A former government official has put forth a dramatic claim that the United States has covertly developed an underground city worth $21 trillion, designed to shelter the wealthy in the event of an apocalyptic crisis.
Catherine Austin Fitts, who served as Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development during the George H.W. Bush administration between 1989 and 1990, believes the government has been preparing for potential large-scale disasters for decades.
Amid rising global tensions — such as the trade conflict between the U.S. and China, ongoing warfare in Ukraine, and the long-standing Israeli–Palestinian strife — Fitts suggests the likelihood of a third world war isn’t far-fetched. According to her, American leadership has been anticipating such a scenario and making secret preparations.
Speaking on Tucker Carlson’s podcast, Fitts referenced findings by economist Mark Skidmore of Michigan State University, highlighting that between 1998 and 2017, a staggering $21 trillion in federal spending went unaccounted for. She noted that in one example, the Army’s reported budget adjustments amounted to $122 billion — over 50 times more than what Congress had actually approved.
“In most public budgets, discrepancies are minimal compared to approved funding,” Fitts remarked, emphasizing how unusual the scale of these adjustments was.
Her years of inquiry into the whereabouts of the missing funds led her to conclude that as many as 170 hidden bases may have been constructed throughout the United States. Fitts believes these facilities include not only underground cities but also complex transit systems.
“In trying to trace this enormous amount of spending, I’ve studied the infrastructure linked to underground developments and secretive transit networks,” she explained.
Although she mentioned the possibility of some bases being located beneath oceans, Fitts admitted she does not know their exact locations.
She argued that these hidden bunkers are likely intended to serve as sanctuaries in the event of a mass-extinction scenario or as sites for clandestine government operations. “For instance, if a covert space initiative is underway, it would need to be launched from places that are completely hidden,” she added.
Referencing a past investigative series by The Washington Post titled Top Secret America, Fitts recalled how one of the reporters compiled a comprehensive list of classified facilities built across the U.S. since the passage of the Patriot Act.
“The investigation revealed a massive surge in funding for the construction of both underground and above-ground secure sites,” she said.
