Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner parted with $32.2 million (£26.7m) to snap up a coveted plot on the reassuringly private Indian Creek Island, an uber-exclusive, high-security enclave near Miami Beach dubbed the 'Billionaire Bunker', which is home to fabulously wealthy tycoons and A-list celebrities. In April 2021, the pair also picked up a $24 million (£19.9m) fixer-upper mansion on the same island. Now, it looks as though they could be finally ready to move in and make the secretive community home for good. Click or scroll on to find out more and take a tour of the mysterious enclave they're relocating to...

Back in early December 2020, Page Six was the first news outlet to report that Ivanka and Jared had been hunting for property to purchase in the Miami and Palm Beach area. According to their sources, the publication revealed that the couple had settled on lot number four, a 1.8-acre waterfront parcel on the west side of the 300-acre Indian Creek community, belonging to none other than legendary Spanish singer Julio Iglesias.

Indian Creek Village, to give the community its proper name, boasts just 41 lots and currently has 32 residences in total, which are grouped along the island's shoreline around a clubhouse and a perfectly manicured golf course designed by celebrated architect William Flynn. Totally manmade, the pristine island hideaway was dredged from Biscayne Bay in the early 1900s and slated to be part of a larger artificial island.

Instead, it was repurposed during the late 1920s as a posh country club with an 18-hole championship golf course, as well as a winter retreat for the tycoons of the age and their families. In 1939, rumours that neighbouring Surfside was planning to annex the secluded locale prompted its influential residents, who were up in arms that their private paradise might be opened up to the public, to come together and form their own municipality.

Indian Creek Village was incorporated that same year and famous millionaire families, including the moneyed Woolworths and Hoovers, flocked to the island. From the get-go, residents have been tight-lipped about the community and hostile to press attention, so much so that a journalist researching a piece on the island for the Miami New Times back in 1993 struggled to find anyone willing to talk about it and remarked that precious little had ever been written about the place.

The island has long had a staid, conservative atmosphere and is considered the classier, understated alternative to Miami's other billionaire enclave, Star Island (pictured), where past and current residents include former couple Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez, Shaquille O’Neal, Gloria Estefan and Rosie O'Donnell.

Indian Creek Island's leading landowner, Julio Iglesias bought two parcels in 1978 and went on to amass a further three over the years, including one on the opposite side of the island, which is home to a mansion he lives in for two months of the year. The Grammy Award-winner told the Miami Herald that he intended to gift the undeveloped plots to his kids, including superstar son Enrique, but he since decided to put the parcels up for sale.

The veteran singer listed all four vacant plots in 2017 for a staggering $150 million (£124m), but the eight-acre bundle failed to entice a buyer. Lot number four went back on the market in January 2020 with an asking price of $31.8 million (£26.4m) before Javanka snapped it up—the duo was clearly prepared to pull out all the stops to get the exclusive plot.

Iglesias did very well from the sale, having bought the parcel in 2014 for a bargain $21.6 million (£17.9m). Incidentally, the famed singer is no fan of Ivanka's father, and in a 2015 interview with Spain's La Vanguardia newspaper blasted the then-presidential candidate for his attitude towards immigration, calling him “a clown” and vowing to never sing again in his casinos.

The plum real estate deal came hot on the heels of the sale of lot number seven, which was acquired by celebrity cosmetic surgeon Dr Aaron Rollins at the end of November 2020 for $30 million (£24.9m). Iglesias' remaining vacant plots, numbers five and six, look to have sold after being on the market as a bundle with an asking price of $100 million (£83m).

Ivanka and Jared also went on to buy this 8,510-square-foot waterfront property in the same sought-after community. The colossal crib had been on the market for half a year when Ivanka and Jared snapped it up, paying a cool $24 million (£19.9m) for the 1.26-acre estate. The high-flying couple purchased the pad in April 2021, moving to a rental apartment in nearby Surfside while renovations took place. It's thought that the pair snapped up the house as a short-term residence while they build their dream property on their nearby plot.

Built in 1994, the house has six bedrooms and nine bathrooms, as well as plenty of light-filled living spaces including a living room, a dining room, a screening room, a wood-panelled office and a gym. However, aerial photos from around the time the couple made their purchase show that the mansion's grounds had deteriorated since the listing photos were taken. The outdoor hot tubs were drained, while the pool was green and definitely in need of cleaning. 

It's clear to see why the couple opted to move into a rental and undertake an extensive program of renovations. We imagine it took a while to get the mansion back up to scratch to meet the high standards of the neighbourhood. Nevertheless, according to the Daily Mail, Ivanka and Jared are now finally ready to move into their freshly overhauled property in the new year. We wonder what changes they made?

