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Corcoran Group agent Julian Johnston talks exclusively to Fox News Digital about the new wave of California billionaires migrating to South Florida due to a proposed estate tax.
EXCLUSIVE: The realization was quick and the response was even quicker.
As California’s proposed “billionaire tax” began gaining momentum late last year, some of the nation’s wealthiest people didn’t wait for ballot boxes, lawmakers or court challenges — they moved. “Then a couple more flew to Miami, bought properties and closed in seven days,” said luxury real estate broker Julian Johnston of The Corcoran Group. he told Fox News Digital. “Then it was a turning point.”
According to Johnston, who told Fox News Digital that he is currently working with three billionaires to relocate them from California to South Florida, the urgency was driven by staggering potential losses.
“One client said, ‘You know, this could be like a $5 billion tax for me,'” he recalled. “So they’re moving for that.”
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All the talk started at Miami’s Art Basel fair in early December, Johnston said, and carried over to many of the ultra-rich’s holiday celebrations on the island of St. Barts.
California’s billionaires are leaving the state at a rapid pace, The Corcoran Group’s Julian Johnston exclusively tells Fox News Digital. (Getty Images)
“They’re all dining and wining together and talking about this proposed tax. And then when the proposed tax gained momentum, then they understood that they needed to rent or buy something outside of California to establish residency and reduce their wealth exposure to the proposed multibillion-dollar tax,” he explained.
“It’s a melting pot and they’re all friends. And that’s the case. The tipping point was when four or five bought and three more were contracting. The rest, all their friends are here. And they talked about the office buildings, too.”
“I think that happened very quickly, even for them,” Johnston continued. “Now that we’re… January in 2026, it’s slowed down a bit… So if you didn’t buy or rent before the end of the year, it might be too late. It might apply to you now anyway.”
Unleash Prosperity co-founder Steve Moore argues against high taxes driving residents out and proposes indexing home sale gains for inflation in “The Bottom Line.”
Although it has not yet qualified for the November ballot, the proposal, backed by the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West, would impose a single tax of 5%. on the net worth of California residents worth more than one billion dollars. The tax would go on sale in 2027, and taxpayers could spread the payments over five years, with additional costs, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office.
If the measure is approved by voters, anyone who was a California resident on Jan. 1, 2026, would have to pay the tax, according to the proposal.
When asked to describe the billionaires he works with, Johnston mentioned “the guys from Palo Alto” who hadn’t spent much time in Miami before.
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“There are some other very large founders and also tech giants and also venture capital firms whose heads I’ve moved here as well,” he said. “It was always a stopover, a night, an event, but Miami has changed a lot in the last 10 years. It’s culturally more interesting. … They said they were very happy to move here and see what happens in the next few years.”
Billionaires Larry Page, left, and Larry Ellison, right, are among the latest to make strategic moves out of California ahead of a proposed estate tax. | Getty Images
Florida has no state income tax for residents who live there at least 183 days a year, but Johnston explained what South Florida offers that other tax havens like Texas, Tennessee and Nevada cannot match.
“I think you have to look at the culture of these VCs and tech people, that they like to be around each other … They’re already moving here, some of them are already here or have taken up residence here, they’re going to spend more time and then have the multiplier effect of their friends coming to spend time with them,” he said.
“Miami has a very outdoor lifestyle similar to California,” Johnston argued. “I think the climate suits them. I think there’s a lot of safety here. Politically it’s safe and economically, I mean, two of the biggest capital projects in the country are now in Miami.”
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Beyond real estate, California’s billionaires are aware that they take investment capital with them: and that legislators may not fully understand how mobile wealth has become.
“That was a point of discussion among some of them (in) the lunchroom. They were talking about the fact that, (if) they move enough, it will actually cause change,” Johnston said. “It will economically change the landscape of the government’s budget… And they want reform… they want reform before they go back.”
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Throughout his 25-year career in luxury sales, Johnston agrees that this current migration wave feels different in terms of the sheer scale of wealth and speed at which high-net-worth individuals are looking to divest from the West Coast.
“I think Florida has positive net migration over the next 20 years … it’s a boom town,” he said. “These big companies will push the state to spend more money on activities and services and bring so many people from around the world that have never been to Miami before, because I think it’s a (city of the future) for America.”
