website<\/a> poses questions like, \u201cWhat if your employees made 10% more every year?,\u201d highlighting that Florida\u2019s constitution prohibits imposing an income tax.<\/p>\nRuthie Assouline, a real estate agent for the luxury brokerage Douglas Elliman, said that in the past few months she\u2019s seen interest from \u201csome of the biggest profiles in the world … people that have done game-changing things in their respective industries.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Ana Bozovic, broker and founder of Analytics Miami, said the recent house hunting doesn\u2019t signal a new trend.<\/p>\n
\u201cI see it as a continuation,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Bozovic noted the migration of high net-worth individuals, which included some billionaires, began during the pandemic. In addition to Ross and Griffin, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who spent some of his childhood in Miami, announced he was moving back to South Florida in 2023.<\/p>\n
Yet, many tech entrepreneurs who moved here during that time returned to California or New York. Now, it\u2019s possible that some may reconsider.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Google co-founders moving to Miami is going to have the Ken Griffin and Citadel effect\u201d on the tech sector, said Jay Roberts, CEO of Prosper Group, a luxury condo development firm in Miami. \u201cThis is a watershed moment for Miami and a huge negative for California.\u201d<\/p>\n
Coinbase CEO Armstrong and his wife are early in their search process, and it might not materialize, said the individual familiar with the executive\u2019s thinking. But the executive\u2019s wife \u201creally likes Miami,\u201d the person told the Herald.<\/p>\n
An email the Herald sent to Armstrong wasn\u2019t answered. Separately, a Coinbase spokesperson replied \u201cNo comment\u201d when asked about the real estate foray and whether an interview with the CEO could be scheduled.<\/p>\n
Armstrong, born and raised in the Bay Area, is worth $7.4 billion, according to Forbes. He was No. 90 on the Forbes 400 in 2024. In 2021, he bought a mansion in Bel Air, one of Los Angeles\u2019s wealthiest enclaves.<\/p>\n
Nancy Batchelor, a Miami Beach real estate agent who specializes in high-end properties, said she\u2019s seen an uptick in interest from ultra-high-net-worth buyers looking to move to Miami over the past few years. She said that interest has intensified in recent weeks. And once a few billionaires come to South Florida, Batchelor said she thinks more will follow.<\/p>\n
\u201cBirds of a feather flock together,\u201d Batchelor said, \u201cand we\u2019ve got the seal of approval with some of the best and brightest business minds.\u201d<\/p>\n
Batchelor added that the recent surge has been largely driven by ultra-wealthy Californians looking to buy homes in the Miami area.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think this latest taxation possibility has really shaken them,\u201d Batchelor said.<\/p>\n
The concern is over a possible new tax on California billionaires, although it\u2019s far from certain.<\/p>\n
A union that represents health care workers has put forward a proposal that would levy a tax on any California resident worth $1 billion or more. The one-time 5% total wealth tax would retroactively apply to any billionaire who was living in California on Jan. 1, 2026.<\/p>\n
Real estate, pensions and retirement accounts would be excluded from the tax.<\/p>\n
According to the proposal, 90% of the money would be spent on health care services for the public. The rest would go to the administration of the wealth tax, education and food assistance. The union has estimated the tax would bring the state $100 billion in revenue. It says the money could offset the Trump administration\u2019s cuts to healthcare funding.<\/p>\n
Organizers of the proposal need to collect over 874,000 signatures in California, or 8% of registered voters in the last election, and have them verified by June 25. If they do so, then the idea becomes a ballot measure that goes before voters in November.<\/p>\n
So far, Sen. Bernie Sanders, who doesn\u2019t represent California, has been its most prominent backer. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat with White House ambitions, said he opposes it.<\/p>\n
The union doesn\u2019t exactly have recent history on its side. It has lost three recent state referendums it put on the ballot in California, between 2018 and 2024, according to Ballotpedia.<\/p>\n
The group also has been accused of advancing policies or measures as a way to pressure politicians.<\/p>\n
The proposal has been met with outrage from some billionaires in California. Some of Silicon Valley\u2019s most influential figures have been sounding off in a Signal group chat called \u201cSave California,\u201d the Wall Street Journal reported.<\/p>\n
Armstrong, the Coinbase CEO, hasn\u2019t yet bought a house or left California, so he would likely still be affected if the tax does become a reality. It\u2019s unclear how moving to South Florida now would help him avoid California\u2019s potential new tax.<\/p>\n
But the person familiar with the Coinbase CEO\u2019s thinking said it\u2019s part of a larger sentiment, shared by other tech executives, that wealth taxes may gain traction and support across the country. Florida then may be one place to escape that.<\/p>\n
One major reason several tech executives have criticized the proposed California tax and potential future versions is that it could hurt startup founders early in their companies\u2019 lives, because it includes private stock. Much of entrepreneurs\u2019 wealth is on paper and goes up and down until they cash out, such as after their company holds an initial public offering, which usually doesn\u2019t happen for years.<\/p>\n
