Adam
Twidell, chief executive of the private jet booking service PrivateFly, said
his firm was continuing to see a jump in bookings as wealthy people arranged
evacuation flights home from high-risk countries.
He said:
“Many are from groups which include elderly passengers or those with health
conditions that make them particularly concerned about exposure to crowds on
airline flights. We’ve just flown a group back to London from the south of
France, with an immunocompromised passenger on board.”
Twidell said
other rich clients were arranging flights out of the UK and other European
countries in advance of the possible introduction of nationwide quarantine
measures following Italy’s lead.
Quintessentially,
the concierge company for millionaires, said members who could not quite afford
private jets had requested access to private airport lounges to avoid the risk
of interacting with large numbers of the travelling public.
“Members
who are travelling commercially are choosing to book elite services at airports,
not your typical first-class lounge,” a spokeswoman said. “For example, private
terminals where guests are greeted and given their own suite. Check-in, customs
and security are all done privately and guests are then taken to the doors of
the aircraft. Members can request for the jetty to be cleared so they minimise
the interactions with other passengers on their way to their seat.”
Quintessentially
said one of its members had converted his home into a “military-style bunker”
and was refusing any visitors unless they could provide detailed records of
their movements and contacts.
Robert
Vicino, founder and chief executive of Vivos Group, a California-based company
constructing underground shelters designed to withstand a range of natural
disasters and catastrophes, said his firm had seen a surge in inquiries and
sales since the crisis took hold.
Vivos has
converted a a cold war bunker in Indiana into accommodation for 80 people, and
is offering space in 575 concrete bunkers in an abandoned second world war
ordnance depot in South Dakota.
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