The billionaire exodus from the West Coast to Florida is underway because the ultra-wealthy search refuge from wealth taxes in states like California and Washington.
Google cofounders Larry Web page (internet price $244 billion) and Sergey Brin (internet price $226 billion) rushed to go away California final yr earlier than the Jan. 1 deadline for the California billionaire tax. Each have bought property in Florida. In the meantime, former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, whose internet price is $3.4 billion, and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, whose internet price is $198 billion, additionally each purchased property within the Sunshine State final month.
The tech titans and Schultz be a part of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, PayPal and Palantir cofounder Peter Thiel, Citadel founder Ken Griffin, and Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison, who’ve all purchased property or moved their corporations’ operations to Florida prior to now couple of years.
The frenzy to purchase in Florida has been fueled partly by California’s proposed Billionaire Tax Act, which, if handed, would cost billionaires who resided in California after Jan. 1, 2026 with a one-time tax on 5% their complete internet price.
The invoice, which might reportedly have an effect on about 200 folks, goals to gather $100 billion in income that may go towards funding well being care, training, and meals help. To get on the poll in November, the proposal wants to gather 875,000 signatures from California residents by June. As soon as on the poll, a easy majority within the November elections would take the time go and amend the state’s structure to place it into place.
However not everyone seems to be on board. Many rich people in California have come out towards the tax, together with Brin, who donated $20 million to a political motion committee operating three counter “spoiler” measures which if accredited by voters would probably weaken or yield authorized challenges to the billionaire tax if it passes as effectively. Thiel additionally donated $3 million to the California Enterprise Roundtable, a bunch opposing the billionaire tax.
There are additionally doubts about whether or not the invoice, even whether it is handed, will attain its objective of amassing $100 billion. With Web page and Brin leaving the state earlier than Jan. 1, in addition to Uber cofounder Travis Kalanick who left for Texas, the tax may very well be robbed of a fourth of its $100 billion objective, based on a calculation by Fortune. A back-of-the-envelope calculation utilizing the 5% wealth tax metric places the greenback determine of taxes owed by Web page at $13 billion and Brin at about $12 billion. In the meantime 5% of Kalanick and Thiel’s wealth provides one other $1 billion or in order that brings the full probably misplaced income to about $26 billion.
Nonetheless, the potential California billionaire tax isn’t the one effort pushing billionaires emigrate South. Washington’s wealth tax might have additionally performed a job. Each Bezos and Schultz left Seattle earlier than Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson signed into regulation Tuesday a high-earners earnings tax that may cost 9.9% on earnings of greater than $1 million. The tax goals to usher in $3 billion to $4 billion per yr from rich people whereas eliminating some gross sales tax on objects like diapers and increasing funding for baby care and well being care.
Griffin, the lone former Chicago resident, left Illinois, transferring Citadel to Miami in June 2022 after almost three a long time. On the time, Griffin pointed to the town’s crime and politics as the explanation. Since then, Griffin and Citadel have collectively invested billions in Florida actual property.
A number of the causes for the billionaires’ departure is the attractiveness of Florida’s low taxes in addition to its good climate. The state has no earnings tax and no capital positive factors tax, and Miami specifically has branded itself as a business-friendly various to high-tax cities in California and elsewhere. The billionaires who’ve moved to Florida may simply afford to purchase within the state’s most unique areas and safe more and more dear waterfront properties.
Miami, particularly, is without doubt one of the costliest luxurious markets within the U.S. In 2025, extra ultraluxury houses offered in Miami, based on the New York Occasions. Whereas the median residence value in Miami fell about 7% to $610,000 in March, on the ultra-high finish vary, demand is rising. 5 years in the past no residence in Miami offered for $50 million, however in 2025, gross sales on this vary made up 7% of the market, the Occasions reported.
Mark Zuckerberg
The Meta cofounder and his spouse, Dr. Priscilla Chan reportedly secured a $170 million waterfront mansion on the western aspect of Indian Creek Island, a artifical refuge for the ultra-rich situated within the Biscayne Bay west of Miami Seashore. Zuckerberg’s property is only some homes down from Jeff Bezos’ in-construction compound and features a fitness center, hair salon, and therapeutic massage room, based on The Wall Avenue Journal. Indian Creek, also called Billionaire Bunker, has a mere 41 residents and has 24/7 safety which provides to its exclusivity. The property would add to Zuckerberg’s myriad properties throughout the U.S. together with in Hawaii and Lake Tahoe within the Sierra Nevada mountains between Nevada and California.
