Safe And Sound, But For How Long?

Burglar alarms and armed guards may have once sufficed, but now state-of-the-art security means perimeter drones, biometric locks and fog machines. Heidi Mitchell maps out the essentials for staying safe in the modern world.

WHEN GERMAN ENTREPRENEUR Daniel Giersch finalised his divorce from American actress Kelly Rutherford, gaining custody of their two children in 2009, he built a fortress to protect them. His 1,022 sq m complex in France includes high stone walls, reinforced steel gates, even a warren of escape tunnels. Though the nine-bedroom compound is priced competitively at around US$14.25 million, its hostile exterior has left it sitting on the market for years. “Realistically, no one wants to compromise their way of life” with bunker-like compounds, says Igor Kryuchkov, founder of T3 Risk Management, a boutique agency in Geneva that specialises in protecting the assets of some of the world’s wealthiest inhabitants. “They just want to add layers of security that won’t freak them out.”.

Successful people want to reside in trendy areas, drive their Bugattis and post photos on Instagram without fear of break-ins, stalkers or worse. At the same time, it’s a scary world out there with high-profile crimes, such as the armed robbery of Kim Kardashian West in Paris. As a result, a stealth industry of executive protection experts has cropped up. The goal is to create a safety net that’s impenetrable, yet almost invisible.

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