The ongoing decline in sales and market price adjustments have little connection to the spending habits of billionaires. They are actively acquiring portions of entire islands in Miami Beach or expanding their existing properties to create larger estates in place of their acquired homes.
For instance, tech billionaire Eric Schmidt, with a net worth of $20 billion according to Forbes, has amassed up to seven homes on the Sunset Islands, totaling nearly $140 million over the past three years. At least five of these houses are situated on Sunset Island II, the largest of the four gated man-made islands in Miami Beach, all of which are waterfront properties. Notably, two of these acquisitions closed in September, including the former residence of Craig Robins and Jackie Soffer.
Hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin has acquired a waterfront lot on Star Island adjacent to his substantial property, purchased from retired Yankee Alex Rodriguez. Although Griffin, with a net worth exceeding $35 billion, paid $45.5 million for the lot, the exact price remains somewhat unclear due to a land swap arrangement initiated in 2020 when the luxury real estate market began to flourish. Griffin now possesses approximately 6.5 contiguous acres on Star Island and has also built an extensive portfolio of residential land in Palm Beach over the past decade.
Lastly, Jeff Bezos, the world’s second-richest individual, has invested $79 million in a 2-acre waterfront estate in Indian Creek Village, adjacent to another property he acquired for $68 million earlier this summer. These combined acquisitions amount to 4.6 contiguous acres of land, with a total cost of almost $150 million. The property was sold to Bezos by Indian Creek #1 LLC, an entity managed by Brazilian toy company mogul Leo Kryss.
In the commercial sector, the Wyn 28 apartment complex at 2819 Northwest First Avenue, owned by the Pérez family’s Related Group and Tony Cho’s Metro 1, was sold for $135 million. Berkshire Residential Investments and Bayshore Global Management purchased the mixed-use apartment building, including retail and parking, at a rate of approximately $544,000 per unit.
New to the market is an oceanfront mansion located in Golden Beach is currently listed for $42 million. This nearly 12,000-square-foot property boasts nine bedrooms, ten and a half bathrooms, a three-story house with a rooftop, two summer kitchens, a guesthouse, pool, spa, cabana, and 75 feet of beachfront.
In other developments, the Trump Organization has received a letter of interest from New York real estate investor Adam Hochfelder to acquire Trump National Doral Miami, with a potential offer of $1.5 billion for this valuable property, as revealed in court filings for a New York civil fraud case.
Elsewhere in Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis has instructed the state’s emergency management division to organize flights for Florida residents stranded in Israel and to deliver supplies to Israel, following a similar move by the Biden administration.
In recent developments, at least two possible tornadoes struck Florida early Thursday, causing damage to homes, cars, and businesses in Clearwater Beach and Crystal River. Additionally, climate change is leading to the formation of stronger hurricanes earlier in the hurricane season, with Category 4 and 5 storms occurring approximately two weeks earlier than four decades ago, increasing the risk of severe flooding, as reported by the Miami Herald.
