The extraordinary rise of Miami’s economy

Thanks to a combination of capital and politics, the city is booming. Can its success be sustained?

ON A FRIDAY night in Miami, a luxury-property agent emerges from a swanky lounge and stands outside a skyscraper. He is celebrating the sale of a house—for $50m. He will not name his buyer but says he mostly sells to tech and finance moguls. As for the skyscraper, 830 Brickell, its bottom few feet are a little shabby, yet it contains some of America’s priciest square metres of office space. It is home to Citadel, a big hedge fund; an investment firm owned by the family office of Peter Thiel, a tech billionaire; and two top law firms.

The estate agent and 830 Brickell are reflections of Miami’s rise. Between 2020 and 2024 (the latest available year) the metro area’s GDP grew by 23%, against 13% in America overall (see chart 1). The rich are moving in. New residents include Ken Griffin, Citadel’s chief, Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon and Blue Origin, a space firm that makes and launches its rockets in Florida, and Mark Zuckerberg, head of Meta. The fuel is political as well as financial: Donald Trump spends more time nearby than anywhere but Washington, DC, mostly at his Mar-a-Lago estate. Palm Beach is a hub for policymakers and diplomats.

Chart: The Economist
Source: Adapted from: https://www.economist.com/
Source Link: https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2026/08/31/the-extraordinary-rise-of-miamis-economy