Indeed,LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman toldThe New Yorkerthat"New Zealand"had become a code word for apocalypse preparedness among Silicon Valley leaders.

"Saying you're'buying a house in New Zealand'is kind of a'wink,wink,say no more'. Once you've done the Masonic handshake,they'll be,like,'Oh,you know,I have a broker who sells old ICBM silos,and they're nuclear-hardened,and they kind of look like they would be interesting to live in.'"

Hoffman estimated that more than half of his Silicon Valley brethren were into preparedness - particularly as anti-elite sentiment had risen around the globe in the past several years,capped off with events such asBrexit andthe election of Donald Trump.

Silicon Valley has frequently been the target of such outrage,as technological advances have made human workers obsolete and concentrated wealth among a small set of people.