Mark Zuckerberg may be leaving California for what is called ‘Billionaire Bunkers’, here’s what gets the place its name – The Times of India
Florida’s famous ‘Billionaire Bunkers’ may soon get a new Billionaire as its resident. And it is reported to be Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. According to a recent Wall Street Journal report, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, are the latest California billionaires to buy a home in South Florida. The couple are reported to be buying a newly completed waterfront mansion on Miami’s Indian Creek, as per sources with knowledge of the transaction. As to those wondering what gives Florida’s Indian Creek ‘Billionaire Bunkers’ title: It is the residents. The gated man-made barrier island Indian Creek boasts of several billionaires as its residents. Indian Creek Island operates as an independent municipality with its own government and private police who patrol by air, water, and sky. It reportedly has 41 lots and 84 residents. The names include Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, popular investor Carl Icahn and billionaire auto dealer Norman Braman. Google founders Lary Page and Sergey Brin too are said to have bought properties in Florida.
Mark Zuckerberg’s neighbour the month he may be moving in
Zuckerberg is likely to live next door to billionaire Braman and his wife Irma Braman. WSJ reached out to Irma about Zuckerberg joining them in the neighbourhood. She said that Zuckerberg had told them he planned to move into the property by April. “We’re happy to have him,” she said. Bezos’ house too is a few doors away from Zuckerberg’s. As per reports, the 27,669-square-foot limestone mansion that is likely to be Zuckerberg family’s new home has nine bedrooms, a gym, a hair salon, a massage room, a 1,500-gallon aquarium and a library with a secret passageway.
Billionaires exodus from California
Facebook founder Zuckerberg is the latest tech billionaire to descend on Miami as California proposes a 5% billionaire tax. While some billionaires including Donald Trump’s AI Czar have been open about leaving California, others have been largely discreet. Other than Google founder Larry Page and Sergey Brin, billionaires who have shifted base from California include Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison and PayPal/Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel.What makes Florida attractive for billionaires is that it offers no state income tax. Danny Hertzberg, a Miami real-estate agent at Coldwell Banker Realty, told WSJ that the 5% tax in California is really driving out people in a major way. The 5% tax in California has been proposed by SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West. The workers body is said to be circulating petitions to put the tax on the November ballot. The estimated $100 billion produced by the tax would replace funds hospitals were getting before the federal government tightened enforcement of eligibility requirements for subsidized health insurance.
Mark Zuckerberg’s $50 million donation to California
Incidentally Meta CEO does not seem to be in the mood to cut his ties from California. Zuckerberg recently pledged $50 million to Sacramento State University to fuel state-of-the-art STEM labs and an AI center as part of his philanthropic efforts under the CHAN-Zuckerberg Initiative. California Governor Gavin Newsom unveiled the gift on Jan. 28, tying it to a major redevelopment of three vacant state office buildings on Sacramento’s Capitol Mall into a downtown campus.