14 celebs who moved to Florida and why they love it there
Wealthy buyers and celebrities are increasingly choosing Florida for its tax benefits and weather.
Athletes like Tom Brady and stars like Scott Baio are establishing themselves in the Sunshine State.
A growing tech population is greatly influencing the housing market down south.
Florida has always been an appealing destination for movers, thanks to its lack of income tax and great weather. Celebrities have always found their way there for vacations or second homes, but in recent years, more high-end buyers are putting down more serious roots in the Sunshine State.
Superstar athlete Lionel Messi, for instance, made his way to Florida after leaving Barcelona. Actors like Sylvester Stallone, one of the many Hollywood stars who've left California, also opted to make Florida his new home base.
And while international celebrity moves aren't all that surprising, there's also been a new crop of mover — ultrawealthy business and tech icons.
During the pandemic, Miami tried to establish itself as the third coast for tech behind San Francisco and New York, and the city was able to lure some large players, from startup founders to investment firm CEOs.
The realignment of wealth has made some regions more popular than they were previously, but Florida, especially, has emerged as a great place to call home for the wealthy.
Business Insider rounded up a list of 14 celebrities and businesspeople who have left various parts of the country to establish themselves — and, in some cases, their businesses — in sunny Florida, presented in alphabetical order by last name.
Scott Baio moved to Florida due to California’s homeless issue.
The "Happy Days" and "Charles in Charge" actor posted on X in May 2023 that he was leaving California after 45 years, citing the homeless issue in LA County.
"Florida is pretty much what America was like 50 years ago," Baio told Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo weeks after the post. "It's just people hanging out. Everything's wide open, it's free, the people that I meet are all just nice."
David Beckham bought a massive condo in Miami after taking ownership of its Major League Soccer team.
Retired soccer great David Beckham is spending more time in Miami these days.
He and his wife, Victoria Beckham, bought a $24 million, five-bedroom condo in 2020 that features a swimming pool and rooftop helipad. The couple moved to Miami after Beckham became co-owner and president of the Major League Soccer team Inter Miami CF.
"Miami is the gateway to the Americas, embracing people from all over the world, and Inter Miami CF was built to bring world-class football to this world-class city," Beckham wrote on his website of his interest in owning Inter Miami.
Jeff Bezos left Seattle's tech hub for a more laid-back city in Miami.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos bought a $68 million mansion in Biscayne Bay in August 2023. Two months later, he bought a seven-bedroom house next door for $79 million. In April, he bought another property in Florida — this time for $90 million.
Bezos said he was leaving Seattle, where his company is headquartered, for Miami to be closer to his parents and to the operations of the aerospace company he also founded, Blue Origin.
"I've lived in Seattle longer than I've lived anywhere else and have so many amazing memories here," Bezos said in an Instagram post. "As exciting as the move is, it's an emotional decision for me."
Tom Brady has lived in Florida since winning a Super Bowl in Tampa Bay.
After signing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020, and winning a Super Bowl with the team before he retired from the NFL in 2023, Brady has stayed put in Florida.
First, he was living in a 1.2-acre mansion during his time as a Buccaneer while married to Gisele Bündchen (it was once owned by Derek Jeter).
Since his divorce, he's moved to Miami. The bachelor pad features floor-to-ceiling windows and an indoor/outdoor living space with a fireplace and pool, according to snapshots he's shared on Instagram.
"I was a native Californian for a long time in my life, went away from it for about 25 years, and you won't catch me dead living in the Northeast anymore," Brady said in 2020, referencing his time as a New England Patriot. "I'm loving the warm weather, and it's been a great feeling."
Guy Fieri has an estate near West Palm Beach that can dock a 100-foot yacht.
The king of "Flavortown" has spent most of his career on the West Coast, having gone to college in Las Vegas and building his restaurant empire in California. Now, as one of the major food personalities in the world and with his children growing up, he's thinking of the next chapter in his life.
Fieri bought a waterfront home near West Palm Beach in 2023 for $7.3 million, according to The Palm Beach Post.
The estate has five bedrooms, five bathrooms, 6,621 square feet of indoor living space, and a 5-foot infinity pool. Its 230-foot frontage on the Intracostal Waterway has enough room to dock a 100-foot yacht.
"Even a cloudy day in Florida is an awesome day," he said while opening up one of his Chicken Guy chains in Winter Park, Florida in 2023. "I will be in Florida way more than you know."
Citadel CEO Ken Griffin moved his family and his business to South Florida.
Ken Griffin founded the investment firm Citadel in 1990 in Chicago but has since ditched the Windy City for the warmer climate of Miami.
Griffin not only moved his firm — which has about $58 billion in assets managed — to Florida, he moved himself. He plans on building a $1 billion office for the new Citadel headquarters and isn't skimping on his own digs either.
