Private jet parked at a Miami airfield under overcast skies with a billboard nearby
California’s economic challenges intensify in 2026, marked by record-high gas prices and a substantial $31 billion deficit. A proposed billionaire wealth tax on the November ballot is accelerating an unprecedented exodus.
Luxury billboards are now targeting Angelenos, urging them to “move to Miami, where they are not being persecuted for having extreme wealth.” This campaign highlights a significant shift as ultra-high-net-worth individuals permanently sever ties with the West Coast.
Urban affairs and real estate experts warn that California is “careening towards a very, very difficult period,” potentially leaving a diminished middle class to shoulder the burden of the state’s financial woes.
Professor Joel Kotkin from Chapman University notes the changing nature of the migration: “Increasingly, the people leaving are wealthier… taking their tax dollars with them. States like Florida and Texas gain enormously from this kind of trade.” He adds that this trend will pressure the remaining middle class to bail out the state.
Robert Rivani, President and founder of RIVANI, relocated his family and commercial real estate firm from L.A. to Miami in 2020. He criticizes California’s high taxes, stating, “The fact that you’re paying more in income tax than you take home yourself on an annual basis is madness to me… You’re paying all this money, but for what?”
Cory Weiss of Douglas Elliman observes, “Some people have no choice but to leave,” underscoring the severity of the situation.
California faces critical issues, including a multibillion-dollar transportation funding gap, elevated energy costs, and the upcoming billionaire tax ballot measure. Los Angeles County alone has seen a loss of over 54,000 residents in a single year.
Rivani, who facilitated corporate relocations from California to Florida for companies like Playboy and Daymond John’s “Shark Tank,” cites losing his Malibu home to a wildfire as a turning point. “I thought California was going towards communism… I’d rather be the person that’s ahead of the trend, and that’s why I decided to move to Florida.”
Florida has become a prime destination for those fleeing high-tax states, attracting substantial luxury real estate investments from figures such as Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Peter Thiel, and Larry Ellison. Industry estimates suggest that nearly $1 trillion in assets under management have moved from states like California and New York to Sun Belt states.
Dina Goldentayer, Douglas Elliman’s No. 1 agent nationwide, is capitalizing on this trend with billboards across Los Angeles promoting her $79.5 million listing and the message: “Your wealth is wanted. Step inside with me. #MoveToMiami.”
Goldentayer notes that “every buyer over $30 million that I’m working with currently is from California… As far as the ultra-high-net-worth individuals, the billionaires, they obviously don’t feel wanted in the blue states. They are not being loved in Manhattan and Los Angeles and markets of similarity. So it is being signaled that Florida wants you.”
Rivani emphasizes Florida’s advantages: “There is zero income tax here, zero. It is still a thriving economy… taxing the rich and getting nothing for it, not only for the wealthy people but for the economy and the people, itself, is a zero-sum solution. It does not work.”
Kotkin cautions, “If you’re going to really maintain a low-employment welfare state, which is where California is going, you’re going to have to tax the hell out of the middle and upper middle class, because that’s where the money is.” He anticipates that California is heading towards a very challenging period with no immediate turnaround in sight.
Weiss shares similar concerns, noting that even California’s desirable climate may not be enough to sustain its real estate market. He recounts instances where fire victims, initially intending to rebuild, ultimately decided against it due to construction challenges and emotional factors.
Kotkin laments the changing perception of California: “I feel a great sense of loss and disappointment that I really can’t suggest to my daughters that they live in California… We’re no longer this destination for talent from around the world the way we once were… Unless there’s some sort of major change, it will continue to become both the place of greatest wealth and of the most intense poverty.”
Rivani concludes, “I think this is just the beginning of Miami’s gold rush… There’s literally nothing that [California] could do that would ever make me want to invest in a state like that again, I mean, unless there is a complete upheaval of the financial beliefs of that economy, I just, I can’t do it. Just call the U-Haul company, get your butt on the truck, and get your ass out here because you’re going to miss the gold rush.”
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