So why did Ivanka and Jared want the plot so bad? As well as being only an hour or so's drive from Mar-a-Lago, where Ivanka's father now resides, Indian Creek Village is moments away from the Miami Beach mansion Jared's brother Joshua and his supermodel wife Karlie Kloss acquired in August 2020 (pictured)—the couples are especially tight. Plus, it's said that other family members and close friends of the duo have moved to the area or are planning to relocate there.

The island's seclusion and top-notch security are also major draws for the pair. A veritable fortress, Indian Creek Island has its very own 13-strong police force that scrupulously vets visitors—the community is only accessible by bridge via a heavily guarded gatepost—while armed officers patrol the island on land and by boat 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

In terms of politics, the residents of the enclave lean strongly towards the GOP and Donald Trump, another huge bonus for Javanka. While the twosome are reportedly keeping their Park Avenue apartment, they're pretty much personae non gratae in the Big Apple and have effectively been shunned by New York society. No wonder the pair have decided to decamp to staunchly Republican Florida.

To break it down, the Indian Creek district recorded 42 votes for the incumbent and just 11 for Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election. With 79% of the community supportive of the former POTUS, the couple can be assured of a warm welcome by and large from their neighbours. The Indian Creek Country Club, however, is another matter entirely.

According to Page Six, Javanka “need not apply” for membership of the notoriously selective 300-member golf club, which charges initiation fees in excess of $150,000 (£124k) and dues of $16,000 (£13.3k) a year. Reportedly appalled by the storming of the Capitol in January 2021, some members are said to be dead against Ivanka and her husband joining and are likely to veto any application, with only one 'no' vote needed to bar the couple.

The duo could end up missing out on the immaculately maintained golf course and clubhouse with its fine-dining restaurant. Shockingly, the club, which has had several run-ins with the island's residents over the years, had strict policies in the past that discriminated against Jewish and Black people, and actively restricted their membership.

Returning to the island's illustrious residents, lot number one is owned by billionaire art collector and former Philadelphia Eagles proprietor Norman Braman, who made his money dealing cars. He snapped up the plot with its eight-bedroom mansion in 1991 for $3.9 million (£3.2m) and has packed the garden with imposing metal sculptures by the likes of Alexander Calder and Joan Miró. The previous owner of number two is said to have ties to the Saudi Royal Family though it appears to have since been sold on, while lot three allegedly has links to the Emir of Qatar.

The latter plot features a jaw-dropping modern mansion with a 100-foot pool and cabana, 3D cinema, music studio and more, along with a beach area created with pink sand shipped from the Bahamas. It was sold in 2019 by a mysterious Russian buyer for $49.9 million (£41.4m), a record for the Miami area, to Qatari businessman Abdulhadi Mana Al-Hajri, who may have bought the property on behalf of the Emir.

As we've mentioned, lots five and six are now off market and lot seven was recently acquired by celebrity cosmetic surgeon Dr Aaron Rollins. Hotels.com co-founder Bob Denier is the owner of number eight and its eight-bedroom mansion, pool and tennis court. He sold the adjacent lot nine to Russian businessman Vladimir Krasavtsev in 2015 for $25.7 million (£21.3m). Krasavtsev offloaded it to an anonymous buyer in 2018 for $27.5 million (£22.8m). Lots 10 and 11 are owned by an obscure company called MTM Star International.

Moving around the island, number 12 and its sprawling mega-mansion (pictured) once belonged to steel magnate Leroy Schecter, who sold it to an undisclosed buyer in 2014 for $28 million (£23.2m) and is said to have donated the proceeds to charity. Number 14 (there is no number 13) is owned by hedge fund billionaire and former Sears CEO Edward Lampert. In 2012, the finance whiz paid $38.4 million (£31.9m) for the property, which includes a seven-bedroom, 13-bathroom Italianate villa.

The clubhouse is next. Designed in 1929 by Swiss-American architect Maurice Fatio, the Mediterranean Revival building was named one of America's greatest clubhouses by Golf Digest in 2019. Next door, real estate developer Irwin Tauber's mansion at number 15 is a generous 19,594 square feet. Tauber bought the palatial eight-bedroom, nine-bathroom property in 2003 for $7 million (£5.8m).

Don Shula, the revered Miami Dolphins coach who won more games than any other trainer in NFL history, passed away in 2020 in his lavish home at number 16. His widow Mary Anne continues to live in the white five-bedroom, six-bathroom pad, which was built in 1962 and purchased by the Shulas in 1989 for just under $4 million (£3.3m).

