Miami’s 13 Richest Billionaires
The rich are getting richer – and, apparently, moving to Miami.
There may be nowhere else in the country that has experienced such a mass influx of wealthy people as Miami, which boasts a low tax burden and a subtropical climate. During the pandemic, while Gov. Ron DeSantis touted his prioritization of economic growth over COVID-19 restrictions, libertarian-leaning moguls such as PayPal cofounder Peter Thiel flocked to South Florida.
From Citadel hedge fund chief Ken Griffin to Goldman Sachs managing director Douglas Sacks, so many “big-money migrants” have moved here that New York Magazine dubbed Miami “Little Manhattan.” In fact, during the pandemic, the fastest-growing zip code in Miami-Dade County also happened to be its richest.
When the worst of the pandemic subsided, and the cryptocurrency market to which the city had hitched its economic growth wagon collapsed, it seemed the inflow of tech moguls and endless bundles of new capital was slowing. But the city managed to retain its status as a new magnet for wealth: In June 2022, Griffin announced he was moving the headquarters of Citadel, one of the world’s largest hedge funds, to the heart of Miami.
2026 ushered in a new wave of billionaires into Miami as part of “The New Miami Gold Rush.” The world’s richest are descending upon Miami, snapping up properties to escape proposed tax legislation in states like Washington and California that targets the ultra-rich.
On the Forbes list of the world’s wealthiest people, many of the world’s richest are reported to live — or own property — in the Miami area. They include longtime South-Florida residents, post-pandemic arrivals, and those fleeing progressive tax codes on the West Coast. Unfortunately, these new arrivals are gentrifying the millionaires out of Indian Creek and knocking longtime wealthy Miamians off the billionaires list.
Without further ado, listed below in descending order are Miami’s 13 filthiest-rich billionaires (because the wealthiest always get to be on top). The list includes the billionaires who have yet to formally move to the Magic City but have recently dropped millions on new homes.
Larry Page: $257 Billion
Google cofounder Larry Page is riding the billionaire wave to Miami, dropping $173.4 million for two Coconut Grove properties.
His $101.5 million purchase of Banyan Ridge, a 4.5-acre waterfront compound, was the fourth most expensive home sale in the country last year. He also purchased a nearby property for $71.9 million from heiress Sloan Lindemann Barnett, according to the Wall Street Journal.
As students at Stanford University in 1998, Page and Sergey Brin founded Google. They both stepped down from their leadership roles at Google’s parent company, Alphabet, in 2019.
Once Page officially moves to Miami, he will be its richest resident. He is currently the world’s second-wealthiest person behind Elon Musk.
Sergey Brin: $237 Billion
Like his fellow cofounder, Brin is ditching California for the Sunshine State. He purchased a $51 million waterfront home on Allison Island, formerly owned by Michael Burke, CEO of LVMH’s fashion division.
The 52-year-old is the third-richest person in the world.
Jeff Bezos: $224 Billion
The fourth-richest man on the Forbes list is Miami Palmetto Senior High School graduate and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Bezos was the valedictorian of his 1982 high school class and even worked as a cook at a local McDonald’s.
As we are abundantly aware of how Bezos made his billions (guessing you have Amazon open in another tab), the billionaire announced in November 2024 that he would depart from Seattle to return to his old stomping grounds with his now-wife, Lauren Sanchez.
He eventually purchased three mansions on the island of Indian Creek, AKA, Billionaire Bunker. He is supposedly tearing down the neighboring mansions to build a new megamansion while he lives in a $90 million temporary mansion.
The three transactions totaled $273 million, pocket change for Bezos.
Mark Zuckerberg: $222 Billion
Photo by John Adams via Flickr
The Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg, and his wife, Dr. Priscilla Chan, are making the move to Miami’s Billionaire Bunker.
After rumors swirled that the pair bought a home tied to Jersey Mike’s Subs founder Peter Cancro, Zuckerberg put those rumors to bed after buying an under-construction Indian Creek mansion from cosmetic surgeon Dr. Aaron Rollins for a whopping $170 million.
The purchase is now the most expensive home purchase ever recorded in Miami-Dade.
Much like the other billionaires, the proposed California billionaire’s tax reportedly pushed Zuckerberg to the Sunshine State. The 41-year-old Meta CEO is the world’s fifth-richest person.
Ken Griffin: $49.8 Billion
A Florida native raised in Boca Raton, Ken Griffin founded Citadel LLC in 1990 and oversaw its growth into one of the largest and most profitable hedge funds worldwide, with more than $66 billion in assets under management as of February 1.
Griffin also founded Citadel Securities, dubbed “the Amazon of financial markets,” a market maker that is estimated to handle one out of every five large-exchange stock trades in the U.S. Griffin moved Citadel’s Chicago-born headquarters to Brickell, where he plans to build a 54-story skyscraper on a vacant lot acquired by Citadel in a $363 million purchase reported to be Miami’s most expensive land deal ever at the time. The tower could take five to six years to build.
