For the world’s richest people, buying a home in Florida can mean more than securing a waterfront mansion with a private dock and a swimming pool, especially when the state offers a way to escape some of the taxes imposed elsewhere. Mark Zuckerberg appeared to be following that familiar path when he bought a $170 million estate on Indian Creek Island in Miami, an exclusive enclave where Jeff Bezos has also established his home. However, the Meta chief executive’s plans have taken an unexpected turn, with a new agreement keeping him in California for the foreseeable future. His lavish Florida property is still there, but it now looks more like a second home than the beginning of a permanent relocation.
According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, Zuckerberg has agreed to remain a California resident for the next eight years under a deal with Meta’s board, provided he continues to lead the company as its full-time chief executive or executive chair. The agreement came after he considered leaving the state over a proposed billionaire wealth tax that could cost him several billion dollars.
Meta has agreed to create a new class of nonvoting shares that Zuckerberg can sell to raise cash without immediately giving up his voting control. He can sell up to 20% of those new shares straight away, while the rest will become available gradually over eight years, subject to the agreement’s conditions.
The $170 million mansion that was supposed to put him next door to Bezos
Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, bought the Miami estate in March 2026, with the deal closing around March 2. The sale set a record for the most expensive residential property transaction in Miami-Dade County, although the mansion had originally been listed for $200 million in November 2025. Its sellers, cosmetic surgeon Dr. Aaron Rollins and real estate agent Marine Rollins, bought the roughly two-acre site for about $30 million in 2020 before spending years developing the property. Reports estimate the planned residence at between 28,000 and 30,000 square feet, with nine bedrooms and a collection of amenities that makes it feel closer to a private resort than an ordinary family home.
The limestone-clad mansion is planned to include a swimming pool, private dock, gym, hair salon, massage room and a 1,500-gallon aquarium, along with a library featuring a concealed passageway. A neighbour reportedly said in February that Zuckerberg intended to move into the property by April, but his subsequent negotiations with Meta have complicated that expectation. His purchase also came after January 1, 2026, the residency cutoff specified in the proposed California wealth tax, meaning the Florida mansion could not change his status for the tax’s initial eligibility test.
A billionaire neighbourhood with some very famous residents
Indian Creek Island, often called the Billionaire Bunker, covers approximately 300 acres and has just 41 residential lots and around 85 residents. Access is controlled through a single guarded bridge, while an 11-officer police force provides security, including marine patrols. The island is home to some familiar names, including Bezos, Tom Brady, Carl Icahn, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, Julio Iglesias and Eddie Lampert. Its country club has reportedly charged an initiation fee of around $500,000, although even the residents of this exclusive enclave have to contend with the less glamorous reality of infrastructure, as the island still relies on septic tanks while a sewer system is expected by 2028.
Bezos has made Indian Creek his primary home after leaving Seattle in 2023, while Google co-founder Larry Page reportedly spent $173 million on two homes in Miami’s Coconut Grove neighbourhood in January 2026. Zuckerberg, meanwhile, has agreed to keep his primary residence in California, or wherever Meta is headquartered, for eight years, with an exception for material unforeseen circumstances. The arrangement does not prevent him from spending time in Miami, but it makes his mansion different from those of fellow technology billionaires who have moved their primary residences to Florida.
Why Zuckerberg changed his plans
The proposed Proposition 40 would impose a one-time 5% tax on the net worth of qualifying billionaires who lived in California on January 1, 2026, if voters approve it on November 3. Zuckerberg reportedly warned Meta directors that paying the levy could require him to sell shares, reducing his voting interest from 60.6% to around 53%. He even told the board he intended to put his Palo Alto home on the market on September 13, but the outline of the agreement was reached the following day, and the property was never listed.
Meta also wanted its chief executive close to its Menlo Park headquarters and Meta Superintelligence Labs as the company pours money into artificial intelligence. The board cited the difficulties of the pandemic years, when Zuckerberg could not work alongside his management team in person. For now, his Miami mansion remains a record-breaking purchase in one of America’s most exclusive neighbourhoods, but the deal with Meta means he is staying in California while continuing to build his Florida retreat.