The next plot along belongs to Rakesh Gangwal, the billionaire co-founder of Indian budget airline IndiGo and former US Airways CEO. In 2015, the aviation supremo paid $30 million (£24.9m) for the parcel, which was once owned by billionaire financier Charles Johnson. It wows with a five-bedroom, six-bathroom Italian Mediterranean-style mansion loaded with premium amenities such as a home cinema, wine cellar and gym.

Colombian banker and property developer Jaime Gilinski Bacal owns plots 18 and 19, which feature a seven-bedroom, seven-bathroom pile (pictured). The next two lots along belong to Israeli billionaire businessman Yitzhak Tshuva, who has a glam 11-bedroom, 11-bathroom villa at his disposal.

Telecoms magnate Rajendra Singh and his wife Dr Neera Singh own number 23. The couple purchased the opulent seven-bedroom, 10-bathroom mansion and the land it sits on in 2007 for $20 million (£16.6m). Next along is billionaire hedge fund manager Carl Icahn's seven-bedroom, seven-bathroom holiday home, which he bought out of foreclosure in 1997 for $7.5 million (£6.2m).

Number 25, which features a six-bedroom, seven-bathroom manse spanning 20,047 square feet, was acquired by Itzhak Ezratti, the president and CEO of Florida developer GL Homes, in 1999 for $4.3 million (£3.6m). Its neighbouring property (pictured) was bagged by Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady and his supermodel ex-wife Gisele Bündchen in late 2020. The pair have since filed for divorce. 

First reported by Page Six in December 2020, former couple Tom and Gisele, who paid $17 million (£14m) for plot 26, planned to demolish the existing home and build an eco mansion in its place. In the wake of their separation, it's not clear who will take on the colossal build project now. 

Number 27 is owned by billionaire property developer Jeff Soffer, who shared the lot's nine-bedroom, 11-bathroom mansion with his supermodel wife Elle Macpherson before their divorce in 2017. Incidentally, plot 26 actually belonged to Soffer's sister, who sold the property to her sibling in late 2020, not long before it was bought by Brady and Bündchen.

Cuban-born banker Javier Holtz holds the deeds to number 28, while the next property along, lot 29 (pictured), was reportedly sold by investor Gary Siegler and his wife Barbara for $27.9 million (£23.1m) in 2021. It appears the new owner is now renting it out for a staggering $120,000 (£99.6k) per month. Julio Iglesias' modernist holiday home is next, followed by plots 31 and 32, which are owned by Mexican millionaire and Grupo IUSA boss Carlos Peralta.

Duty Free tycoon Benny Klepach owns lots 33 and 34, which have two interconnected mansions with 30,000 square feet of floor space and a total of 12 bedrooms and 14 bathrooms according to the Miami Herald. Klepach is currently serving as mayor of Indian Creek Village, with Javier Holtz acting as his deputy.

Chilean TV personality Mario Kreutzberger AKA Don Francisco, who rose to fame as the host of Sábado Gigante ('Gigantic Saturday'), the world's longest-running variety show, sold number 37 in the summer of 2021 to developer Todd Michael Glaser. Glaser razed the site and is constructing a spec mansion befitting of a 'bitcoin billionaire', according to Forbes. In fact, he listed the incomplete project in May 2022 for a staggering $59 million (£49m) and the listing has since been removed, so perhaps the new mega-mansion has already found a buyer...

Basketball Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino sold lot 38 and its dreamy eight-bedroom, 10-and-a-half bathroom mansion in April 2020 for $17 million (£14m), considerably less than its original list price of $24 million (£19.9m). It was bought by a Florida LLC, probably to conceal the identity of the ultimate owner. The next plot along belongs to longtime resident Alicia Ziegert, wife of Florida developer Franco D’Agostino.

Number 40 was reportedly once been home to Beyoncé and Jay-Z for a time, but judging by official records, it's more likely the A-list couple rented rather than bought the plot's idyllic seven-bedroom, nine-bathroom trophy home at some point during the late 2000s. The property now belongs to Dutch businessman Geert-Jan Bakker, who purchased it in 2010 for $9.3 million (£7.7m). The final lot number 41 is owned by biotech exec Martin Silver and features a five-bedroom, five-bathroom Mediterranean-style manse.

While their new residence was being renovated, Jared and Ivanka leased a luxe condo in neighbouring Surfside's hip Arte building. They've been dividing their time between the Miami rental, their Manhattan apartment and their cabin near the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey. But with the rental due to hit the real estate market in the new year, it seems the couple are finally making the move to Indian Creek.

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