My AAI Portfolio: Ammo, Art, & Influence

When people talk about preparing for the end of the world, they hoard beans.

When smart people prepare, they hoard bullets.
But when rich, dangerous people prepare they hoard leverage.

Because when institutions fail and currency collapses, three things retain value:

1. Ammo
2. Art
3. Influence

You won’t find that allocation in a Vanguard ETF. You’ll find it in the inner pocket of a billionaire’s backup passport.

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Ammo: The Original Store of Value

Bullets are the only commodity with built-in demand and user feedback.

In an unstable world, ammunition becomes currency:

• It protects your assets

• It creates new ones

• And it’s divisible, barterable, and inflation-resistant

Gold is nice until you realize you can’t shoot it.
Crypto is great until the Wi-Fi goes out.
Ammo works in every known economy from Somalia to Texas.

According to a whitepaper leaked by the Mercer Institute for Frontier Finance, demand for ammunition increases 4.3x in any 90-day window following a major supply chain failure, civil unrest, or “election vibes.”

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Art: The Only Asset With Built-In Pretension and Portability

You think art doesn’t matter in collapse? That’s cute.

Art survives because:

• It’s easy to move

• It’s impossible to value

• And it impresses the right kinds of warlords

Owning art in a collapse isn’t about taste. It’s about signaling. When you can no longer flex a Rolex, you need a Rothko. Something confusing and expensive that tells people you’re not just surviving you’re curating your existence.

In a barter economy, status replaces liquidity.
And nothing screams post-civilization power like taste.

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Influence: The Currency You Can’t Print

Influence is the most resilient asset class in the world. It never crashes. It only consolidates.

You don’t need friends.
You need people who owe you.

That means:

• Hosting meetings.

• Providing solutions.

• Appearing in public calm, clean, and armed.

• Keeping secrets.

• Loaning favors you’ll collect interest on later.

Influence can’t be stolen. It can’t be taxed.
It can only be grown or lost.

And if the collapse comes slowly (it usually does), influence compounds faster than capital.

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Mercer’s Apocalypse Allocation Model™

“In a true crisis, you don’t need more money. You need more people who assume you’ll protect them.”

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So What Should You Do?

You should forget about diversification and start thinking about fortification.

You should own weapons not because you want to use them, but because they keep conversations short.
You should own beauty not because it appreciates, but because it intimidates.
And you should cultivate power not with threats, but with favors, rumors, and access.

Because when the lights go out, no one asks what you’re worth.
They ask what you can get away with.

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Because when the markets burn down, the portfolio is you.