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I got access to the richest zip code in the US, an island off Miami where the average income is $2.2 million, the beaches have sand imported from the Bahamas, and the preferred mode of transportation is golf carts. Here's what it looks like.
I got access to the richest zip code in the US, an island off Miami where the average income is $2.2 million, the beaches have sand imported from the Bahamas, and the preferred mode of transportation is golf carts. Here's what it looks like.
To become a member, you must pay a $250,000 initial fee and $22,256 in annual dues - and that's on top of purchasing a multimillion-dollar condo.
I took a private shuttle boat to the exclusive island, and I was amazed by how pristine everything was, from the perfectly manicured landscapes to the private beaches with imported sand from the Bahamas.
The average income of the island's residents is a whopping $2.2 million.
To become a member of the elite Fisher Island Club, you must pay a one-time $250,000 equity contribution and $22,256 in annual dues. And that's after residents have bought one of the condos on the island, which cost an average of $3.2 million. About 700 families live on Fisher Island in almost 30 luxury condominium buildings.
Dora Puig, the top-ranked real estate broker in Miami-Dade County by sales volume in 2018, who sells some of the most luxurious condos on Fisher Island, told me people move there for three main reasons: privacy, security, and the amenities.
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Residents of the island include real-estate developers, high-power litigation attorneys, CEOs, people in the finance industry, and some who are simply "old money," Puig said.
Tech CEOs and hedge-fund managers from New York, Silicon Valley, and other high-tax areas are moving to Miami in droves, and highly amenitized Fisher Island is one of their top picks.
Members of the Fisher Island Club get access to private beaches with sand imported from the Bahamas, a beach club, eight restaurants, a golf course, two deep-water marinas, a spa, 18 tennis courts, and more. The marina's boat slips are "highly coveted" and will cost you a minimum of $125,000 and potentially well into the millions, publicist Lauren Marks told me.
The island also has its own fire and rescue station, medical facility, bank, mail facility, dog park, and even an independent day school with students from age 2 through seventh grade. About 600 employees work on the island. And because only about 30% of residents live there year-round, that means there are often more employees on the island than residents, Marks said.
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I got the chance to take a tour of Fisher Island on a recent afternoon. Here's a look inside the super-exclusive community.
Fisher Island is a man-made island created by the government in 1906, when a canal was dug between South Beach and what is now the island, in order to ease traffic in the area.
My journey started at the Miami Beach Marina, where a small private shuttle boat was waiting to take me to the island.
The boat is a private shuttle for prospective and current residents of Palazzo Del Sol and Palazzo Della Luna, two of the island's newest and most luxurious condominium buildings.
The boat was small yet luxurious, with 11 leather seats in an enclosed interior.
It's only about a seven-minute boat ride from the Miami Beach Marina to Fisher Island.
As we sped out of the marina, I got an up-close view of some massive yachts.
As we arrived at Fisher Island, I got my first look at the island's Mediterranean-style residential buildings.
About 700 families live in the island's 30 luxury condominium buildings, where units sell for an average of about $3.2 million.
The island has two deep-water marinas that can accommodate luxury yachts up to 250 feet.
The boat slips are "highly coveted" and will cost you a minimum of $125,000 and potentially well into the millions, publicist Lauren Marks told me.
I was picked up in a golf cart, which is the preferred mode of transportation on the island.
All the golf carts are individually owned, but at the island's newest and most luxurious residences, Palazzo Del Sol (finished in 2016) and Palazzo Della Luna (expected to be completed in 2019), each resident is given a custom $20,000 Garia golf cart.
As I was driven around the island, I was struck by how perfectly landscaped it was. In some places, the grass almost looked fake, and there didn't seem to be a single palm leaf or flowering shrub out of place.
The speed limit on the island is a respectable 19 miles per hour. Some residents bring their cars on the island via the ferry, but during my tour, I mainly saw people getting around by golf cart.
About 700 families live on Fisher Island, although only about 30% of those are year-round residents.
Notable residents include Hasbro Toys CEO Alan Hassenfield, who bought an $8.2 million condo in Palazzo del Sol, Yard House founder and former CEO Steele Platt, and tennis player Caroline Wozniacki and her fiancé, former NBA player David Lee, who paid $13.5 million for a condo at Palazzo Del Sol.
