Welcome to Billionaire Bunker Island
Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, have joined the growing roster of billionaires establishing residences on Indian Creek, a tiny private island in Miami's Biscayne Bay that locals have long referred to as "Billionaire Bunker." Their neighbors now include Jeff Bezos, who owns three properties on the island, along with investor Carl Icahn, Ivanka Trump, and Jared Kushner. The newly constructed estate is estimated to be worth between $150 million and $200 million. It also sits squarely in one of the most climate-vulnerable locations in the United States.
Indian Creek is an artificial island, created in the early 1900s by dredging sediment from the bay floor. The land where mangrove forests once formed a natural storm barrier has been reshaped into manicured waterfront estates. Only about two percent of the original mangroves remain in the surrounding area -- and ironically, wealthy homeowners have historically been among those most responsible for clearing them to improve their water views, inadvertently increasing their own flood exposure in the process.
Rising Seas, Sinking Land, and 400 Percent More Flooding
Miami's sea levels have risen eight inches since 1950, and projections suggest the water will be 10 to 17 inches higher than 2000 levels by 2040. The consequences are already visible. So-called "sunny day" flooding, caused by high tides rather than storms, has increased 400 percent over the past two decades in Miami Beach. Storm surges are growing more dangerous with each passing hurricane season.
First Street, an organization that models climate risk for individual properties, estimates that a home near Zuckerberg's on Indian Creek faces "severe" flood risk, with the potential for nearly six feet of flooding in an extreme weather event. That same property is also exposed to possible 184-mile-per-hour hurricane winds and more than three weeks per year of extreme heat. While Indian Creek sits roughly seven feet above sea level -- slightly higher than some other parts of Miami -- the island is built on soft sediment, and researchers are uncertain whether it may be subsiding. In a worst-case hurricane scenario, storm surges in parts of Miami could reach 15 to 20 feet.
When Money Can Buy Resilience -- But Only for You
The ultra-wealthy can, of course, engineer their way around many of these risks. Ed Kearns, chief science officer at First Street, points out that building to higher standards -- concrete gable construction, elevated foundations, reinforced structures -- can create homes that survive Category 5 hurricanes even when everything around them is destroyed. A billionaire can literally build a bunker on Bunker Island. And if that bunker is eventually overwhelmed, Zuckerberg also owns properties in California and Hawaii. The Miami estate, for all its staggering price tag, represents approximately 0.087 percent of his net worth. Losing it entirely would be financially inconsequential.
There may also be a tax angle to the move. California legislators have proposed a five percent wealth tax that could cost Zuckerberg an estimated $11 billion. Establishing primary residency in Florida -- which has no state income tax -- may be as much a financial optimization strategy as a lifestyle choice. The proposed tax has not yet been approved as a ballot measure, but several wealthy Californians are already relocating in anticipation.
The Climate Divide in South Florida
The contrast between Zuckerberg's position and that of ordinary Miami residents is the real story. Floridians across the income spectrum are grappling with skyrocketing insurance premiums, with some unable to obtain coverage at all as insurers retreat from the state. As Miami's population continues to grow, rising housing costs are pushing lower-income residents into neighborhoods with greater flood exposure and fewer resources for mitigation. The city as a whole faces infrastructure challenges that no single homeowner can solve: saltwater intrusion is contaminating drinking water supplies, and critical power stations are increasingly vulnerable to storm flooding.
When a billionaire spends $200 million on a waterfront estate in one of the most climate-threatened cities in America, it underscores a fundamental asymmetry. The wealthy can afford to adapt, relocate, or simply absorb losses. Everyone else is left navigating a system where insurance is vanishing, infrastructure is aging, and the ocean is not waiting for anyone to catch up. Indian Creek may be called Billionaire Bunker, but the real question is what happens to the millions of people who cannot afford one.
