Inside Miami’s ‘Billionaire Bunker’ island – which boats 24-hour marine patrol to protect ultra-wealthy residents from Ivanka Trump and Tom Brady to Jeff Bezos

• Bezos bought two Indian Creek homes for a total of nearly $150 million this year
• The Amazon billionaire announced this month he is moving to Miami full-time 
• The village is known as ‘Billionaire Bunker’ thanks to its mega-rich residents

Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos and his fiancée, Lauren Sanchez, are putting down roots on Miami’s most exclusive island, but they aren’t the only big names who call Indian Creek home. 

The village overlooking Biscayne Bay is famously known as ‘Billionaire Bunker’ thanks to its mega-rich residents, which are a mix of celebrities and business moguls. 

Bezos, 59, and Sanchez, 53, will be right at home in the affluent community, where retired NFL star Tom Brady, former First Daughter Ivanka Trump, and singer Julio Iglesias will be among their neighbors. 

The world’s third richest man bought not one but two neighboring properties on Indian Creek for a total of nearly $150 million this year. 

Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos and his fiancée, Lauren Sanchez, are the newest residents of Indian Creek, Miami’s most exclusive island

Each mansion is built around the perimeter of the island to ensure that all residents have a waterfront view of Biscayne Bay, and in the middle sits the Indian Creek Country Club

Known as ‘Billionaire Bunker,’ the privately owned residential enclave has been a magnet for billionaires, celebrities, and power couples thanks to its privacy and security

But Bezos wasn’t just building up his real estate portfolio — he was getting ready for a major move. 

The Blue Origin founder announced this month that he and his bride-to-be are moving from Seattle to Miami to be closer to his parents. 

The privately owned residential enclave is an obvious choice for a billionaire who is looking to start the next chapter of his life with his new wife.  

Indian Creek has just 41 waterfront homes owned by 36 property owners, according to the village’s website. 

Each mansion is built around the perimeter of the island to ensure that all residents have a waterfront view of Biscayne Bay.

In the middle sits the ‘ultra-exclusive private membership’ Indian Creek Country Club and an 18-hole golf course, perfect for a billionaire looking to unwind. 

The island also has its own private 13-person police force for its roughly 85 residents and a 24-hour marine patrol to keep an eye on the water surrounding the village. 

In honor of Bezos’ big move, FEMAIL has rounded up a list of Indian Creek’s famous residents, from the newcomers to the business moguls who have been living there for years. 

Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez 

Bezos bought a three-bedroom property on Indian Creek for $68 million in June 

The Amazon founder also scooped up his neighbor’s mansion for $79 million in October

Bezos, 59, announced this month that he and Sanchez, 53, are moving from Seattle to Miami to be closer to his parents

Bezos, 59, and Sanchez, 53, became the latest residents of ‘Billionaire Bunker’ after the Amazon founder dropped $68 million on a mansion in the neighborhood.

The world’s third-richest man initially kept his identity undisclosed when he bought he bought the three-bedroom property in June. 

The three-bedroom property on the man-made barrier Island sits on 2.8 acres and was built in 1965.

It was previously owned by a company with ties to Panama called MTM Star International, which obtained it for $1.4 million in 1982.

Bezos also scooped up his neighbor’s mansion for $79 million in October. 

The seven-bedroom, 11-bathroom home is set across 19,064 square feet and boasts sweeping views across Biscayne Bay. 

The mansion was built in 2000 and previously belonged to steel magnate Leroy Schecter, who sold last sold it in 2014 for $28 million.

Bezos has been expanding his property portfolio since his engagement to Sanchez earlier this year. 

The billionaire’s latest buys add to an impressive portfolio worth almost $600 million spread across New York, Washington D.C., Beverly Hills, and West Texas, among other areas. 

Bezos announced earlier this month that he and Sanchez are leaving Seattle and moving to Miami to be closer to his parents. 

Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner 

Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, both 42, purchased their $24 million fixer-upper on Indian Creek Island in April 2021 and spent more than two years renovating it 

Trump and Kushner’s purchase came just seven months after they splurged $31.8 million on a two-acre lot on the island that was owned by singer Julio Iglesias

Ivanka celebrated her 42nd birthday with a dinner party at her dream home last month 

Trump and Kushner, both 42, purchased their $24 million fixer-upper on Indian Creek Island in April 2021, shortly after they moved from Washington, D.C. to Miami with their three children. 

Billionaire Alex Meruelo and his wife, Liset Meruelo sold them the 1.3-acre estate, which was also previously owned by record producer Scott Storch from 2004 to 2008.

Trump and Kushner’s purchase came just seven months after they splurged $31.8 million on a two-acre lot on the island that was owned by singer Julio Iglesias. 

The former White House senior advisers spared no expense when they gutted and rebuilt the inside of the mansion, which boasts six bedrooms and eight-and-a-half bathrooms. 

Aerial images of the resort-style property show its expansive sun deck, perfect for enjoying the balmy Florida heat year-round. 

The massive backyard has a large pool and a lavish spa-cabana featuring an outdoor shower, a sauna, a cold plunge, and a central ‘breezeway.’ 

Trump and Kushner likely had their family’s privacy in mind when they opted to have a row of trees bordering the back of their waterfront home. 

The former first daughter and her children, Arabella, 12, Joseph, 10, and Theodore, 7, have all taken to watersports, including wake surfing, since they moved to Florida.

So it should come as no surprise that her new pad has a bridge that leads to a private dock where they can store a boat and jet skis. 

