Miami’s most coveted waterfront neighbourhood features addresses that start at $60 million. According to a Fortune report, this 300-acre, man-made strip of land in Biscayne Bay is home to the ultrarich, like Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, NFL quarterback Tom Brady, and US President Donald Trump’s daughter, Ivanka Trump.
Indian Creek Island, also known as “the Billionaire Bunker,” has merely 41 lots of purely waterfront property, adding a layer of exclusivity on top of the inflated cost of entry.
The island’s centre is primarily occupied by the Indian Creek Country Club and its private 18-hole golf course, the Fortune report said, which has a $500,000 initiation fee and a lengthy admissions process.
However, the report said, properties are relatively cheaper. Meta CEO , the latest billionaire on the island, reportedly paid between $150 million and $200 million for a newly completed mansion earlier this year.
Michael Martirena, a real estate broker specialising in ultra-luxury properties, told Fortune that the ultrawealthy who can afford a home on this private island often tear down the existing structure to build a new one.
Price of exclusivity
Indian Creek Island, home to only 84 residents as of 2020, is one of the most exclusive enclaves in , thanks to its privacy and security that only the ultra-wealthy can afford.
As an independent municipality with its own government and a police force patrolling the 300-acre island and the surrounding sea 24/7, the island requires visitors to show ID and undergo a vehicle inspection. It is connected to the mainland by a single guarded bridge.
“It’s a bubble, and no one can get on and off, unless you have a reason,” Martirena told Fortune.
Unlike the more easily accessible mansions on nearby Palm, Star, and Hibiscus Islands, Indian Creek actively wards off boat tours and onlookers using its own marine patrols, Martirena said.
Martirena noted that the island’s location and clever landscaping prevent neighbouring communities, such as Surfside and the Bay Harbour Islands, from getting a clear view of Indian Creek. This makes it very private, said Martirena, and very desirable.
“It’s the place to be,” Martirena said. “People of that caliber feel safe and not bothered.”
Wealth alone doesn’t guarantee access
All the listings for Indian Creek are done “off market,” Martirena said, explaining that a buyer’s agent is required to deal directly with a property owner’s representatives, contacting them multiple times if needed.
“It’s a small community, and just to keep the chatter at a low level, they do it all internally and very private,” he said.
Who lives where on Indian Creek Island?
Mick Duchon, a Miami Beach–based real estate agent, told Fortune that the western side of this already exclusive community offers an even more secluded experience because the Intracoastal Waterway separates the island from the mainland.
The lots on this side measure about 80,000 square feet, compared with 50,000 square feet — is the norm on the island, he added.
The westside, Duchon said, is home to two of the five richest people in the world — Zuckerberg and Bezos.
Bezos has three properties on the island, worth more than $230 million combined, and is reportedly turning two western lots into a compound, while using the third lot — a Mediterranean-style house — on the other side of the island as his home.
Why are the billionaires moving?
South Florida’s ultra-luxury sector is experiencing an explosive influx of wealthy buyers. Martirena dubbed this wave “COVID 2.0,” fueled largely by Florida’s zero state income tax and the threat of aggressive new tax policies elsewhere.
A major catalyst for this billionaire flight is California’s Proposition 40, a November ballot initiative proposing a one-time on anyone with billionaire status in the state as of 1 January 2026.
Facing this massive financial hit, tech titans are already shifting their assets.
Google cofounder Larry Page is one of the wealthy Californians who has reportedly begun shifting assets and relocating his family office out of California. He reportedly spent $173 million on dual estates in Miami’s Coconut Grove.
“They’re kind of preplanning ahead of time. They don’t want to move here,” Martirena said. “They want to stay in the state of California, because they love where they’re at, and they never thought of moving. But they work very hard for their money, and they said they like their pocketbook much more.”
