In early November, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos announced that he is moving to Florida and will now live on a private island in Indian Creek. This place is known as the “billionaire bunker” and is considered one of the safest in the world – it is almost impossible to get there, the island is closed. Bezos’ neighbors will be Ivanka Trump (daughter Donald Trump), American football star Tom Brady and the Emir of Qatar. Forbes photo gallery shows some notable inhabitants of the “billionaires’ bunker”
Translation by Anton Bundin
After nearly three decades in Seattle and two years after stepping down as CEO of Seattle-based Amazon, Jeff Bezos is leaving the Pacific Northwest for Miami. In the past five months, the world’s third richest man has purchased two homes in Indian Creek, a luxury community on the island of the same name in Miami-Dade County. In June, the billionaire paid $68 million for a mansion that was not put up for public sale, and in October he bought a house right next door for $79 million.
Lenta.Ru, 10.13.2023, “Jeff Bezos began buying houses in the “bunker for billionaires”: Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has begun buying houses on Indian Creek Island in Florida, which is known as a “billionaire bunker.” The businessman paid 79 million dollars (7.7 billion rubles) for the new mansion. writes Bloomberg. Bezos bought it next door to his other mansion, which he bought five months ago. Now the billionaire owns a plot with a total area of about 7.3 thousand square meters. The house was built in 2000 and occupies 1770 square meters. It has seven bedrooms, a library, a home theater, a wine cellar and a swimming pool. Bezos was able to save about six million dollars (580 million rubles) on the purchase of this estate, the publication’s interlocutors admit. They also add that this is probably not the last purchase of the founder of online retailer Amazon on the island. […]
In addition to mansions on Indian Creek Island, Bezos owns real estate in Washington, Beverly Hills and the Hawaiian island of Maui. In addition, Bezos owns one of the most expensive superyachts in the world – Koru. Its construction cost approximately half a billion dollars (48.5 billion rubles). Bezos is worth about $156 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Bezos’ ex-wife Mackenzie Scott gave it away two estates for charity. The total cost of the property was $55 million (5.3 billion rubles). — Insert K.ru
Indian Creek is a 120-hectare man-made barrier island with just 41 homes on one street called Indian Creek Island Road. At last count, the island’s population was 84, a number that includes many famous residents and billionaires.
“I want to be closer to my parents, Lauren (Sanchez, TV presenter, Bezos’ lover. – Forbes), and I adore Miami,” this is how the billionaire commented on his upcoming move to the city where his parents live and where he himself went to high school. In addition, Bezos is the founder and sponsor of the aerospace company Blue Origin, most of whose divisions are now being moved to Cape Canaveral in Florida.
Bezos’ new home is a seven-bedroom, 14-bath estate overlooking the bay on one side and the golf course on the other (an adjacent estate has three more bedrooms and three bathrooms). Both properties are the latest of several luxury acquisitions by Bezos. In 2020, he acquired the 3.8-hectare Jack Warner estate in Beverly Hills, paying $165 million for it. In addition, the Amazon founder owns houses in Washington, Manhattan and Maui. Two homes in the Seattle area, which the billionaire bought in 2010, have not yet appeared on public sale. Representatives of the businessman did not respond to a request for comment.
Bezos’ move is another example of the recent surge of billionaires moving to Florida, which famous its tax laws. Over the past 20 years, the number of participants in the ranking of the 400 richest Americans according to Forbes, whose place of residence is sunny Florida, has doubled to 46 people: billionaires such as financier Ken Griffin and Paychex founder Tom Golisano have moved here from Chicago and the outskirts of Rochester, New York. With the arrival of Bezos, this number will increase to 47.
Below are some of Bezos’ future neighbors.
Property values are based on averages from Zillow and Redfin.
Estimated property value: $330 million for five properties
The Colombian billionaire banker and property tycoon lives across the ocean in London, but in the “billionaire’s bunker” he owns more plots of land than anyone else. Over the past 11 years, he has bought five lots on the island for approximately $100 million. Gilinsky runs one of the largest banking empires in Latin America, and since 2015 he has been rebuilding a former US Air Force base near the Panama Canal – Forbes once called it is “the world’s most daring construction project.”
Estimated property value: $50 million
In December 2020, the retired NFL star purchased a lot on Indian Creek for $17 million while he was still playing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In October 2022, the former athlete announced his divorce from supermodel Gisele Bündchen, and since then he has been rebuilding the site and constructing an 80-square-meter marina. m with lifts for your own jet skis and boats.
Estimated property value: $60 million
Billionaire Braman, an art collector and part-time owner of one of the largest chains of auto dealerships in Florida, has lived in Indian Creek longer than most of his neighbors. The site, which he purchased in 1991 for less than $4 million, has since risen in price almost 15 times. The former owner of the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles made his fortune selling pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.
Estimated property value: $70 million
Gangwal made his fortune in the sky, serving as CEO of US Airways Group and co-founding India’s largest low-cost carrier IndiGo. He spent at least part of his money on land: in 2015, the businessman purchased a house on Indian Creek Island for $30 million.
Estimated property value: $60 million
This year, the legendary corporate grabber, billionaire and activist investor lost a significant chunk of his finances as short-selling firm Hindenburg Research stated in its report that its publicly traded company, Icahn Enterprises, was overvaluing its assets. Icahn himself is denies and believes that the research serves Hindenburg Research’s own interests. Last week, the businessman’s finances were more than two times lower than in March and only slightly exceeded $6 billion. Real estate turned out to be a much more profitable investment – Icahn owns three houses worth at least $50 million each: this includes a house with seven bedrooms and eight bathrooms in Indian Creek, which he acquired in 1997 for a fraction of its current cost. The entrepreneur formerly lived in New York, but it is said that several years ago he made Indian Creek his main residence.
Estimated property value: $40 million
The Kushners bought the house on Indian Creek in December 2020 from Spanish singer Julio Iglesias, who still owns several properties on the island. The Kushner-Trump estate has become a real refuge for the couple from criticism in Washington and New York. However, Ivanka Trump’s ties to Miami came into the spotlight again last week when she was forced to testify in her father’s fraud trial – in part because she helped finalize the purchase of the local Trump National Doral golf resort (and thereby helped Donald Trump lie about his condition).
Estimated property value: $90 million
Over the past 10 years, the investor and hedge fund manager has developed a notorious reputation. In 2013, he became the new CEO of the failing retail giant Sears Holdings and hoped to improve its position, but suffered a resounding fiasco. Lampert bought the house on Indian Creek in 2012 for $38.4 million. He moved to Florida from Greenwich (Connecticut).
Estimated property value: $70 million
The businessman has a lot in common with the sunny state. He is one of seven children of Donald Soffer, who designed the town of Aventura, Florida, through his development company, Turnberry Associates. Jeffrey and his sister Jackie helped their father manage the business until 2019, after which Jackie took over as CEO, and Jeffrey founded his own company, Fontainebleau Development, where he is the CEO. Jeffrey Soffer was previously married to supermodel Elle Macpherson.
Estimated property value: $90 million
The 43-year-old emir of Qatar is most likely the owner of the 2,600 square meter estate. m, purchased in 2019 for $49.9 million (then the amount beat national record for single-family home sale). In 2021, one source confirmed to Forbes that Tamim is indeed the owner of the estate and is seen quite often on the island.
