Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has dropped millions of dollars on a stopgap home. Picture: AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell
Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos has spent years building his dream compound inside the exclusive Florida enclave of Indian Creek Island — but while he waits for that enormous estate to be completed, he’s making a heavy investment in overhauling his temporary home just a few feet away.
The 61-year-old snapped up a third property on the so-called Billionaire Bunker in 2024, Realtor.com reports, paying $87 million (AUD $133 million) for the Mediterranean-style mansion, which has served as the primary residence for Bezos and his wife, Lauren Sanchez Bezos, ever since.
That dwelling, however, has always been temporary, purchased as a stopgap while renovations are completed on the two adjacent mansions that Bezos bought back in 2023 for $68 million (AUD $104 million) and $79 million (AUD $121 million), respectively.
Multiple reports suggest that the Amazon founder — who has an estimated net worth of $255 billion (AUD $391 billion), according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index — plans to raze both of the existing properties to make way for one enormous megamansion that will serve as the couple’s primary residence.
MORE: ‘Not normal’: Bezos’ wedding act slammed
The couple owns a trio of properties within the exclusive enclave, including two adjacent homes that they are planning to demolish to make way for an enormous compound. Picture: Google Maps
But until that work is completed, he has made sure that their temporary accommodations are up to snuff as far as luxury is concerned, going above and beyond to transform his third Billionaire Bunker abode.
As first reported by the Daily Mail, Bezos has carried out a significant overhaul of the interior and exterior of his Mediterranean mansion, transforming the 1.84-acre plot into a veritable oasis with the help of professional arborists who have planted a plethora of exotic trees throughout the front and backyards.
Not only do these trees, which include Japanese yews and Brazilian Beauty Leafs, help to provide a natural barrier between the Bezoses and any prying eyes, they also add a lush feel to the property, creating a tropical paradise on the grounds of the waterfront dwelling.
Several statues have been dotted about the parcel, which has also been outfitted with a private pickleball court, according to planning applications seen by Realtor.com.
The paved area surrounding the swimming pool has been extended to add an outdoor dining area that sits under a floral canopy, creating a perfect spot for al fresco meals.
A maze of pathways has been paved among the trees at the back of the home, creating what looks like a collection of tiny secret gardens within the grounds of the enormous six-bedroom dwelling.
MORE: Billionaire blowout – secret $3bn of 15 ‘super’ rich
Lauren Sanchez and Jeff Bezos tied the knot earlier this year. Picture: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images
Meanwhile, the property’s garage has been transformed into a private gym — with the original door to the structure removed to make way for new industrial-strength doors that cost upward of $100,000 (AUD $153,000).
Inside the dwelling itself, multiple aesthetic renovations have been carried out, as well as several structural changes to the HVAC system, plumbing, and electrical.
All of the planning applications were submitted via an LLC through which Bezos purchased the property and is run by lawyer John C. Sumberg.
It is currently unclear how long work on his other two dwellings will take; however, the scope of the work suggests that it could well take several years before the newly constructed megamansion is completed.
Still, the Bezoses will have ample opportunity to enjoy the exclusivity of their new neighbourhood from their temporary Billionaire Bunker dwelling, which is located just a stone’s throw from the homes of NFL legend Tom Brady, and Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner.
Bezos has been hard at work on building his perfect marital abode on Indian Creek Island since 2023, when he and his wife announced they were relocating their primary residence from Washington to Florida, citing a desire to be closer to the billionaire’s family.
However, in February 2024, it was revealed that Bezos enjoyed another perk as a result of his relocation: saving hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes.
Indian Creek Island is known as Billionaire Bunker because of the extraordinary net worths of its residents. Picture: Realtor
According to a report by CNBC, the businessman stands to save “at least $610 million” (AUD $935 million) in taxes that he would have had to pay if he were still living full time in Washington state.