"They have everything on the island: eight places to dine, golf, tennis," she said. "Probably one of the best tennis centers in the city. Two amazing marinas. So we cover a lot of ground."
The island's centerpiece is the historic Vanderbilt Mansion, built in the 1930s by William Vanderbilt, who acquired Fisher Island by trading his 250-yacht to Carl Fisher.
In addition to its multimillion-dollar condos, Fisher Island offers luxury hotel accommodations that include four historic cottages, six courtyard villas, and a guest house with five suites. Rates range from about $625 to $3,050 per night.
"If you've been to the island, it's gorgeous," Puig told me back in February. "It feels like you're in the Caribbean, yet you're literally a three-minute boat ride to South Fifth Street to all the restaurants, and a five-minute boat ride to Downtown Miami."
Residents can choose to dine at eight restaurants on the island, including the Garwood Lounge within the Vanderbilt Mansion, a fine-dining establishment that serves grass-fed burgers, steaks, and fresh seafood in an oak-paneled dining room.
Right next to the mansion is the poolside Beach Club, a collection of outdoor pavilions clustered around a swimming pool. There's a cocktail bar and a sushi bar.
Fisher Island's professional tennis courts have been ranked No. 1 in the East Coast region of the US by Tennis Magazine.
The island has 18 courts with three types of playing surfaces: two grass courts, two hard courts, and 14 Har-Tru clay courts.
"A breathtaking location, year-round outdoor play — day and night — and a choice of three surfaces makes Fisher Island popular with players of all levels, including pros seeking pre-tournament practice," Tennis magazine reads.
Fisher Island has its own full-service spa and wellness center for residents called "Spa Internazionale."
The spa's services include personal training, group classes, facials, massages, and various "body excursions," including a cellulite sculpting body treatment and a coconut milk and honey wrap.
For most services on the island, including the restaurants, members don't pay with cash or credit card, but instead just put the expense on their membership tab, according to Marks.
As there are no bridges between the mainland and Fisher Island, residents who want to bring their cars onto the island must do so via a 24-hour vehicle ferry that takes about seven minutes and leaves every 15 minutes.
The ferry is for residents only, but invited guests can board as long as they have pre-arranged security clearance.
The residents of Palazzo Del Sol and Palazzo Della Luna, however, have access to the same private shuttle boat that I took from the Miami Beach Marina.
"They love it because it's like their own aqua-Uber," Puig told me. "It takes them to South of Fifth, it takes them to Cipriani, it'll take them to restaurants. It'll take them and pick them up from someone's house for dinner."
Fisher Island has some of the most secluded beaches in Miami, with sand imported from the Bahamas.
I was told the sand is raked every single morning to keep it clean and pristine.
Although only about 30% of Fisher Island's residents live there year-round, the island has its own independent day school with students ranging from age 2 to seventh grade.
Some students come from off-island to attend the school, Marks told me.
The island even has its own private aviary full of exotic birds.
In fact, beyond the aviary, I was surprised to find that I saw more wildlife than people on my tour of the island.
I saw several different types of birds, including geese and what I think was white ibis.
Most impressive were the free-roaming peacocks, whose calls could be heard echoing across the island.
If I closed my eyes to obscure the golf courts and the grass that was so perfectly manicured it almost looked fake, I could've imagined myself to be in a tropical oasis.
More than 600 employees work on Fisher Island, including the Club workers and employees of the homeowner association and property management employees.
Because most residents don't live on Fisher Island year-round, that means there are often more employees on the island than residents, Marks told me.
Even more amazing is that that I didn't even notice this sizeable workforce. They had what I can only describe as an invisible impact on the perfectly manicured island.
As I got back on my private shuttle boat back to the Miami Beach Marina, I tried to imagine what it would be like to live on Fisher Island.
The island felt like a pristine, secluded oasis, but it's also less than 10 minutes by boat from bustling South Beach.
While I'm not sure I'd want to live in such a mellow locale at this point in my life, I can certainly see the appeal for upper-crust businesspeople and families looking for a quiet vacation home where they can golf, play tennis, and relax on private beaches with their fellow millionaires.
