Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is the latest billionaire fleeing California to escape from a Democrat-backed punitive tax, which would put the screws to the Golden State’s richest residents, fleeing to the safety of Florida
The Facebook founder and his wife, Priscilla Chan, are reportedly purchasing a new mansion on Indian Creek in Miami, a part of the South Florida city’s exclusive “Billionaire Bunker” where his new neighbors will include Jeff Bezos, Tom Brady, Carl Icahn, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, and Julio Iglesias.
News of the pending move was first reported by the Wall Street Journal, which stated that the mansion “will likely fetch between $150 million and $200 million,” citing sources with knowledge of the transaction, which has yet to close. Neighbors say that Zuckerberg plans to move by April, a signal that the purchase is not just a vacation home.
Exclusive: Billionaire Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, are purchasing a newly completed waterfront mansion on Miami’s Indian Creek, becoming the latest California billionaires to buy a home in South Florida. https://t.co/9PTupVXmJb pic.twitter.com/u9dG3Bmj1D
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) February 11, 2026
The proposed 5 percent wealth tax would sock it to the ultra-wealthy as California Democrats look for creative ways to pay for the costly and seemingly endless freebies that the state is throwing at illegal aliens, forcing billionaires to set their escape plans into motion to avoid being shaken down.
“People like Zuckerberg plan three moves ahead. That billionaire tax chatter has a lot of Palo Alto owners doing real math. If you’re staring at a potential 5% hit tied to net worth, Florida becomes a business decision. And Indian Creek is the clearest signal you’re serious, because it’s built for privacy and control,” Troy Dean Home CEO Troy Ippolito told Fox News Digital.
“This is a loud signal that South Florida is a primary market now. When someone at Zuckerberg’s level buys here, it changes buyer psychology overnight,” Ippolito continued. “If that tax actually moves forward, you’ll see the impact first at the very top, because there’s so little true trophy inventory.”
“We do not have a comment on the WSJ reporting from yesterday,” Meta said when reached out to for comment on the story by Fox News Digital.
According to Forbes, Zuckerberg’s net worth is $229.9 billion, making him one of the world’s richest men and a prime target for California Democrats’ punitive taxation scheme, which has yet to be approved by voters.
The proposed initiative, which could be on this year’s ballot, would impose a one-time 5 percent tax on the total wealth of Californians who are worth $1 billion or more, with the kicker being that it would retroactively apply to those who are state residents as of Jan. 1, 2026.
California is currently home to more than 200 billionaires who could be hit with the new tax.
The initiative to stick it to the rich has yet to receive the 875,000 signatures needed to qualify for November’s ballot and is backed by the powerful Service Employees International Union–United Healthcare Workers West, which began collecting signatures last month.
“One client said, ‘You know, this could be like a $5 billion tax for me,’” said Julian Johnston, a luxury real estate broker with The Corcoran Group, according to Fox News Digital. “So they’re moving because of that.”
“Florida feels predictable. You have a clearer tax picture, fewer hurdles, and a much easier day-to-day,” Ippolito said. “A lot of buyers feel like California treats them like a target. Florida treats them like they belong here.”
The California billionaire tax has drawn the backing of America’s foremost socialist, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who is set to formally launch a campaign backing it, the Los Angeles Times reported. Comrade Bernie also pledged to push for a similar wealth tax on the national level.
“It is unacceptable that a handful of billionaires are doing phenomenally well while working people struggle,” Sanders recently said in a post to X. “That is why I will be introducing legislation to create a national wealth tax.”
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