\u201cFounders who haven\u2019t even exited and got a liquidity event would be taxed,\u201d said Roberts of the Prosper Group. \u201cTo have this huge tax bill could bankrupt them.\u201d<\/p>\n
It has also raised concerns over how and who would assess the value of private companies. Startup founders might then think twice about starting new companies in California.<\/p>\n
To date, only a few California billionaires have gone public about leaving the state, and not all oppose the tax measure.<\/p>\n
Jensen Huang, the 62-year-old CEO of Nvidia, told CNBC in January that, \u201cWe chose to live in Silicon Valley, and whatever taxes they would like to apply, so be it. I\u2019m perfectly fine with it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Worth about $164 billion, according to Forbes, he\u2019d incur a tax bill possibly as high as $8.2 billion.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve got to tell you, I have not even thought about it once,\u201d he told CNBC. \u201cWe work in Silicon Valley because that\u2019s where the talent pool is.\u201d<\/p>\n
South Florida\u2019s luxury housing market seems to reflect surging interest from wealthy buyers.<\/p>\n
In January, a seven-bedroom, seven-bath house, 6,549-square-foot house at 6620 Allison Road was sold for $21 million. The property had been owned by dermatologist Arthur Weissmann and his wife Trudy Harris. Miami-based Jordan Karp with Jordan Karp LLC represented the buyer and seller.<\/p>\n
The buyer, who has not been disclosed, will have a notable neighbor. The house is next door to 6596 Allison Road, the property with two lots reportedly purchased by Google co-founder Brin.<\/p>\n
Last week, another home on Allison Island, a seven-bed, nine-bath originally listed at $36.9 million, sold. Neither the buyer\u2019s identity, nor the final price of the 10,362-square-foot home at 6480 Allison Road, has been revealed.<\/p>\n
Dina Goldentayer, a real estate with Douglas Elliman, just listed a new seven-bed, 14-bath home in Golden Beach for $88.5 million. She said so far she\u2019s shown the 17,507-square-foot house exclusively to California billionaires, some of whom told her they\u2019re \u201cfrightened of the proposed wealth tax.\u201d<\/p>\n
The California Legislature\u2019s Nonpartisan Fiscal and Policy Advisor, part of the California Legislature Analyst\u2019s Office, has analyzed the initiative and found it would raise less revenue than the organizers claim. The analysis said the state would only collect \u201ctens of billions of dollars from the wealth tax.\u201d<\/p>\n
It also found California would likely see a drop in state income tax as a result of losing wealthy taxpayers. That would mean less money for the state\u2019s general budget, which funds education, health care, prisons and other services, it wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is likely that some billionaires decide to leave California. The income taxes they currently pay to the state would go away with their departure,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Assouline is currently showing a 6,350-square-foot beachfront home on Atlantic Way in Miami Beach listed at $40 million. She said the majority of interested buyers have been from California. Overall, Assouline said she\u2019s seen a surge of interest from California buyers in recent weeks, some of whom have told her the proposed tax is what \u201cpushed them over the edge,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
But Assouline said it\u2019s not just taxes, and it\u2019s not just Californians. She said she\u2019s talked to ultra-rich buyers from New York and other parts of the country who are looking to buy South Florida real estate. Batchelor said she\u2019s also seen a lot of interest from wealthy people leaving Chicago.<\/p>\n
And while some do cite taxes as a primary reason for leaving their home states, Assouline said many are more \u201clifestyle driven.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFlorida is attracting a much wider net of ultra-high-net-worth people,\u201d said Assouline.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Miami and other parts of South Florida have been a popular landing spot for billionaires. \u00a9Pedro Portal Several…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":156569,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[16331,75144,4535,802,123,1642,1763,125,124,480,807,13232],"class_list":{"0":"post-156568","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-miami","8":"tag-billionaires","9":"tag-brian-armstrong","10":"tag-california","11":"tag-ken-griffin","12":"tag-miami","13":"tag-miami-beach","14":"tag-miami-dolphins","15":"tag-miami-headlines","16":"tag-miami-news","17":"tag-real-estate","18":"tag-south-florida","19":"tag-stephen-ross"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156568","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=156568"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156568\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/156569"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=156568"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=156568"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=156568"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Miami](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/6281ffc565bba9579d77f7ecc6d29da1.jpeg\")
Miami and other parts of South Florida have been a popular landing spot for billionaires. \u00a9Pedro Portal <\/p>\n