Google expanded its Miami office this year, leveraging moves by its co-founders to South Florida. Alphabet, Google’s parent company, signed a lease to increase its Miami satellite office in the financial district from 10,000 square feet to 55,000 square feet, according to Bloomberg News citing two people familiar with the matter. The expansion is linked in part to the recent real estate purchases by Larry Page and Sergey Brin in South Florida, as the two billionaires shifted holdings out of California amid a ballot measure on a billionaire wealth tax.
Google first opened an office in Miami in 2016, and the broader presence in Florida is to be kept smaller than the company’s Mountain View headquarters, which exceeds 10 million square feet, and New York’s Hudson Square complex of about 1.7 million square feet. Brin has taken an active role in directing Google’s artificial intelligence initiatives, a development reported in coverage surrounding the California exodus.
Earlier reporting noted Page bought a waterfront compound for $101.5 million and a nearby home for $71.9 million in December, with Brin reportedly closing on a purchase during that period as well. Bloomberg later cited Brin’s acquisition of a $51 million waterfront home in Miami Beach shortly after Page’s purchase. Reports tied Page and Brin’s real estate moves to a broader trend of California billionaires relocating amid discussions of a wealth tax on high-net-worth residents.
The voting on a proposed 5% wealth tax for individuals with over $1 billion in covered assets is set for this fall, with details including exemptions for pensions and some retirement accounts, and provisions for retroactive application to those living in California as of January 1, 2026. If enacted, the tax would be payable over five installments with a deferral charge on unpaid balances. These policy considerations form part of the backdrop to corporate relocations and real estate moves tied to high-net-worth individuals.
