That a millionaire wants to buy himself a huge mansion and protect yourself from prying eyes building huge walls It’s not something new. In fact, it is such a common practice that large communities of millionaires have even been created. that isolate themselves from the rest seeking precisely that privacy.
This scene is already repeated in the most expensive neighborhoods in the United States, but the big difference is that billionaires have already stopped competing for the largest mansion. Now they compete to empty the entire block to get as far away from the world as possible. They have dubbed the phenomenon “landmaxxing” and it is changing the rules of the game in luxury brick.
What exactly is landmaxxing?. The term has been coined by the real estate consultancy Coldwell Banker in its semiannual report 2026. He compares it to the “lookmaxxing” of the internet, that trend of optimize the physique to the maximum. The difference is that, in this case, the object to be optimized is not the body, but the ground that surrounds you. As and how to collect he Wall Street Journalbuying all the houses that surround their property has become an obsession for millionaires.
According to data from the Coldwell Banker report, searches for building land in the US rose 97% year-on-year, while searches for exclusive properties, such as private islands or large estates, doubled in the first five months of the year. That is to say, interest in large residential complexes has increased over mansions or single-family homes. “This is more coveted than a 40,000-square-foot home. For some, it represents privacy and security. For others, it’s a hedge against inflation,” Coldwell Banker Miami real estate agent Danny Hertzberg told the WSJ.
If you want it, pay for it. In this expansionist point lies the key to the business. The millionaire chooses a certain property at a specific price, but they do not take into account the extra cost that may appear when the neighbor does not want to sell their house. That’s when the price stops making sense for ordinary mortals.
In fact, real estate agents in areas where the massive arrival of millionaires like Florida they already talk about a “neighbor premium”, which can increase the purchase price up to 20% above the market value. It’s the price you have to pay to get rid of your neighbors.
The masters of the neighborhood. Just as I described Robb Report Ángel Nicolás, Serhant real estate agent: “Your home is not just the walls: it is the entire experience of the neighborhood.” That is why there are those who buy the plots adjacent to their property without plans to build anything, just to decide who will live opposite.
In addition to controlling the neighborhood, there are also those who do it out of fear of fires, increasingly common during recent years, as a measure to have more distance between houses acting as a firewall. The ultimate goal is always the same: that no one else can touch the landscape they already consider theirs.
Bezos’ bunker in Miami. Indian Creek, the man-made island in Miami that everyone calls “Billionaire Bunker,” has fewer than 40 parcels and its own police force. There decided to settle Jeff Bezos to be closer to Blue Origin operations. First he paid $68 million for a house by the water. Two months later bought the one next doorfor 79 million more.
The founder of Amazon later added a third mansionthis for 90 million, until collecting more than 230 million on the same island. Their plan is to tear down the mansions that are already built to build a single own mansion.
Zuckerberg’s fortress in Palo Alto. Mark Zuckerberg started in 2011 with a five-bedroom house in Crescent Park. Fourteen years later his “landmaxxing” plan has led him to buy at least eleven properties from the same neighborhood for about 110 million dollars in total. Each purchase served to join plots and expand the perimeter of their farm.
Underground there are huge basements that the neighbors already call “the batcave of the billionaires”. Eight straight years of construction, cameras everywhere and private guards patrolling the street. According to published Fortunewhen the noise is too bothersome, Zuckerberg himself sends headphones, baskets of champagne and donuts to calm the neighbors’ spirits.
Griffin, Ellison and the rest of the club. Ken Griffin, founder of Citadel, has been buying parcel after parcel in Palm Beach since 2012. It already has more than 10 hectares off the coast and more than 450 million dollars invested only in buying the land. When it’s over, it will be most expensive house ever built.
Nearby, Larry Ellison and WeatherTech founder David MacNeil did something different. Instead of letting a third neighbor build a mansion worth 285 million, they divided the plot that separated their mansions. According to the real estate portal Realtorthe millionaires paid 67 million to their neighbor and each one thus expanded their own farm. “It’s always nice to have a little extra space for my three Golden Retrievers to run around,” MacNeil said in a text message.
Image | Unsplash (Daniel Barnes)
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