In 2022, Griffin bought a waterfront property for more than $106 million, breaking the previous record (which he set himself the year before, after buying a home on Star Island for $75 million).
Karlie Kloss and Jared Kushner left Manhattan for South Florida.
Josh Kushner, venture capitalist and brother to Jared Kushner, left Manhattan for a $23.5 million property in Miami Beach in 2020.
Kushner and his wife, model Karlie Kloss, moved into an eight-bedroom, 14,000-square-foot mansion on a waterfront lot.
According to Architectural Digest, Kushner and Kloss bought another property in Manhattan in 2021, but property records show they still own their home in Miami Beach.
Lionel Messi enjoys his Fort Lauderdale mansion when he's not playing for Inter Miami CF.
Three years after taking the team, David Beckham acquired arguably the world's greatest soccer player.
Lionel Messi signed on to play for Inter Miami CF in 2023, and when he's not on the pitch, he enjoys his $10.75 million waterfront mansion in Fort Lauderdale.
The 10,500-square-foot two-story house has 10 bedrooms, nine bathrooms, two docks, and 170 feet of water frontage, according to the Miami Herald.
"It has been very easy, very easy," Messi said at a 2023 press conference about adapting to his new surroundings in Miami. "We were convinced we wanted to come here, and the people made it very easy, the people in the club and the people I see day to day in the streets and the amazing city, it makes living here very easy and happy."
Adam Neumann is establishing himself in Florida and has a large footprint to work with.
In 2021, WeWork cofounder Adam Neumann sold his Bay Area compound for $22.4 million and bought two properties in Miami.
Neumann bought two adjacent properties totaling 50,000 square feet for $44 million. The waterfront properties are located on the Bal Harbour marina, an exclusive part of Miami Beach.
Larry Robbins vacated New York to live in Florida, but will still commute for work.
Billionaire and hedge-fund manager Larry Robbins is leaving New York City, but he's not bringing his company with him.
Robbins, the CEO of Glenview Capital Management, bought a home in Palm Beach Gardens for $13.9 million earlier in 2024, according to The Real Deal.
Unlike other bosses who are moving their operations with them, Bloomberg reported that Robbins will keep the fund in New York while he commutes back and forth.
Judge Judy Sheindlin has been a fixture in Florida for years, and even a hurricane won't stop her from living there.
Judge Judy Sheindlin has been enjoying the Sunshine State for some time. For years, she and her husband have lived in Naples.
At one time, they owned an 8,550-square-foot condo with two private elevators and a sauna but put it on the market in 2015.
She then moved into a 10,000-square-foot mansion about a mile away that overlooks a man-made lake.
In 2022, a month after the devastation of Hurricane Ian through Florida, Sheindlin told "Good Morning America" that she lost a couple of cars due to the storm, but that wouldn't stop her from going back to Florida.
"We kissed goodbye a couple of cars, which went floating," she said. "But, generally speaking, we were luckier than most people down in Florida. And we're hoping to get back before the season ends."
Sylvester Stallone is enjoying life as an empty-nester in the Sunshine State.
After decades of living in Los Angeles, the iconic actor packed up for Florida in 2023.
The move was revealed in early 2024, when season two of his reality series, "The Family Stallone," aired.
"After a long, hard consideration, your mother and I have decided, time to move on and leave the state of California permanently, and we're going to go to Florida," Stallone told his kids. "We're going to sell this house."
Stallone and his wife, Jennifer Flavin, gave multiple reasons for the relocation, including the desire for a fresh start after their children moved out of the family home.
Howard Stern is enjoying life on his oceanfront property in Palm Beach.
The legendary shock jock spent decades living it up in the Hamptons, and now he's doing the same in Florida.
Stern bought the massive 20,000-square-foot oceanfront property in Palm Beach in 2013 for a reported $52 million.
The property is so desirable that in April, rumors spread that Jeff Bezos bought Stern's estate for $300 million. However, Page Six later reported that the rumors were false and that Stern even told the billionaire his place wasn't for sale.
"New York is the center of the world," Stern once told listeners of his show in 2015. "Why wouldn't everyone just move to Florida and build a New York there? I don't get it."
Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner deserted DC and landed in Miami Beach.
Former president Donald Trump's daughter, Ivanka, and her husband, Jared Kushner, reportedly spent $30 million in December 2020 on a waterfront lot on Indian Creek Island — a gated community home to a handful of celebrities.
When they bought the property, the home was billed as a "fixer-upper," and they spent years on renovations.
After leaving Washington, DC, but before moving into their new home, the couple rented a condo tower, Arte Tower, in Surfside, Florida, about a mile from their property.
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