Over the past four years, billionaires Stephen M. Ross and Ken Griffin have decamped from the cities where they made their fortunes — New York and Chicago — to South Florida.
Now the two are stepping up their efforts to persuade other businesses to follow suit.
Ross and Griffin planned to announce Monday a campaign pitching the so-called Gold Coast region of Florida that includes Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach as one of the best areas in the United States to build a company.
Each gave $5 million to the campaign, which is called “Ambition Accelerated” and is being run by the Florida Council of 100, a pro-business lobbying group.
“Florida is one of the best business states, if not the best business state, in the country,” Ross said in an interview.
The two have bet heavily on South Florida since moving there. Ross, the founder of real estate giant Related Cos. who spearheaded the creation of the Hudson Yards neighborhood in Manhattan, moved full time to West Palm Beach during the coronavirus pandemic. He has since focused on building offices and luxury housing in the area. (Ross has also owned a majority stake in the Miami Dolphins football team since 2009.)
And Griffin, who founded the giant hedge fund Citadel and the major trading firm Citadel Securities, began relocating to Miami from Chicago in 2022. He has since cited concerns about safety in Chicago and other policies, and praised the possibilities of growing businesses in Miami.
“Access to talent, regulatory predictability, cost structure and quality of life are critical,” Griffin said in a statement. “When you’re deploying capital and committing resources over a 20-year horizon, getting those basics right matters more than almost anything else.”
The area has already seen a surge in business growth in recent years as part of a broader shift to Sun Belt cities. (It has gained the nickname “Wall Street South” for the upswing of financial firms’ presence in South Florida.)
The new campaign comes amid concerns among some business leaders about the direction that traditional commercial hubs are taking. Several billionaires have cut most ties with California, for instance, over efforts to put a wealth tax on the state ballot in November.
Other business interests have criticized New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani for continuing to call for a tax on the city’s wealthy. “Businesses will choose to move out of New York and new businesses will make the decision not to start in New York,” Steven Fulop, the CEO of the Partnership for New York City, previously told the Times.
Regions around the country have been seeking to take advantage of that unease, including Austin, Texas, and Nevada. Ross and Griffin are making the pitch that Florida should be top of mind.
“People see now how California has become so complex and bureaucratic” and is “doing a lot of things that stifle growth,” Ross said. He added that South Florida was “far superior in almost every aspect” to the likes of Texas, Tennessee or North Carolina.
While Ross and Griffin have persuaded companies in several industries, notably finance, to relocate, they are hoping to get more sectors to do the same, notably technology giants and start-ups.
That has meant addressing potential concerns about relocating or building businesses in South Florida. Local officials have given land — and Ross has donated money — to aid the development of a campus of Vanderbilt University there, for instance. He has also pushed for the creation of a private K-12 school and given money to educational initiatives in the area. And Related Ross, Ross’ firm, is a major benefactor (and future landlord) for a new Cleveland Clinic hospital there as well.
“We knew what our weaknesses were,” Ross said. “That’s what we concentrated on for three years. We put the essentials into place.”