Jeff Bezos
The Amazon founder and government chair has bought three multi-million-dollar properties on Indian Creek Island. The world’s third-richest man purchased two adjoining properties on the western aspect of the 41-person island in 2022 and 2023, for $68 million and $79 million with plans to mix the tons right into a mega-compound. In the meantime, Bezos lives on the opposite aspect of the island in a Mediterranean-style residence he purchased for about $90 million in 2024. The billionaire’s mixed properties value him greater than $230 million in complete.
Larry Ellison
Ellison made a 16-acre oceanfront property in Manalapan, Fla., in Palm Seashore County his major residence earlier this yr. The property, which Ellison bought for $173 million in 2022 is conveniently situated fewer than 10 miles from President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property. Ellison is a significant Republican donor and hosted a fundraiser for Trump at his property in California’s Coachella Valley in 2020, based on SFGate. Simply after Trump’s inauguration final yr Ellison stood by Trump as he, alongside OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son introduced a $500 billion initiative dubbed Stargate to put money into U.S.-based AI infrastructure.
In 2024, Ellison bought the Eau Palm Seashore Resort and Spa for $277 million, shortly pushing reworking plans and putting in his favourite Japanese and Peruvian fusion restaurant Nobu. Ellison additionally owns one other waterfront property in North Palm Seashore he bought for $80 million in 2021.
By transferring his major residence from Lanai, Hawaii, to Florida, earlier than promoting Oracle inventory and amassing dividends, Ellison saved an estimated $1 billion in taxes, based on Forbes.
Larry Web page
Together with his purchases in latest months, Google cofounder and former CEO Larry Web page has amassed greater than $180 million price of properties within the Sunshine State as he appears to be like to construct his personal mega-compound in Miami’s upscale Coconut Grove neighborhood. The Google cofounder bought two adjoining properties in late December and early January for $101.5 million and $71.9 million. One of many houses contains 13 bedrooms and 15.5 bogs. Web page snapped up one other property in the identical space for $14.97 million in January, South Florida Enterprise Journal reported.
Sergey Brin
Web page’s cofounder Brin snagged his personal slice of Florida in latest months. The billionaire purchased a $51 million residence on Allison Island, close to Miami Seashore, earlier this yr, Enterprise Insider reported. The ten,000 sq. foot property has seven bedrooms, a waterfront pool, and a personal dock. The island has 24-hour safety and fewer than 50 houses, based on Realtor.com.
Ken Griffin
Griffin made a splash when he introduced he was transferring his hedge fund Citadel to Miami in 2022. However even earlier than then, Griffin was build up his Florida real-estate empire. For the previous 10 years, the hedge funder has poured $450 million right into a 50,000-square-foot waterfront compound in Palm Seashore County,which, when completed, would be the costliest residence on the planet, based on the New York Submit. The financier additionally bought a $106.9 million compound in Coconut Grove in 2022.
Other than Griffin’s private purchases, his firm, Citadel, can be reportedly pouring billions into actual property in Miami, together with a 54-story headquarters for Citadel in downtown Miami that’s estimated to value $2.5 billion.
Peter Thiel
Whereas Peter Thiel’s Florida footprint is comparatively extra modest than his fellow billionaires, he has nonetheless bought almost $40 million price of property within the Miami space. Thiel in 2020 bought a compound made up of two houses for $18 million on Miami’s Venetian Islands, artifical islands that sit between Miami Seashore and downtown Miami in Biscayne Bay. Late final yr, the billionaire’s Thiel Capital opened an workplace in Miami. Palantir additionally introduced it was transferring its headquarters to Miami in February.
Howard Schultz
Schultz and his spouse Sheri Schultz bought a penthouse in Surfside, Fla. north of Miami Seashore final month for $44 million, The Wall Avenue Journal reported. The acquisition was made public shortly after Schultz introduced he was leaving Seattle, the place he lived 44 years, for Miami in a press release on LinkedIn.
The 5,500 sq. foot property has 5 bedrooms, a rooftop terrace, and an oceanfront cabana, based on the Journal.
