Billionaires moving to Florida are concentrating in Miami, Palm Beach County and Naples as wealthy Americans seek to avoid proposed wealth taxes and benefit from the state’s lack of income, capital-gains and wealth taxes.
Florida has attracted some of the richest residents from California and Washington, where new tax measures have prompted several prominent executives and investors to relocate.
California’s proposed Proposition 40 would impose a one-off 5% levy on the net worth of billionaires who lived in the state after 1 January this year. Among those reported to have moved to Miami are Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, and venture capitalist Peter Thiel.
Washington is due to introduce a flat 9.9% tax on people earning at least $1 million from 2028. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and former Starbucks chief executive Howard Schultz are among the wealthy figures who have since left the state for Florida.
Why billionaires are moving to Florida
The financial benefit of moving is not always calculated from a salary. For many ultra-wealthy individuals, income comes mainly from selling shares or receiving dividends, making the absence of capital-gains and income taxes particularly significant.
Larry Ellison, the Oracle co-founder, is estimated to have saved $1 billion in taxes by making his estate in Palm Beach County his primary residence before selling Oracle stock.
Wealth taxes would apply to assets including shares, property and artwork rather than income. While proposed wealth taxes have helped drive some relocations, the tax savings available on income and capital gains can provide a continuing incentive to remain in Florida.
The proposed California measure was previously estimated to risk losing about $29 billion of the $100 billion it aims to raise if billionaires including Page and Brin leave the state.
Miami’s billionaire population
Miami is the most prominent destination for Florida’s wealth migration, with 19 of the state’s 20 richest billionaires officially based there.
Several have gathered on heavily guarded Indian Creek, known as the “Billionaire Bunker”. Bezos has built a property compound there valued at more than $230 million, while Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, Page and Thiel also live on the island.
Ken Griffin, founder of Citadel, moved his hedge fund’s headquarters to Miami. Page has spent more than $180 million developing a compound in Coconut Grove.
Miami’s millionaire population rose by 94% in a decade to nearly 40,000, according to the 2025 World’s Wealthiest Cities report from Henley & Partners.
Developer Robert Rivani said Miami’s political environment and property market had helped attract wealthy families and businesses. “It’s one of the best cities in the entire world,” he said.
Palm Beach County and Naples
Palm Beach County has emerged as another major centre of wealth. Ellison made a 16-acre estate in Manalapan, about 10 miles from Mar-a-Lago, his primary residence, while Griffin has invested about $450 million in a waterfront compound in the county.
Citadel, BlackRock and Goldman Sachs have all expanded their presence in the area, which has earned the nickname “Wall Street South”. West Palm Beach and Palm Beach recorded a 112% increase in their millionaire population between 2014 and 2024, the fourth-fastest growth of any city worldwide, according to Henley & Partners.
The Business Development Board of Palm Beach County estimates that about 60 billionaires live across the county.
Naples has continued to attract retirees and heirs seeking privacy, golf and beaches. Forbes has described the city as a place where America’s new “old money” hides, and it is frequently identified as having one of the country’s highest concentrations of millionaires per head.
Among the billionaires living in Naples and nearby Marco Island is Shahid Khan, owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars, whose fortune is estimated at about $13.3 billion. Port Royal and Aqualane Shores, both in Naples, are also among America’s six most expensive neighbourhoods by price per square foot.