The family is understood to have fully moved into the mansion after spending nearly three years living at Arte Surfside, a luxury condominium building nestled between Miami Beach and Bal Harbor. 

Trump celebrated her 42nd birthday with a dinner party held at their new dream home a few weeks ago. 

Tom Brady 

Tom Brady, 46, is building a bachelor pad on Indian Creek following his split from his wife, Gisele Bündchen

The former couple bought a $17 million mansion on this island in October 2020 with plans to build an eco-friendly dream home. The retired NFL star has since taken over the construction 

Brady, 46, and his ex-wife Gisele Bündchen bought a $17 million mansion on this island in October 2020, just a few years before they announced their divorce. 

The NFL star and model planned on building an eco-friendly forever home for themselves and their three children in the exclusive village. 

Brady has a son, Benjamin, 13, and a daughter, Vivian, 10, with Bündchen, as well as an older son, John Edward, 16, with his ex Bridget Moynahan. 

The former couple demolished the pre-existing 5,772-square-foot home on the lot, but construction halted last year following their split. 

Brady has since taken over the building’s renovations while Bündchen moved on to buy her own home across the waterway. 

The original plans for the property included an organic garden, a pickleball court, a yoga terrace, solar panels, a cabana, and an outdoor kitchen, but they have since been scrapped, the New York Post reported. 

Brady’s bachelor pad will now be a ‘new two-story single-family residence with a security building, gym, cabana, pool, sport court, emergency, landscaping, [and] septic system,’ according to documents. 

The retired quarterback reportedly took out a $35 million construction loan with an 8.25% annual interest rate to build the property.

Julio Iglesias 

Julio Iglesias, 80, has been a longtime resident of the island and owns multiple properties after moving there in the late 1970s

The Spanish singer acquired a total of four contiguous waterfront lots that totaled approximately eight acres. He recently sold one to Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner

Iglesias is still trying to sell the other three lots on the exclusive island 

Iglesias, 80, has been a longtime resident of the island with multiple properties in his legendary real estate portfolio. 

The star was at the height of his career when he made Miami his official home and purchased an Indian Creek Island mansion for around $650,000 in 1979. 

Designed by Jaime Parladé and Mario Connio, the home was featured in a 1984 issue of Architectural Digest. 

Iglesias also acquired a total of four contiguous waterfront lots on the island that totaled approximately eight acres. 

In 2017, he listed the lots for a total of $150 million before taking them off the market the following year. 

‘The reality is that there are very few buyers for a sale that large,’ Jill Eber of The Jills Zeder Group told the Miami Herald. 

Iglesias later tried a different approach and listed just one 80,000 square-feet lot — 4 Indian Creek Island Road — for $31.8 million at the end of 2020. 

A few months later, it was scooped up by Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner. 

Iglesias still has another three contiguous vacant lots that are for sale, according to The Jills Zeder Group. 

Jeffrey Soffer

Jeffrey Soffer built his 29,000-square-foot mansion for his first wife, model and actress Kim Faze, whom he married in 1997 and split from in 2008

The billionaire real estate developer also lived in the home with his second wife, Elle MacPherson, before their divorce in 2017. He recently bought his sister’s home next door  

Soffer, 55, is another longtime resident of Indian Creek Island.  

The billionaire real estate developer built his 29,000-square-foot mansion for his first wife, model and actress Kim Faze, whom he married in 1997 and split from in 2008.

The lavish property boasts nine bedrooms, 12 baths, four half-baths, a pool, and a hot tub, among other amenities. 

Soffer, the son of real estate royalty Donald Soffer, later shared the home with his second wife, Elle Macpherson. He and the model were married from 2013 to 2017.

The CEO and chair of Fontainebleau Development is currently engaged to Colleen Schiff, the widow of Miami real estate tycoon Steven Schiff, who died in 2017 at the age of 57.

In 2020, Soffer bought the five-bedroom mansion next door for $17 million from his developer sister Jackie Soffer, CEO and chairperson of Turnberry Associates, according to the Miami Herald. 

The two-story 7,500-square-foot home at 26 Indian Creek Island Road sits on 80,000 square-foot-lot, leaving Soffer with plenty of expansion options. 

Jackie Soffer purchased the property for $11.5 million in 2007 and turned a $5.5 million profit when she sold it to her brother. 

Carl Icahn 

Carl Icahn, 87, bought his home on the island out of foreclosure for $7.5 million in 1997

The activist investor and corporate raider’s 14,000-square-foot pad boasts seven bedrooms

Icahn, 87, scored a deal on his Indian Creek mansion in the late 1990s. 

The activist investor and corporate raider bought his vacation house out of foreclosure for $7.5 million in 1997. 

The longtime resident’s 14,000-square-foot home boasts seven bedrooms and is likely worth far more than he paid for it two decades ago. 

In 2020, Icahn sold his newly built Miami Beach home for $5 million, but he has held onto his Indian Creek property. 

For the last 50 years, he has loomed large as a powerful and controversial figure in corporate America. 

He is capable of moving markets with a single tweet. His high-profile 2013 investment in Apple instantly raised the value of its stock by $17 billion — a phenomenon known as ‘The Icahn Lift.’ 

The Wall Street iconoclast is infamously known for his hostile takeovers of blue-chip companies like Xerox, TWA, Texaco, Herbalife, and Marvel Comics and well-known investments in Netflix, eBay, U.S. Steel Corps, and Dell Technologies.

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