In 2022, he paid $109 million for Adrienne Arsht’s waterfront estate in Coconut Grove, the most expensive home sale in Miami history at the time.
He’s ranked as the 37th-richest person on the Forbes list.
Peter Thiel: $28.4 Billion
While PayPal cofounder and Palantir cofounder Peter Thiel has owned two waterfront properties on the Venetian Islands since 2020, it appears the billionaire will be spending more time in Miami (thanks to the proposed wealth tax!). He is currently building a waterfront compound.
In March 2024, according to Bloomberg, the tech mogul changed his voter registration to Florida. Additionally, his private investment firm opened an office in Wynwood in December 2025.
“Mr. Thiel has established a significant presence in Miami over the last several years, maintaining a personal residence in the city since 2020,” the firm said in a press release. “Founders Fund, the venture capital firm cofounded by Mr.Thiel and of which he serves as a partner, has maintained an office in Miami since February 2021.”
He comes in on the Forbes list at 87.
Alex Karp: $13.1 Billion
Alex Karp is the cofounder and CEO of Palantir Technologies, the controversial software company that works with the U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). He cofounded the company with Thiel in 2004.
Following in the footsteps of his cofounder and current company chairman, Thiel, Karp purchased a $46 million mansion on Miami’s Venetian Islands, eight months before the company’s headquarters abruptly moved from Denver to Aventura.
The 58-year-old is ranked 228 on the list with a net worth of $13.1 billion.
Orlando Bravo: $12.8 Billion
Orlando Bravo, according to Forbes, became the first Puerto Rico-born billionaire in 2019.
In 2008, he created Thoma Bravo, a leading private equity firm in the tech and software sectors, where he is the managing partner.
In January 2021, Bravo and his wife, Katy, purchased Phil Collins’ former bayfront residence in Miami Beach for nearly $40 million. They submitted plans to demolish the property and build an entirely new residence, detached staff quarters, and a third structure for home offices and guest suites.
Bravo is the 234th-richest person in the world.
Micky Arison: $10.1 Billion
Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images
Arguably, the University of Miami’s (UM) most successful dropout, Micky Arison, is the son of Ted Arison, who founded Carnival Cruises in 1972. The family immigrated to the United States from Tel Aviv when Micky was just a kid.
After dropping out of UM, Arison began as a sales rep at Carnival before becoming CEO. He’s credited with growing Carnival’s fleet from two ships to more than 100 before stepping down as chief executive in 2013.
In 1995, Arison purchased the Miami Heat basketball team. The 76-year-old is the 332nd-richest billionaire in the world.
Josh Harris: $10 Billion
Josh Harris is a cofounder of the alternative investment and private equity firm Apollo Global Management alongside Leon Black and Marc Rowan. The University of Pennsylvania alum led the group that purchased the Philadelphia 76ers in 2011, the New Jersey Devils, and the Prudential Center in 2013.
More recently, he spearheaded a buyout of the Washington Commanders.
Since stepping down from his day-to-day operations role at Apollo in 2022, he has turned his attention to his sports and property management company Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment (HBSE), which he cofounded with Blackstone senior executive and his co-manager partner of the Devils and 76ers, David Blitzer.
In 2021, Harris purchased a more than 9,110-square-foot mansion in Miami Beach for $32 million. He comes in at 341 on the Forbes list.
Sami Mnaymneh: $7.8 Billion
Back in 1993, Sami Mnaymneh cofounded H.I.G. Capital, which is headquartered in Miami. The private equity firm manages $58 billion and has offices in multiple cities across the U.S., Europe, and South America.
Before H.I.G., Mnaymneh was managing director at Blackstone and vice president of mergers and acquisitions at Morgan Stanley. An established Miami Beach resident, Mnaymneh bought a luxury property in the community in June 2023 for $25 million.
He is the world’s 447th-richest billionaire.
William Berkley: $6.2 Billion
Coconut Grove billionaire William Berkley founded the insurance firm W.R. Berkeley Corporation in 1967.
The company went public in 1973 and has become one of the largest commercial lines property and casualty insurers in the U.S., insuring properties in mining, design, medical, aviation, transportation, oil, and gas.
These days, Berkley’s son serves as CEO while the 79-year-old, who stepped down as CEO in 2015, remains chairman. The company’s annual revenue in 2024 was 13.7 billion.
Berkley formerly served as the chair emeritus of the New York University Board of Trustees.
He is 677 on the Forbes list.
Rakesh Gangwal: $5.6 Billion
Rakesh Gangwal has been working in the airline industry for 37 years, beginning his career at United Airlines and working his way up to chairman and CEO of US Airways Group.
In 2006, he cofounded the Delhi-based budget airline IndiGo, India’s largest airline. He was also co-owner of IndiGo’s parent company, InterGlobe Aviation, before selling the majority of his stake.
In 2015, he and his wife, Shoba Gangwal, purchased a $30 million waterfront home on Indian Creek Drive in Miami Beach.
He is the 749th-richest billionaire in the country.
