The Great Billionaire Migration

Florida has become America's billionaire bunker. The number of billionaires living in the Sunshine State has grown twenty-fold in two decades, with tech titans like Sergey Brin, Larry Page, and Mark Zuckerberg all relocating there. But Scott Galloway, who teaches brand strategy at NYU Stern and now lives in Miami, argues that Florida's appeal rests on a carefully constructed illusion. "Believing that this state is low tax is one of the most elegant brand moves," he says. "But let me be clear: it's total fucking bullshit that you're a low tax state."

The Wealth Transfer Machine

Galloway's central argument is that Florida's tax structure is not low—it's regressive. The state has no income tax, no estate tax, and no capital gains tax, but it has a 6% sales tax and some of the highest property taxes in the nation. The effect is a systematic transfer of wealth from earners to owners. Someone making $10 million a year might consume one-tenth of their income, effectively paying 0.6% in sales tax. Someone making $50,000 a year spends nearly everything they earn, paying the full 6%. Similarly, wealthy homeowners pay property taxes on a smaller share of their income than renters and lower-income homeowners.