Μake us preferred on Google MIAMI— Jeff Bezos and his wife Lauren Sánchez Bezos were special guests in February for the annual dock party at Indian Creek Country Club, where members gathered to meet the famed entrepreneur.
Miami’s nearly century-old, exclusive membership outfit sits in the heart of Indian Creek, a private island brimming with so many ultrawealthy residents it is known as the Billionaire Bunker. The club features a private golf course, a clubhouse modeled on a Mediterranean villa, and a swimming pool with bayfront views of the Miami skyline. Members dressed in white could be seen playing croquet on the lawn overlooking Biscayne Bay that day, attendees said.
Jeff Bezos went to the event hoping to persuade board members to admit him to the club, according to people who attended the event. The Amazon.com founder, one of the world’s wealthiest individuals, owns three properties on Indian Creek island and has spent about $234 million combined to acquire them, public records show.
He worked the scene, engaging in small talk with members, said some of those who engaged with him. A few club members who relocated to South Florida or spend time there lined up to shake Bezos’ hand, including real-estate magnate Richard LeFrak and businessman Eddie Lampert . Yet to gain admission to the country club, Bezos would have to win over the longtime members whose roots often went back generations.
Six months later, Bezos still hasn’t received an invitation to join the club.
Florida has become one of the world’s strongest magnets for the billionaire jet set . Between 2019 and 2023, the Sunshine State swallowed $137 billion in income from out of state movers—nearly four times that of runner-up Texas, according to data from the Internal Revenue Service analyzed by trade association Miami Realtors +RWorld.
When the club was founded in 1929, Miami was just starting to emerge as a real-estate boomtown. Since then, the country club has catered to the blue-blood families who spend time in South Florida and famous residents, such as Julio Iglesias .
Owning a property on the island doesn’t guarantee admission to the country club. And people who live outside the island can still apply for membership. Visiting the island requires an invitation from either a homeowner or a member of the country club.
Indian Creek represents one of South Florida’s major battlefields where the region’s newly minted billionaires are clashing with those of more modest affluence who often trace their Miami roots back generations.
“Most communities you buy a home, you become a member of the club, and this community doesn’t fall in line with that,” said Dina Goldentayer , a real-estate agent who has sold homes on the island. “It’s the most exclusive single-family home community, it’s the most exclusive private members club.”
The club’s six membership committee members determine the nominees. Then the board of directors, consisting of 15 members and led by the country club’s president, former AutoNation CEO Mike Jackson , votes up or down, one member said.
These elder statesmen have witnessed leaders of the world’s tech, finance and real estate businesses flock to South Florida, often attracted by lower taxes. They are taking over its top restaurants and best private schools while gobbling up much of the most desirable waterfront property.
Now, the old guard—many of them retirees—are mounting a last stand against what they often view as billionaire interlopers. They are the gatekeepers for Indian Creek Country Club and don’t offer membership to just anyone who has struck it rich.
The wealth and power of this old guard, by most measures, is astronomical—except when compared with the island’s more recent residents, which include Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump , Bezos, the Qatari royal family, and Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg . None of them are members of the club.
As a protective measure, the members tried to alter the club’s bylaws to raise the voting percentage required to approve a sale of the club, some members said. It was a tactical maneuver meant to ensure no single tech titan could simply write a billion-dollar check to dissolve their private paradise, but it didn’t pass, these members said.
The roughly 350-member club charges an initiation fee that is close to $1 million and annual dues of about $44,000, people connected to the club said.
Admission to this kingdom on the sea usually requires a long courtship. It starts with sponsorship from two current members, and letters of recommendation from five others. Then applicants need to mingle with existing members to make a good impression. That means showing up to club events, throwing back a drink at cocktail meet-and-greets, and teeing off at the golf course, some members said.
As with many private country clubs, admission often comes down to hitting it off with existing members. And while social status and widespread name recognition can help, they are hardly a guarantee, according to some people connected to the club. In fact, too much wealth or notoriety has become a deterrent, as wealthy new applicants arriving in Florida are learning.
