A growing number of tech billionaires are pouring money into private, libertarian-style cities to escape what they view as a declining America.
The rise of these so-called “startup societies” is raising eyebrows around the world, especially among those who question whether the ultra-wealthy are abandoning the rest of society after benefiting from its systems for years.
At the Network State Conference held in Singapore in October, former Coinbase chief technology officer Balaji Srinivasan remarked: “I think it’s fair to say, in 2025, we have a movement.”
That movement, according to Srinivasan, is a network of pro-corporate, anti-government communities being built by tech moguls, libertarian thinkers, and venture capitalists.
Their goal? To create exclusive havens where they can live, work, and invest with minimal interference from traditional governments.
“Can you imagine being that rich and that miserable?” Olivier Jutel, a researcher in cyberlibertarianism at the University of Otago in New Zealand, told the Financial Times.
It’s a question that resonates far beyond Silicon Valley.
Inside the Network School and Forest City
One example is Forest City, an artificial island project in Singapore that hosts a “Network School” described as a “frontier community for techno-optimists” and a “society-as-a-service.”
Membership runs $1,500 per month and offers access to coworking spaces, high-speed Wi-Fi, and office pods.
While it may sound like a luxury retreat, some attendees say it’s more style than substance. Jules Foa, who visited Forest City, called it a “ghost town.”
Despite the sparse attendance, these projects often feature quirky programming aimed at reshaping participants’ lives.
One seminar in Forest City was titled “Rizz101: Get What You Want From Life.” Another, more provocatively named, was called “Junto: The Assassination of Charlie Kirk.”
Other communities like the Thrive Tribe, founded by Dez Peña, promise transformation.
“Every conversation, every bite of food, every person you sit next to while you work, it’s all shaping your future without you realizing it,” Peña wrote.
“That’s why I created this space: to rewire your reality.”
The Prospera Experiment and Legal Backlash
While these modern retreats may sound new, the idea behind them isn’t. For decades, libertarians have dreamed of breaking free from the obligations of organized society.
One of the most notable efforts was Prospera, a libertarian charter city on the island of Roatán in Honduras.
Backed by investors like Peter Thiel, Adam Draper, and Marc Andreessen, Prospera was built as a deregulated tax haven with more than $100 million in funding.
But the project has run into serious trouble. Its legal footing was made possible by Honduras’ former president, Juan Orlando Hernández, who was later arrested in the United States.
In 2022, current President Xiomara Castro canceled the law that had granted Prospera special legal status.
The project’s founders responded with an $11 billion lawsuit against the Honduran government.
Economist Paul Romer, who helped develop the charter city concept in 2012, was blunt in his criticism.
He said Prospera was “living in this libertarian fantasy that… they can be free of the government. That’s not gonna turn out well.”
Critics Call It Elitist and Dangerous
Critics say the entire startup society movement is elitist and disconnected. Jutel said, “They think they are the grand solutionists that can fix all the problems, but it’s so insular. But just because it’s stupid doesn’t mean it won’t inherit the Earth.”
Commentator Kyle Kulinski summed up the issue more sharply: “They’re going to take your job while they cut the social safety net. The country is going to go to [expletive], and they’re going to [expletive] leave.”
Kulinski, host of The Kyle Kulinski Show, accused billionaires like Elon Musk of looting public resources and preparing to abandon the nation altogether.
He claimed Musk has received $38 billion in government support and used it to enrich himself while pushing for cuts to social programs.
“Nobody should be a billionaire,” Kulinski said.
“Because with that much wealth comes an inordinate amount of power. And extreme wealth undermines democracy by its very nature.”
Escaping a System They Helped Build
For many critics, the problem isn’t just that billionaires are building exclusive retreats.
It’s that they’re doing so after extracting massive benefits from the very society they now seem eager to escape.
And as economic inequality grows, the idea of the ultra-rich building their own gated cities while the rest of the population faces instability is sparking serious backlash.