Paypal co-founder Peter Thiel’s family office pays record rent for top Miami tower

[MIAMI] Peter Thiel, who has been expanding his business interests in South Florida, leased office space at Miami’s 830 Brickell skyscraper for his family office, joining a group of finance and tech heavyweights in the heart of the city’s finance district.

He co-founded PayPal and Palantir Technologies, and has invested in many of the biggest tech companies over the past several decades, including SpaceX.

He is paying about US$250 per square foot for 18,158 square feet (1,687 square metres) of space on the 44th floor, said a source.

That price point is the most expensive office lease signed in Miami’s history, said the source, who asked not to be named because the deal is not public. Thiel Capital is paying roughly five times the city’s average office lease, based on data from real estate company Costar.

Thiel’s family office is joining Ken Griffin’s Citadel Securities, private equity firm Thoma Bravo, Microsoft and Banco Santander in the 55-storey tower, which has become a symbol of Miami’s aspirations to emulate Wall Street and Silicon Valley.  

A spokesperson for Thiel Capital did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The family office will be taking part of the space left vacant by Banco Master, which collapsed in 2025 as part of what is shaping up to be one of the biggest fraud cases in Brazil’s history.

Little-known Banco Master raised eyebrows in 2024 for paying what was then the most expensive office lease in Miami. The firm never moved in.

Miami is seeing a boom in domestic wealth flooding into waterfront real estate and pricey office space.

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It is in part triggered by plans to raise taxes on the rich in states such as New York, Washington and California, which is weighing a one-time 5 per cent tax on billionaires who resided in the state as at Jan 1, 2026. Florida, which has no state income taxes, in contrast, is discussing a ballot initiative in November to cut property taxes.

Thiel, who is worth US$23.6 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, has owned a home in Miami Beach for more than five years, but announced at the end of 2025 that Thiel Capital was opening an office in the Wynwood neighbourhood of Miami.

As chairman of Palantir, he was instrumental in the tech company’s decision to change its headquarters to South Florida this year, said people familiar with the move.

The 58-year-old has recently spent time in Argentina, reportedly buying a mansion in Buenos Aires, and meeting with the country’s President Javier Milei.

The tech titan is poised to reap a big windfall from investments made in SpaceX and Anthropic, as they prepare to go public through mega initial public offerings. BLOOMBERG