1 Move Helped Jeff Bezos Save $700 Million

After leaving Seattle for a private island near Miami, Bezos sidestepped a tax bill that could have approached $1 billion.

BY LEILA SHERIDAN, NEWS WRITER

Jess Bezos. Illustration: Inc.; Photos: Getty Images; Adobe Stock

When Jeff Bezos announced in late 2023 that he would leave Seattle for Florida, he framed the decision as a personal one, an opportunity to be closer to his parents and to his aerospace company, Blue Origin. But the move also came with an undeniably significant financial upside. 

By early 2024, Bezos had officially relocated to Indian Creek Village, an ultraexclusive enclave outside Miami often referred to as the billionaire bunker. According to Business Insider, the village is more than just a gated community. It operates as its own municipality, home to only 89 residents and equipped with a dedicated police force tasked with keeping nonresidents out.

That level of security is by design. Indian Creek sits on a private island, accessible only by a single bridge that is closely monitored by its police department, which also patrols the surrounding waters by boat. Long before Bezos arrived, the area had already attracted a roster of high-profile residents, including Tom Brady, Ivanka Trump, and Carl Icahn. It’s even rumored that Qatar’s royal family owns property there, Benzinga reported.

While those real estate acquisitions drew headlines for their scale, the more consequential financial story may lie elsewhere. Since relocating, Bezos has sold nearly $13.6 billion worth of Amazon stock, according to Forbes. The timing of that move is critical.

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Bezos didn’t just buy into the community. Instead, he acquired a sizable portion of it. According to Robb Report, he purchased three separate properties on the island for a combined $250 million. That gives him control over roughly 7.5 percent of Indian Creek Village’s approximately 40 residential properties, Benzinga reported.

Washington state, where Bezos had lived for decades, imposes a 7 percent tax on capital gains exceeding $250,000. Florida, by contrast, does not tax income or capital gains. Had Bezos remained in Seattle while executing those stock sales, Forbes estimates he would have owed roughly $954 million in state taxes.

By moving to Florida—and spending $250 million on property in the process—Bezos may have avoided nearly $1 billion in taxes, effectively netting a savings of around $700 million.

The move underscores a broader trend among ultra-wealthy individuals who are increasingly relocating to low-tax states, where the financial incentives can far outweigh even the most extravagant real estate purchases. In Bezos’s case, the decision to trade Seattle for a private island in South Florida wasn’t just about lifestyle or proximity. 

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