More billionaires are trading the streets of New York and boardrooms of California for the sunny, tax-friendly city of Miami—and they’re bringing their employees with them. Google is snatching up more office space in the South Florida metropolis, just as its cofounders are buying million-dollar mansions right on the waterfront.
Google’s parent company, Alphabet, has quadrupled its office space in Miami this year, signing a lease to expand its footprint to around 45,000 square-feet, according to reporting from Bloomberg.
It’s a huge jump from the roughly 10,000 square-feet the $4.2 trillion tech company already owns in the city’s financial district; the office, located at 1450 Brickell Avenue, is flush with a fitness center, rooftop terrace, and panoramic views of Biscayne Bay. And the expansion signals a greater investment in working out of Florida: a state with no personal income tax, and a business-friendly regulatory environment.
And right around when the company snatched up more Miami office space in the spring, its cofounders also forked over millions for real estate in the coastal area, sources said. Larry Page, worth $297 billion, and Sergey Brin, with $276 billion to his name, have both uprooted to Florida as their previous home state, California, gears up for a ballot referendum on taxing the assets of the wealthy. It’s a part of a migration trend as more billionaires like Ken Griffin, Carl Icahn, and Keith Rabois flock to other tax-haven areas of the U.S.
