WSJ: Mark Zuckerberg joins Miami’s billionaire property rush

Billionaire Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, are the latest California-based ultra-wealthy buyers to set their sights on South Florida, acquiring a newly completed waterfront mansion on Miami’s exclusive Indian Creek, according to sources familiar with the transaction.

Zuckerberg, who already owns high-end properties in Lake Tahoe, Palo Alto, and Hawaii’s Kauai, is reportedly adding the nearly 2-acre estate to his growing luxury real-estate portfolio, Caliber.Az reports via The Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

While the purchase price has not been publicly confirmed, local agents estimate the property could fetch between $150 million and $200 million. By comparison, a similar undeveloped lot on Indian Creek sold for around $105 million last year.

The seller is a limited liability company tied to Peter Cancro, founder of Jersey Mike’s Subs, sources said. Cancro, who sold a majority stake in his business to private-equity firm Blackstone in 2024 for $8 billion, including debt, has not commented publicly on the sale.

The mansion, visible across Biscayne Bay, features wraparound terraces, a private dock, lush landscaping, blue shutters, elaborate water features, and a waterfront pool, according to renderings from CMA Design Studio, the property’s architecture firm. Indian Creek, a gated man-made island, has attracted other billionaire residents, including Jeff Bezos, Carl Icahn, and Tom Brady. Billionaire auto dealer Norman Braman and his wife Irma, who live next door, said Zuckerberg plans to move into the home by April. “We’re happy to have him,” Irma Braman said.

Zuckerberg’s move is part of a wider migration of tech and finance billionaires from California to Florida. The trend has been accelerated by the state’s proposal of a 5% wealth tax in California, which would apply retroactively to January 2026. Miami real-estate lawyers and brokers reported a surge of last-minute transactions at the end of 2025 as wealthy Californians rushed to close multimillion-dollar deals before the tax takes effect.

“The 5% tax in California is really driving people out in a major way,” said Danny Hertzberg, a Miami-based Coldwell Banker Realty agent. The influx has revived South Florida’s ultra-luxury market to levels at or exceeding the pandemic peak.

Recent high-profile purchases include Google co-founder Larry Page’s acquisitions in Coconut Grove for roughly $188 million and ongoing discussions for Sergey Brin’s Miami Beach purchase, reportedly valued at $50 million.

Zuckerberg’s Miami acquisition adds to a portfolio of homes that includes a $22 million Lake Tahoe property, an adjacent $37 million estate, a Noe Valley home in San Francisco purchased in 2012, and multiple properties in Palo Alto valued at over $43 million.

As California billionaires continue to seek tax-friendly havens, South Florida’s luxury market appears poised for further expansion, cementing its status as a magnet for the ultra-wealthy.

By Aghakazim Guliyev