Miami is known by many nicknames—The 305, Magic City and the Gateway to the Americas, to name just a few. Now it might be looking to add another: The American Switzerland.
Francis Suarez, mayor of the Florida city, tells The Financial Times that he’s hoping to position Miami as a business haven amid a huge influx of wealth over the past five years.
“The world is expanding in terms of financial and economic activity. The world is saying, ‘OK, we need more than one Switzerland . . . We need one in America,’” Suarez said. “Miami is emerging as the Singapore or Switzerland of this new iteration. I call it the capital of capital.”
Miami became a retreat for the wealthy during the pandemic, who were lured by its lack of state income tax, low 5.5% corporate income tax rate, warm weather and less restrictive COVID-19 regulations. Among its residents these days are Jeff Bezos, Carl Icahn and venture capitalist David Blumberg. Hedge fund Citadel has also made the city its home.
All totaled, the city now has 75% more millionaires than it did a decade ago.
The mayor’s job in Miami is a part-time one, but Suarez is often described as the “chief marketing officer” for the city. He told the FT he views Miami as being on the same level, as far as being a business hub, as Singapore, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Riyadh and Doha. Also, of course, Switzerland, which he calls “a place where banking and finance feel safe doing business”.
Suarez has also built the city’s reputation as “Wall Street South,” something even skeptics acknowledge has some truth to it. And that has political ramifications. Florida has eclipsed California and Texas as the nation’s single largest source of donations to Republican presidential campaigns, racking up $30 million for GOP candidates in 2023.
Suarez has his own political agenda, beyond Miami. He had a brief, failed run for the Republican nomination last year and has been open about wanting to be Trump’s vice president should he be elected.