Bezos had purchased a property for his parents, Mike and Jaclyn, in nearby Coral Gables in 2022, paying $78 million (AUD $119 million) for two adjacent mansions that served as the couple’s primary residence.
However, in August, Bezos revealed that his mother, who was known as Jackie, had passed away inside the home after a “long fight with Lewy Body Dementia.”
In a tribute shared on his Instagram, the businessman expressed his gratitude at being able to spend so much time with his mother before her death, while praising Jackie for giving him such a loving upbringing, particularly after she became a mother at just 17 years old.
“Her adulthood started a little bit early when she became my mom at the tender age of 17,” he wrote at the time.
“That couldn’t have been easy, but she made it all work. She pounced on the job of loving me with ferocity, brought my amazing dad onto the team a few years later, and then added my sister and brother to her list of people to love, guard, and nourish.
“For the rest of her life, that list of people to love never stopped growing. She always gave so much more than she ever asked for.
Bezos and Sanchez leave the Aman Hotel on the third day of their wedding festivities, in Venice. Picture: Marco Bertorello/AFP
“After a long fight with Lewy Body Dementia, she passed away today, surrounded by so many of us who loved her — her kids, grandkids, and my dad. I know she felt our love in those final moments. We were all so lucky to be in her life. I hold her safe in my heart forever.”
His wife was one of the first to express words of condolence in the comments section, writing: “We will miss her SO much. Love you.”
Jackie welcomed her son in 1964, when she was just 17 years old and living in Albuquerque, NM. Bezos’ biological father, Ted Jorgensen, was just 19 at the time.
However, Jorgensen struggled with alcohol issues — and the two, who had wed, quickly divorced, with Jackie later moving herself and her infant son back in with her parents.
When Bezos was 4, she wed Mike Bezos, a Cuban immigrant with whom she welcomed two more children; he later legally adopted her firstborn son, and the Amazon CEO proudly refers to him as his father.
Mike is understood to still reside in the Coral Gables home.
Bezos has spared no expense transforming his temporary abode, which he bought in 2024, overhauling everything from the garage to the gardens. Picture: Google Maps
Bezos, meanwhile, has retained several residences in Washington state, where he has largely been based in the tony Seattle suburb of Medina, which is also home to the likes of Bill Gates and former Microsoft executive Charles Simonyi.
Four years after he founded Amazon, Bezos spent $10 million (AUD $15 million), along with now-ex-wife MacKenzie Scott, buying up two homes that sit on a 5-acre plot in the town of Hunts Point. In 2010, the duo reportedly spent $28 million to extensively renovate the estate, which boasts 310 feet of private shoreline and a private boathouse.
To maximise space (and privacy), Bezos also purchased an adjacent property that same year — a 24,000-square-foot mansion that was reportedly listed for $53 million (AUD $81 million). It is unclear whether the Amazon CEO paid that hefty sum or managed to snag a discount.
That home would ultimately serve as the business mogul’s primary residence for the next decade until 2023, when he announced his move to Florida.
Though he still holds the keys to much of his Seattle property portfolio, Bezos did offload one home in April of this year, selling it off for an astonishing $97 million (AUD $133 million), according to the Puget Sound Business Journal.
Bezos made a very hefty profit on the sale of the 9,240-square-foot home, having purchased it for $37.5 million (AUD $57 million) in 2019, the same year he divorced his ex-wife.
His impressive property portfolio also includes an extraordinary dwelling in Washington, DC, which he purchased for $23 million (AUD $35 million) in 2017, as well as a huge pied-à-terre in New York City that he bought for $16 million (AUD $24 million) in 2020.
The billionaire actually owns $80 million (AUD $122 million) worth of units in the same Manhattan building, including a three-storey penthouse and two apartments on the level right below it. In 2019, building permits were filed to combine the units.
On the West Coast, he owns an enormous Beverly Hills megamansion, which he purchased from music mogul David Geffen for $165 million (AUD $253 million) in 2020.
English (US) · 