Billionaire Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, are the latest California billionaires to buy a home in South Florida.
California is experiencing a historic capital flight, with billions of dollars and some of its most powerful economic actors heading for the exits. Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan are the latest to decamp to South Florida, joining Larry Page, Sergey Brin, and Peter Thiel—moves widely attributed to California’s proposed billionaire wealth tax and a hostile regulatory climate. The fallout has been immediate: California’s billionaire taxable base has reportedly collapsed from over $2 trillion to well under $1 trillion in a matter of weeks. At the same time, major employers are fleeing outright—Valero Energy is paying a staggering $1.1 billion just to exit the state, shutting its Benicia refinery and taking jobs, tax revenue, and nearly 9% of in-state gasoline capacity with it, as Phillips 66 follows suit. With California already leading the nation in outmigration per the U-Haul Growth Index, economists now warn of surging gas prices, supply instability, and a shrinking tax base—costs that will ultimately be shifted onto the middle class as the state’s wealthy individuals and industries vote with their feet.
The Meta CEO’s purchase makes him the latest—and arguably the biggest—name in a wave of Silicon Valley billionaires putting down roots in South Florida. Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin have both made purchases in the Miami area in recent weeks. Page picked up multiple properties in Coconut Grove for roughly $188 million, while Brin is reportedly in talks for a $50 million home on Biscayne Bay. Venture capitalist Peter Thiel opened a Miami office for his investment firm on New Year’s Eve, making his Florida move official. (Times of India)