Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
It appears that Palantir Technologies’ move to the Sunshine State didn’t come out of thin air.
As first reported by the Real Deal, Alex Karp, CEO of the controversial software company, purchased a $46 million mansion on Miami’s Venetian Islands in June, eight months before the company’s headquarters abruptly moved from Denver to Aventura.
Property records reveal that Hibiscus East LLC bought the 9,700-square-foot home at 55 East San Marino Drive on San Marino Island. According to the Florida Department of State, the limited liability company’s representative is New Hampshire-based lawyer Patrick Collins, who has been tied to Karp’s other real estate dealings.
Karp’s fellow Palantir cofounder and current company chairman, Peter Thiel, bought two homes on the Venetian Islands for $18 million in 2020 with plans to build a modern compound.
Last month, Palantir, which develops surveillance and data integration tools used by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to track undocumented immigrants, moved its headquarters to a co-working space next to Aventura Mall. Its Denver headquarters was the site of constant protests over its work with the U.S. Department of Defense and ICE. However, the protests have since followed the company’s move to South Florida.
Karp is among a wave of billionaires snatching up property in South Florida, leaving states like California, which are considering legislation taxing the ultra-wealthy.
Just this week, former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz announced that he and his wife are leaving Seattle for South Florida. The couple purchased a $44 million penthouse at the Surf Club, Four Seasons Private Residences in Surfside.
“We have moved to Miami for our next adventure,” Schultz announced on Wednesday on LinkedIn (naturally). “We are enjoying the sunshine of South Florida and its allure to our kids on the East Coast as they raise families of their own.”
Schultz didn’t join his fellow billionaires on Indian Creek, more commonly known as Miami’s Billionaire Bunker, whose residents include Jeff Bezos, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, and Tom Brady (don’t worry, the community accepts millionaires too).
Most recently, Facebook founder and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg bought a $170 million mansion on Indian Creek, setting the record for the most expensive home purchase in Miami-Dade County.
Karp has a net worth of $14.2 billion, according to Forbes.
