The Ultra-Rich Are Turning Their Homes Into Fortresses: ‘Moats, Bunkers, and $175,000 Guard Dogs’
High-price precautions once reserved for presidents and royalty are now mainstream in luxury mansions.
Security is the new obsession for the ultra-wealthy, according to the Wall Street Journal. A Scottsdale mansion on the market for $15 million features 32 AI-powered cameras, a 100-foot moat, sour orange trees with four-inch spikes, and a safe room with a 2,000-pound door. The front door alone has 13 deadbolts.
High-profile violence, such as the 2024 ambush killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and home robberies of Travis Kelce and Brad Pitt, has put the wealthy on edge. Roughly 45% of luxury homes sold in 2025 referenced privacy or security, up from 38% in 2024, according to Coldwell Banker.
Rich homeowners are shelling out between $100,000 and $1.5 million on security features that include bunkers and biometric scanners. Some are buying trained protection dogs for up to $175,000. In Florida, a condo hired a security firm that has protected U.S. presidents to design an AI-powered threat-detection system.
Sign up for the Entrepreneur Daily newsletter to get the news and resources you need to know today to help you run your business better. Get it in your inbox.
Security is the new obsession for the ultra-wealthy, according to the Wall Street Journal. A Scottsdale mansion on the market for $15 million features 32 AI-powered cameras, a 100-foot moat, sour orange trees with four-inch spikes, and a safe room with a 2,000-pound door. The front door alone has 13 deadbolts.
High-profile violence, such as the 2024 ambush killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and home robberies of Travis Kelce and Brad Pitt, has put the wealthy on edge. Roughly 45% of luxury homes sold in 2025 referenced privacy or security, up from 38% in 2024, according to Coldwell Banker.
Rich homeowners are shelling out between $100,000 and $1.5 million on security features that include bunkers and biometric scanners. Some are buying trained protection dogs for up to $175,000. In Florida, a condo hired a security firm that has protected U.S. presidents to design an AI-powered threat-detection system.
Sign up for the Entrepreneur Daily newsletter to get the news and resources you need to know today to help you run your business better. Get it in your inbox.
