Discover the island where billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg seek refuge

In a city known for its ostentation and price tags in the hundreds of millions of dollars, the most coveted seaside neighborhood in Miami (USA) has addresses starting at US$60 million — and offers an almost absolute guarantee that you will never be able to visit it.

Indian Creek Island, also known as the billionaires’ bunker, is a 1.2 million-square-foot strip of man-made land in Biscayne Bay, north of Miami Beach, that has attracted the ultra-rich in droves. Wealthy residents include NFL quarterback Tom Brady, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, and President Donald Trump’s daughter, Ivanka Trump.

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The main island has just 40 exclusively beachfront lots, adding another layer of exclusivity to the already high cost of being there. The interior of the island is dominated by the Indian Creek Country Club and its private 18-hole golf course. Anyone who wants to roam the countryside alongside their neighbors will, according to reports, need to pay a membership fee of US$500,000 and go through a long admission process.

While it is possible to find properties for lower values, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg became the latest billionaire to reportedly purchase a newly built mansion for an estimated value of between $150 million and $200 million earlier this month.

And among the ultra-rich who can shell out millions for a home, many often have the existing structure demolished to build a new one, said Michael Martirena, co-founder of the Ivan and Mike Team at real estate brokerage Compass.

The price of exclusivity

With just 84 residents as of 2020, Indian Creek Island is one of the most exclusive enclaves in the United States, and one of the main reasons is the privacy and security it offers its ultra-wealthy residents.

Indian Creek is an independent municipality, with its own government and a police force that patrols the island 24/7, not only by land but also by sea.

A single bridge with a guardhouse connects it to the mainland, and any visitor must present identification and can even undergo a vehicle inspection, said Martirena, who has visited properties there with clients.

“It’s a bubble, and no one gets in or out unless they have a reason,” said Martirena, a specialist in ultra-luxury properties.

Unlike nearby South Beach celebrity enclaves like Palm, Star and Hibiscus Islands — where boat tours regularly pass in front of beachfront mansions — Indian Creek’s marine patrols keep curious onlookers away, Martirena told Fortune.

Because of the island’s location and strategic landscaping, very few homes in neighboring areas such as Bay Harbor Islands or Surfside have clear views of Indian Creek Island. This makes it very private, Martirena said, and highly desired.

“It’s the right place to be,” Martirena said. “People at this level feel safe and undisturbed.”

Still, just having money does not guarantee access. All offers are made off-market, Martirena said, which means the buyer’s agent needs to negotiate directly with the owner’s representatives and contact them multiple times if they are not yet ready to sell.

“It’s a small community and, to keep the buzz low, they resolve everything internally and in a very private way,” he said.

In an already exclusive community, the west side offers an even more secluded experience because the lots border the intracoastal waterway that separates the island from the mainland, Mick Duchon, a Miami Beach-based real estate broker with Corcoran Group, previously told Fortune.

On this side of the island, where two of the world’s five richest men, Zuckerberg and Bezos, live, lots are about 7,400 square meters, compared with the 4,600 square meters that are the norm on the island, Duchon said.

Since announcing his move from Seattle to Florida in 2023, Bezos has acquired three properties on the island for more than $230 million in total. He is transforming two west-side lots into a residential complex, while living in a Mediterranean-style house on the third lot, on the other side of the island.

The migration of billionaires to Indian Creek reflects a broader movement in South Florida’s luxury real estate market, which Martirena described as “Covid 2.0.” Thanks in part to the absence of a state income tax in Florida, interest from high-end buyers is exploding even as activity at the lower end of the housing market slows.

Another factor is the proposed 5% tax on billionaires’ wealth, which has been gaining traction in California. Google co-founder Larry Page has reportedly begun moving assets, including his family office, out of California. The billionaire recently paid $173 million for two beachfront mansions in Miami’s Coconut Grove neighborhood.

Martirena said his own business has accelerated in recent weeks, with three recent inquiries that he directly attributed to possible taxation on large fortunes.

“They are planning ahead. They don’t want to move here,” he said. “They want to stay in the state of California because they love where they live and have never considered moving. But they work hard for the money they earn and said they like their own bank account even more.”