When Charlie Garcia first moved to Miami, it was easy to land a table at the hottest restaurants in town. But that was before the recent influx of the ultrawealthy.
“If you look at the number of billionaires who have moved to Florida, it’s off the charts. It’s causing issues,” Garcia tells Fortune. “Getting dinner reservations has gotten a lot more difficult.”
Miami has become one of the top U.S. destinations for millionaires and billionaires on the move: In the past decade, the millionaire population has grown by 90% in West Palm Beach and 75% in Miami, according to a 2023 wealth report from investment migration firm Henley & Partners. That puts them in the top four cities in the country; Miami is also home to the most millionaires, centimillionaires, and billionaires on the list.
But Garcia isn’t complaining. He’s a managing partner of R360, an exclusive community for ultrawealthy individuals and their families, who boast an average net worth of around $400 million. Over the past few years, the club has seen its membership based in Florida spike, Garcia tells Fortune, spurred partly by recent tax law changes in places like Washington state, which imposed a7% capital gains tax in 2022.
“It’s not what you have or what you make, it’s what you keep,” says Garcia. “What you keep every year, what you keep when you die…what you keep if there’s a slip and fall in your house and they come after you for everything.”
And in Florida, the 1% can keep much more of their wealth than in a state like Connecticut, New York, or Washington that taxes estates and capital gains. Take Florida’s most famous recent billionaire transplant, Jeff Bezos, who left behind Washington, where he made his fortune, for Miami and is set to save some $600 million in taxes over the next year as he unloads Amazon stock.
The move comes amid a national conversation on whether to impose a federal wealth tax, or “billionaires’ tax,” something President Joe Biden has supported but Congress likely would not. With no movement on the national level, some states are imposing or proposing additional levies on the wealthy to fund social programs. Those include states with some of the nation’s wealthiest residents: California, Connecticut, Hawaii, New York, and Washington.
‘Other reasons to move’
Not only does Florida not tax capital gains, it has no state income tax or estate tax. That makes it ideal for the ultrawealthy who are considering estate planning, says Garcia. He expects more to move to the Sunshine State in the near future.
Of course, while the number of wealthy and ultrawealthy may increase in Florida and other low-tax havens like Texas, New York—with its estate tax, state income tax, and more—remains home to the most millionaires and billionaires in the country by far—and remains the richest city in the world. Though some wealthy are moving out, Henley & Partners reported it saw a 40% increase in high-net-worth residents over the past decade. The Bay Area, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston round out the top five American cities with the most high-net-worth residents.
That’s because few people move solely for a tax break, says Barbara Goodstein, another managing partner in R360’s New York office. Plenty of members, she says, still see great value in being in a place like New York, whether it’s because that’s where they started their business or to be close to family.
“The laws aren’t going to cause people to move if there aren’t other reasons to move,” Goodstein tells Fortune. “They’re not just going to move to save some money down the road after they die; it’s a much more complex decision.”
That said, as Garcia alluded to, there are plenty of other attractions in Florida, including the warm weather, housing, and cultural attractions. For the latter, there’s the art and food scenes, of course, but also the relatively new Miami International Autodrome for Formula One races and the draw of a footballing legend.
“They got Messi,” Garcia jokes.
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FAQs
Not only does Florida not tax capital gains, it has no state income tax or estate tax. That makes it ideal for the ultrawealthy who are considering estate planning, says Garcia. He expects more to move to the Sunshine State in the near future.
How many millionaires are there in Miami? ›
Miami is the only city in Florida to make the top 11. The beach city has 35,300 millionaires and 15 billionaires — and Amazon executive chairman Jeff Bezos is one of them.
How many Americans became millionaires in 1980? ›
During the 1980s, 100,000 Americans became millionaires every year. The average annual earnings of the bottom 20 percent, however, fell from $9,376 to $8,800.
How many millionaires were there in 2007? ›
Combined, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America account for just one in 10. All told, there were about 600,000 more millionaires in the world in 2007 than in 2006, for a total of about 10.1 million. That's a 6 percent increase from the previous year.
Why are billionaires moving to Miami? ›
Not only does Florida not tax capital gains, it has no state income tax or estate tax. That makes it ideal for the ultrawealthy who are considering estate planning, says Garcia. He expects more to move to the Sunshine State in the near future.
Which city in Florida has the most millionaires? ›
1) Naples. Naples, the wealthiest city in the Sunshine State, is located in southwest Florida, near the Gulf of Mexico.
Where do 90 of millionaires come from? ›
Real estate investment has long been a cornerstone of financial success, with approximately 90% of millionaires attributing their wealth in part to real estate holdings.
What percentage of Americans have a net worth of over $1,000,000? ›
Additionally, statistics show that the top 2% of the United States population has a net worth of about $2.4 million. On the other hand, the top 5% wealthiest Americans have a net worth of just over $1 million. Therefore, about 2% of the population possesses enough wealth to meet the current definition of being rich.
How did people get rich in the 80's? ›
And income from assets owned by the wealthy, like real estate, stocks and bonds, also surged in the 1980's. For most of the 1980's at least, interest rates were high, the stock market appreciated some 16 percent a year and the price of real estate on the East and West Coasts soared.
Who is the richest person in Miami? ›
The richest person in Florida, Ken Griffin, lives in Miami - Axios Miami.
Alaska, Delaware, and West Virginia are the only states that still don't have a single billionaire resident. Alaska, Delaware, and West Virginia aren't home to any billionaires, Forbes reported. California, in comparison, has nearly 200 billionaires.
Who is Florida's youngest billionaire? ›
Austin Russell who is Florida's youngest self-made billionaire, is the founder of Luminar Technologies. If you have not heard of that company, their technology specializes in machine perception technologies which are mostly used to build autonomous cars.
How old are most millionaires? ›
Millionaires — those who have a net worth of at least $1 million —are, perhaps not surprisingly, on the older end. They're predominantly 55 and older; just 2.4% are under the age of 35.
When can you call yourself a millionaire? ›
A millionaire is somebody with a net worth of at least $1 million. It's a simple math formula based on your net worth. When what you own (your assets) minus what you owe (your liabilities) equals more than a million dollars, you're a millionaire. That's it!
How rare are millionaires? ›
There are about 336 million people in the U.S. With 24.5 million of them being millionaires, the odds that someone in the U.S. will end up a millionaire come in at around 7.29%.
What is the top 1% in Miami? ›
You need to make at least $694,987 annually to be among the top 1% of earners in Florida, according to a recent SmartAsset analysis of IRS tax filer data. That's $42,330 more than the national household figure of $652,657.
What is considered rich in Miami? ›
So, how much would you need to earn to be ranked as rich in Florida? The average income of the top 5% in the state was $476,546 in 2022, the analysis shows.
How many millions live in Miami? ›
The current metro area population of Miami in 2024 is 6,317,000, a 0.83% increase from 2023. The metro area population of Miami in 2023 was 6,265,000, a 0.8% increase from 2022. The metro area population of Miami in 2022 was 6,215,000, a 0.78% increase from 2021.
Which US city has the most millionaires? ›
One out of every 24 New York City residents is now a millionaire. So the number of people with that seven figure net worth has jumped in Manhattan, also across the Bay Area and also Singapore as well is the other one that saw a major boost.
