A billionaire's buying spree is hard to miss in a state where housing pressure is already bearing down on everyday residents.
Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison appears to have bought eight houses in one Florida community so his household staff could live a short drive from his estate.
Here's what to know
According to the New York Post, which cited The Wall Street Journal, Ellison, 82, spent nearly $10 million on eight houses in Palm Meadows Estates in West Boynton Beach during a brief stretch in 2023. Those properties were reportedly meant to house people who work for his family, including tutors for some of the children he and his wife, Jolin Ellison, have together.
The gated community has 288 homes with water views and round-the-clock staffed security. It sits about a half-hour from Gemini, his Manalapan estate, which covers about 15 acres between the Atlantic Ocean and the Intracoastal Waterway.
In 2022, Ellison drew attention by paying $173 million for Gemini, a price that set a state record for a home sale at the time.
More background
Kimmie Cruz, who lives in Palm Meadows and works as a LuxeIQ real estate agent, said another broker asked around March 2023 to see her listings right away for an unnamed client who wanted roughly 10 houses. The search didn't stop with active listings and extended to owners who hadn't put their properties up for sale.
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Many Florida communities are already dealing with strained housing supply because of high prices, rising insurance costs, and fierce competition for available homes. A buying spree like this can pull multiple houses out of circulation in a single move.
What can be done?
In Palm Meadows, Cruz said some neighbors pushed back on one owner holding so many houses, and the community's homeowners association later adopted rules meant to prevent a repeat.
Communities can respond by approving more housing near job centers, supporting mixed-income development, and making sure neighborhoods aren't built only for luxury buyers while workers are pushed farther away.
"I said, 'Look, this is the chance to sell it without having to have it on the market,'" Cruz told the Journal about her pitch to owners who hadn't listed their homes.
Where can I learn more?
Wealthy buyers are reshaping housing markets elsewhere, too.
• Across the U.S., billionaires buying up homes have pushed prices beyond what many neighbors can match.
• In Miami, Google co-founder Larry Page joined Jeff Bezos in purchasing multiple waterfront mansions near Indian Creek.
• In West Palm Beach, hedge fund billionaire Paul Tudor Jones bought up a public street to expand his estate.
• In Miami, cash buyers snapping up Black neighborhoods on higher ground have intensified fears of displacement.
• In Florida, ultra-wealthy buyers are turning private airport home communities into the latest real estate status symbol.
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