Our homes might be death traps.
3,500+ deaths. 100,000+ families ruined. $45 billion in losses. The same pattern repeats: developers cut corners, regulators look away, families pay with their lives.
Preventable deaths globally (2000-2023)
Total economic impact
Executives in prison
From luxury towers to public housing, from Miami to London to Bangladesh - developers choose profits over safety, operate under structures that shield personal assets, and walk away while families lose everything.
98 dead because nobody wanted to spend money.
At 1:22 AM on June 24, 2021, Champlain Towers South collapsed. A 2018 engineering report warned of "major structural damage" and "abundant cracking" - but the $15 million repair was repeatedly delayed.
Entire families perished: The Guara family (4 members), the Patel family (4 members), the Rosenberg family (3 members). The youngest victim was 1-year-old Stella Cattarossi.
Families received a $1.02 billion settlement. No criminal charges were filed.
The condo board prioritized aesthetics over structure, approving cosmetic improvements while deferring critical concrete repairs. The building had documented problems since construction in 1981.
72 burned alive to save £293,000.
Grenfell Tower, London. June 14, 2017. A refrigerator fire on the 4th floor spread to the exterior cladding, engulfing the 24-story building in flames within 30 minutes.
The Cost Savings
Renovation chose aluminum composite cladding to save £293,000 over fire-resistant alternatives. The cladding failed fire safety tests but was installed anyway.
The Victims
72 people including 18 children. The El-Wahabi family (5), the Choucair family (6), the Hashim family (6). Youngest victim: 6-month-old Leena Belkadi.
The Grenfell Action Group had warned of "catastrophic fire" risks for years. Residents' concerns were repeatedly ignored. The manufacturer knew their product was dangerous for tall buildings but marketed it anyway.
10,000 children crushed in "tofu-dreg" schools.
The 2008 Sichuan earthquake killed 70,000 people. But nearly 10,000 were children crushed in schools that collapsed while nearby buildings stood. Builders used insufficient steel and substandard concrete to pocket the difference.
Parents who protested were arrested and silenced.
Artist Ai Weiwei documented 5,385 student deaths from school collapses.
Officials who approved the buildings were never prosecuted.
1,134 workers killed for cheap clothes.
Rana Plaza, Bangladesh, 2013. Built with substandard materials, three illegally added floors, constructed on a filled-in pond. Workers reported cracks the day before but were threatened with wage loss if they didn't return.
$1,250
What each worker's life was valued at in compensation. They made clothes for Walmart, Primark, and other Western brands.
The building owner had political connections that allowed him to ignore safety regulations.
Saved $4-6 million. Created $100 million nightmare.
San Francisco's Millennium Tower has sunk 18 inches and tilts 26 inches. The developer knew about inadequate foundation support but built anyway to save money. Engineers warned that drilling to bedrock was necessary, but they chose cheaper friction piles.
Property value loss for residents
Special assessments homeowners face for repairs
The developer, Millennium Partners, walked away with profits intact. 419 families live in a building where elevators malfunction, walls crack, and fixtures separate from walls.
The pattern never changes.
Developers choose profits over safety
Save thousands to millions on construction. Create billions in damages. Shield personal assets through corporate structures.
Regulators enable corruption
Inadequate codes, non-existent enforcement, outright corruption. Inspectors approve obviously dangerous structures.
Whistleblowers face retaliation
Engineers who warn are ignored or fired. Professional boards rarely revoke licenses even after deadly failures.
Criminal prosecution remains rare
Executives almost never face jail time. Corporate manslaughter charges result in minor fines that become a cost of doing business.
500+ Miami buildings at risk right now.
After Surfside, inspections found over 500 Miami-area buildings with serious structural deficiencies. 17 buildings were immediately evacuated as unsafe. The same conditions that killed 98 people exist in hundreds of buildings.
Repair assessments per unit
Property value drops
Insurance cost increase
Developers lobbied successfully to delay and weaken inspection requirements.
The next collapse isn't a question of if.
Until executives face prison, until regulations have teeth, until profits stop mattering more than lives, our homes remain potential death traps and our life savings remain at risk.