Alphabet expands in Miami as Google founders buy waterfront homes

Alphabet has expanded Google’s Miami office footprint as its two cofounders buy high-end homes in South Florida, according to Bloomberg and real-estate reports. The moves put the company and some of its best-known billionaires deeper into a city that has drawn wealthy residents and corporate offices with Florida’s lack of personal income tax.

Bloomberg reported that Alphabet signed a lease this year that brings its Miami space to about 45,000 square feet. That is roughly four times the approximately 10,000 square feet Google already occupied in the city’s financial district.

The office is at 1450 Brickell Avenue, according to Bloomberg. Fortune reported that the building includes amenities such as a fitness center, rooftop terrace and views of Biscayne Bay.

Google’s Miami presence remains much smaller than its main U.S. hubs. Fortune reported that the company’s Mountain View, California, headquarters spans about 10 million square feet, while its New York City office covers about 1.7 million square feet.

Fortune said it contacted Google for comment.

Founders add Miami-area homes

Google cofounders Larry Page and Sergey Brin have also bought property in the Miami area, according to reports cited by Fortune. Bloomberg’s billionaire index lists Page at about $297 billion and Brin at about $276 billion.

Realtor.com reported in March that Brin bought a seven-bedroom, 8.5-bath home on Allison Island for $51 million. Fortune reported that the 12,500-square-foot property sits on a gated island with fewer than 50 homes and that Brin’s property holdings total about $197 million.

Page has bought two waterfront estates in Coconut Grove for an estimated $173.4 million, according to Miami Luxury Homes reporting cited by Fortune. One is Banyan Ridge, a 4.5-acre Biscayne Bay compound that Fortune said includes 13 bedrooms, 15.5 bathrooms, two main residences, a dock, a boat lift and more than 1,100 feet of waterfront.

Fortune reported that Page also bought a $71.9 million, seven-bedroom waterfront home in Camp Biscayne. The home is about 10,400 square feet and has eight bathrooms and direct bay access, according to the report.

Miami draws more corporate moves

Fortune reported that the purchases come as California prepares for a ballot referendum that would tax assets held by wealthy residents. The report also placed Page and Brin among a wider group of billionaires with Miami ties, including Ken Griffin, Carl Icahn and Keith Rabois.

Griffin moved Citadel’s headquarters from Chicago to Miami in 2022, Fortune reported. The report said Griffin criticized Illinois’ taxes, crime and fiscal management while praising Florida’s lower-tax, pro-business environment.

Palantir moved its headquarters from Denver to Miami in 2020, according to Fortune. The report said CEO Alex Karp had earlier described a desire to move operations away from Silicon Valley because of what he called “increasing intolerance and monoculture.”

Fortune also reported that Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund opened an office in Miami and that Blackstone opened a Miami office as financial firms added South Florida operations. In a 2020 statement cited by Fortune, then-Blackstone public affairs executive Jennifer Friedman said Miami offered a strong technology talent pipeline and would help the firm expand its technology team.

This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.