Miami is a city renowned for spectacle and nine-figure price tags, yet its most sought-after waterfront neighborhood features properties starting at approximately $60 million—and a near certainty that outsiders will never set foot on the island.

Indian Creek Island, widely known as the Billionaire Bunker, is a 300-acre man-made strip of land situated in Biscayne Bay, just north of Miami Beach. It has attracted the ultra-rich in significant numbers. Current residents include NFL quarterback Tom Brady, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, and Ivanka Trump, daughter of President Donald Trump.

The island comprises just 41 lots, all of which are waterfront properties, adding a layer of exclusivity beyond the already steep cost of entry. The interior of the island is occupied by the Indian Creek Country Club and its private 18-hole golf course. Membership reportedly requires a $500,000 initiation fee along with a lengthy admissions process.

Earlier this year, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg became the latest billionaire reportedly to acquire a newly completed mansion on the island, at an estimated price between $150 million and $200 million. While some properties have sold for less, many ultra-wealthy buyers choose to demolish existing structures and build anew, according to Michael Martirena, cofounder of the Ivan and Mike Team at real estate brokerage Compass.

The Price of Exclusivity

With only 84 residents as of the 2020 census, Indian Creek Island ranks among the most exclusive enclaves in the United States. A major factor driving that exclusivity is the extraordinary level of privacy and security the island provides its ultra-wealthy inhabitants.

Indian Creek operates as an independent municipality with its own government and a dedicated police force that patrols the island around the clock by both land and sea. A single guarded bridge connects the island to the mainland. All visitors must present identification and may be subject to vehicle inspections, said Martirena, who has toured properties on the island with clients.

"It's a bubble, and no one can get on and off, unless you have a reason," said Martirena, who specializes in ultra-luxury real estate.

Unlike nearby South Beach celebrity enclaves such as the Palm, Star, and Hibiscus Islands, where boat tours routinely pass by waterfront mansions, Indian Creek's marine patrols actively keep onlookers at a distance, Martirena told Fortune.

The island's geographic positioning and strategic landscaping mean that very few homes in surrounding areas, such as Bay Harbor Islands or Surfside, offer a clear view of Indian Creek Island. This combination of factors makes the island exceptionally private and highly desirable.

"It's the place to be," Martirena said. "People of that caliber feel safe and not bothered."

Wealth alone, however, does not guarantee access. All property listings on the island are handled off market, Martirena explained. A buyer's agent must deal directly with a property owner's representatives and may need to make repeated contact over time if the owner is not yet prepared to sell.

"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.

Within this already exclusive setting, the western side of the island offers an even greater degree of seclusion. Lots on this side border the intracoastal waterway that separates the island from the mainland, according to Mick Duchon, a Miami Beach–based real estate agent with the Corcoran Group, who previously spoke with Fortune. On this side—home to two of the five wealthiest people in the world, Zuckerberg and Bezos—lots measure approximately 80,000 square feet, compared with the island norm of roughly 50,000 square feet, Duchon said.

Since announcing his relocation from Seattle to Florida in 2023, Bezos has acquired three properties on the island for a combined total exceeding $230 million. He is converting two western lots into a single compound while residing in a Mediterranean-style house situated on the third lot, on the opposite side of the island.

A Broader Migration to South Florida

The influx of billionaires to Indian Creek Island reflects a wider trend in South Florida's luxury real estate market, which Martirena described as "COVID 2.0." Driven in part by Florida's lack of a state income tax, interest from high-end buyers is surging even as activity at the lower end of the housing market slows. Florida also offers strong homestead and asset-protection laws that have long made the state attractive to wealthy individuals seeking to shield residential property from creditors—a structural advantage that predates the recent wave of relocations.

Adding further urgency to the migration is California's Proposition 40, a one-time billionaire wealth tax that recently qualified for the state's November ballot. If approved by voters, the measure would impose a 5% tax on the net worth of individuals who were California residents as of January 1, 2026.

Google cofounder Larry Page is among the wealthy Californians who have reportedly begun shifting assets, including his family office, out of California. Page also recently purchased two waterfront mansions in Miami's Coconut Grove neighborhood for a combined $173 million.

The concentration of high-profile arrivals has reinforced Miami-Dade County's emergence as a hub for finance, technology, and family-office activity, with firms such as Citadel and Elliott Management having established significant operations in the region in recent years.

Martirena noted that his own business has seen a recent uptick, with several inquiries he attributed directly to the potential California wealth tax.

"They're kind of preplanning ahead of time. They don't want to move here," he 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."