Google expands Miami office as co-founders flee California for South Florida - Fox Business

What the report says

Fox Business reported that Google has expanded its office footprint in Miami after company co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin bought high-value homes in South Florida. Citing Bloomberg News, the report said Alphabet, Google’s parent company, signed a lease adding about 45,000 square feet to its existing 10,000-square-foot satellite office in Miami’s financial district. Bloomberg attributed the information to two people familiar with the matter.

The Miami expansion remains small compared with Google’s largest U.S. campuses. Fox Business noted that Google first opened its Miami office in 2016, while its Mountain View, California, headquarters spans more than 10 million square feet and its Hudson Square campus in New York covers about 1.7 million square feet. Page and Brin stepped down from executive roles in 2019 but remain on Google’s board; the article also said Brin has reportedly been involved in the company’s artificial intelligence work.

The report links the South Florida activity to recent property purchases by the two billionaires. Fox Business cited earlier Wall Street Journal reporting that Page bought a waterfront compound for $101.5 million in December and a nearby home for $71.9 million in early January. It also cited Bloomberg as reporting that Brin bought a $51 million waterfront home in Miami Beach, and said Brin has been linked to a $42 million Lake Tahoe mansion in Nevada.

Fox Business placed the moves in the context of a proposed California constitutional amendment that would impose a one-time 5% wealth tax on taxpayers and trusts with more than $1 billion in covered assets, with proceeds intended for public programs including health care, food assistance and education.