Larry Page and Sergey Brin, co-founders of Google, have recently made headlines with their lavish real estate investments in Miami. This surge in property purchases appears to be a strategic move in response to California’s proposed Billionaire Tax Act, which targets the state’s roughly 200 billionaires with a one-time 5% levy on net worth exceeding $1 billion. Today Page and Brin, the second- and fourth-richest Americans, are charting very tricky financial waters. Significantly, regulatory changes are informing and molding their strategies and decisions.
In one of the largest home purchases in history, Larry Page recently purchased two adjacent mansions in Coconut Grove, Florida, for more than $173 million. These lavish properties underscore his financial genius. They provide a harbinger of hope from California’s tax man. At the same time, his boss Sergey Brin bought his own megamansion, a $51 million property, located a mere 14 miles from one of Page’s new residences. He’s made past residential real estate investments around Miami for a total of about $92 million.
The Billionaire Tax Act has received a lot of recent media attention, and lots of criticism from the state’s wealthy residents. The proposed legislation would create a new form of tax policy that raises revenue by imposing an extra tax burden on the ultra-wealthy. By investing in properties outside California, Page and Brin may be attempting to mitigate the financial impact of this tax while simultaneously enhancing their personal portfolios.
In contrast to the substantial public interest surrounding Page and Brin’s recent activities, Sundar Pichai, Alphabet’s current CEO, has maintained a quieter presence. Pichai is still very much at home in Los Altos, California, where he and his wife own $500 million+ of shares. As of this past summer, they had sold enough shares to realize an estimated $650 million.
Pichai stands to gain immensely Alphabet’s current market cap. He hasn’t gripped the same level of public imagination as his predecessors. Just last month, Alphabet completed a highly profitable three-year agreement for Pichai. This new agreement would raise him to the level of highest-paid tech industry executives. A significant portion of this compensation is tied to performance measures. These metrics are tied to Alphabet’s moonshot projects—such as Waymo and the drone delivery endeavor, Wing.
The public narratives of these tech behemoths reveal a large crack in the veneer. Beyond their merits, they provoke a wider discussion about wealth, taxation—and corporate leadership in Silicon Valley. Page and Brin won’t let you forget it as they continue to splash out on headline-worthy purchases. At the same time, Pichai focuses on powering Alphabet’s growth and addressing tougher business challenges.