How Miami’s billion-dollar war led Corcoran’s CEO to buy into its culture

EXCLUSIVE: The great American wealth migration has officially reached its “mecca” phase.

As tech titans like Mark Zuckerberg and Larry Page lead a billion-dollar exodus from high-tax strongholds in California and New York, Corcoran Group CEO Pamela Liebman says Miami’s transformation into a global powerhouse is no longer a “boom-and-bust” trend but rather a permanent structural shift.

Speaking exclusively with Fox News Digital, the real estate mogul reveals why the elite are ditching the West Coast for South Florida’s “vibrant” culture and business-friendly climate, declaring: “When people see names like this flocking to a city like Miami, it helps to even more establish what’s already a global city into a mecca for these incredibly wealthy people.”

“Miami is a true luxury lifestyle home,” she added. “I moved back here in 2020. I’m a big believer in Miami… it’s really established itself as a world-class and worldwide city with tons of recognition… that’s just not going away.”

INSIDE THE 50-HOME MIAMI SANCTUARY WHERE SMART MONEY IS BUYING DECADES OF SECURITY FOR THEIR KIDS

Liebman and her team most recently launched sales at the first-ever residential development in Miami’s renowned Design District. Miami Design Residences by Chipperfield — a 26-story tower featuring 143 condos and a flagship Fouquet’s hotel — marks a historic shift for an area previously reserved for ultra-luxury retail and fine dining. A surprising catch: Units start at $1.8 million, a reasonable figure for a high-demand, low-supply market.

In recent months, Miami has welcomed home many new ultra-high-net-worth residents who have been fleeing blue state wealth taxes. (Getty Images)

The longtime CEO revealed to Fox News Digital that the project is so high conviction she has personally purchased a unit alongside other “global names in fashion.”

“We work on a lot of projects, and I haven’t bought that many units across all my years. I bought some, but this project was a no-brainer to me,” she said. “This building will have an incredible sense of community. It will be very chic. It will be one of these buildings, in my opinion, that you can look back on and say, ‘Wow, I’m so glad I bought early,’… And again, I put my money where my mouth is.”

Though the Miami heat keeps ramping up, as Liebman noted first-quarter condo sales are up 17% and home sales above $5 million have risen almost 10%, she admits that there’s “a tale of two markets” between luxury and median homebuyers.

The differences contrast the “painful” reality of insurance, taxes and high mortgage…