Developers acquired and enlarged the island in the 1920s, with the golf course and clubhouse developed at the center. The home lots were organized in a ring, so each could face both the bay and the William S. Flynn-designed course.
Traditionally, its membership roster included local doctors, real-estate developers, entrepreneurs, attorneys and financiers such as Carl Icahn. Some powerful politicians have also been members, including former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker, and sports figures such as basketball coaching legend Rick Pitino.
Beyond the matter of prestige, celebrities and the uber wealthy say they like the country club because of its ironclad security.
Indian Creek Village, which operates independently from the country club, is an entire incorporated municipality with its own legislative powers. The 300-acre island is accessible only by boat or by a single gated bridge and maintains its own private police force. The vast majority of the land belongs to the country club. It is a literal citadel with a natural, crystal-blue moat surrounding it.
For some of the world’s wealthiest people, that kind of security and privacy is priceless. Club member Lampert survived a kidnapping in Greenwich, Conn., in 2003 , where he was held for ransom at a motel. He now lives on Indian Creek island behind dense hedges that prevent even his wealthy neighbors from peering into his estate—the only home like that on the island, one club member said. He paid $38.4 million for his property, public records show, setting a record for the most expensive home sale in Miami-Dade County at the time.
Icahn got in early, paying $7.5 million for his Indian Creek mansion in 1997. For the legendary value investor, the island wasn’t a status symbol; it was an undervalued asset. In late 2019, Icahn became the prophet of the modern exodus: He told his employees, pack your bags for Florida.
Certain new homeowners, such as Jersey Mike ’s founder Peter Cancro and NFL legend Tom Brady , had no trouble getting into the club, some members said. But others haven’t had it so easy.
Jared and Ivanka Kushner bought 1.26 acres on the island and transformed a Spanish-style mansion into a more modern estate. Mary Anne Shula , the widow of famed Dolphins coach Don Shula , sponsored the couple for club membership, club members said. She hosted a cocktail party at her home on the island to introduce the couple to the club’s board. But when the Kushners hosted a housewarming cocktail party at their own compound, only about half the board showed up, these members said.
While some board members were out of town, the signal still seemed clear: The Kushners weren’t about to get in.
Breaching the country-club gates can sometimes require a hard-won fight, even for a Wall Street blue-chip name. When Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon broached the idea of joining the club, a member organized a petition to keep him out, one member said.
Solomon ultimately secured membership. He mostly keeps to himself and his personal guests, shuttling in and out for golf games, members said, though he still keeps his primary residence in New York.
The Qatari royal family also shares a mansion on the island, and a royal prince has been seen playing golf with Tom Brady .
Dr. Aaron Rollins , a celebrity plastic surgeon who was building a home on the island, got frustrated after four years of failed efforts to receive membership to the club. He put his unfinished estate on the market late last year for $200 million. Four months later, Meta’s Zuckerberg shelled out a record-shattering $170 million to purchase the in-progress fortress.
“I determined after being there for a while that it wasn’t the right place for me to raise a family,” said Dr. Rollins.
Meanwhile, the Kushners are biding their time. Since their initial snub, Jared has taken on the role of unofficial envoy under his father-in-law, President Trump, and brokered backdoor geopolitical talks on global conflicts including between Israelis and Palestinians, as well as Russia and Ukraine, and Iran and the U.S.
But he has also turned his diplomatic skills inward. For a period of time, he took on a role as council member on Indian Creek Village’s governing board. His diplomacy around fixing a busted sewage system might prove to be crucial to gaining club membership, members said.
For years, the island’s obsolete septic systems have been leaking waste into the pristine waters of Biscayne Bay. A new sewage pump station will be built and installed across from Kushner’s home, and the club will allow landscaping on the golf course. A person familiar with the matter said this is a compromise with the club, which owns the golf course.
Meanwhile, the couple have built a relationship with the community attending some of the club’s events, said a person familiar with the matter. Ivanka plays golf with members.
With victories on both the political and social fronts, the social tide is turning. Jared and Ivanka are edging ever closer to club membership, according to a person familiar with the club’s current thinking.
