World
Entrepreneur Carves Underground Vaults into Swiss Alps for Wealthy Clients Seeking Ultra-Secure Storage
Swiss businessman Thomas Gasser, through his company Brünig Mega Safe, is excavating solid rock beneath the Alps to construct 20 massive underground vaults intended for the world's wealthiest individuals. The bunkers, located more than 100 meters below the surface near the Brunig Pass and the village of Lungern, are being offered under 99-year lease agreements starting at approximately one million Swiss francs, roughly equivalent to one million euros.
The vaults are designed to store valuable assets ranging from art collections and gold to fine wines and luxury vehicles. Construction is currently underway, with the facility expected to open next year. Gasser's company employs more than 300 people and brings decades of expertise in underground construction, quarrying, and controlled explosives to the project.
According to a report from Vozpopuli, the concept traces back to the 1990s when Gasser first used a mountain gallery in Lungern for storage and workshop purposes. A 99-year underground lease enabled him to progressively expand its function over the years. The space evolved first into a restaurant and event venue called Cantina Caverna, then into a shooting range and a training facility where firefighters practiced responding to tunnel fires. Eventually, promoters decided to convert the complex into a high-security storage enclave catering to affluent clients.
The current plan involves roughly twenty separate caverns, each leased for nearly a century, with the largest expected to be about the size of a football field. Notably, lease prices have doubled over the past four years compared to their original rates.
A key feature of the arrangement is its legal framework: lessees effectively become owners, receiving a unit registered independently in Switzerland's land registry. Gasser noted that these units can even be used as collateral for mortgages, similar to conventional real estate.
Security remains the most tightly controlled element of the operation. Visitors will pass through a multi-stage access process, including an airlock area where vehicles must be left before undergoing several layers of screening. Project leaders have declined to reveal specific security protocols, though they claim the protection level rivals that of the Swiss National Bank's reserve vaults. Once fully operational, access will be limited to a small, select group of clients.
Speaking to Swiss broadcaster RTS, Gasser described the process: "You'll first have to drive through a special checkpoint and get out of your vehicle. There will be several security checks, which obviously won't be disclosed to the public."
Gasser attributes rising demand for secure storage to growing global instability. "For a long time, Dubai was considered safe. Today, that sense of security is being called into question. People simply want to safeguard part of their wealth," he said.
Deep within the Alpine bedrock, the twenty vaults are being prepared for billionaires willing to pay close to one million francs to protect their assets for nearly a century.