Luxury Homes on Star Island, Miami Beach

Last verified: September 15, 2026. Every price, owner and record claim below is tied to a dated published report.

Star Island is a man-made island in Biscayne Bay between South Beach and downtown Miami, and it is a neighborhood of the City of Miami Beach rather than its own town. It was completed in 1922 by the US Army Corps of Engineers by dredging sand, on land assembled by Carl Fisher, and it covers roughly 0.134 square miles, about 86 acres, with a resident population of 98 at the last census tally, per Wikipedia. The Real Deal puts the island at about 30 homes. Every parcel is waterfront. For comparison context, see my Fisher Island guide, my Indian Creek Village guide, and the Q1 2026 luxury market report.

Every Verified Star Island Sale, 2021 to 2026

Star Island produces very few public trades in a year, so the honest way to read it is one transaction at a time. These are the sales I can tie to a dated report. I am not publishing an average price per square foot for the island, because five reported trades across five years is not a sample that supports one.

Address	Closed	Price	What traded	Source
26 Star Island Drive	March 2025	$120,000,000	22,000 sq ft, six bedrooms, on 2.5 acres. Vlad Doronin to Constellation Drive LLC, led by Michael Ferro. Doronin had bought it from Shaquille O'Neal in 2009 for $16,000,000.	The Real Deal
1 Star Island Drive	July 2026	$55,000,000	Nearly 8,000 sq ft on a 1.3-acre lot with 240 feet of water frontage. Sean Combs to JFStar LLC, off-market, with an $18,500,000 mortgage from Axos Bank.	The Real Deal
43 Star Island Drive	August 2025	$35,300,000	11,104 sq ft on 1.1 acres, previously owned by Rosie O'Donnell. Buyer Russell Weiner plans to renovate and market it above $100,000,000.	The Real Deal
37 Star Island Drive	2023	$35,000,000	12,400 sq ft, about $2,823 per square foot. Buyer Rick Ross, who raised the mortgage on it to $35,000,000 in March 2026.	The Real Deal
1 Star Island Drive	August 2021	$35,000,000	The Estefans' guest estate, sold at its asking price to an LLC linked to Sean Combs.	The Real Deal

What Changed in 2026: the County Record Moved Off Star Island

This is the update that matters most for anyone who read an older version of this page. On March 2, 2026, Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan closed on an under-construction estate at 7 Indian Creek Island Road for $170 million, which The Real Deal reported as the highest residential price in Miami-Dade County history. That retires the Doronin sale as the county record, which it had held since March 2025 after passing Ken Griffin's nearly $107 million purchase of Adrienne Arsht's former estate in 2022. Star Island's own reported high is still the $120 million Doronin trade. Anything you read that still calls Star Island the county record holder is out of date. Full detail is in my Indian Creek Village guide.

Who Owns on Star Island

I only name owners a dated report supports, and I dropped several celebrity names that circulate online with no current source behind them. As reported by The Real Deal:

• Gloria and Emilio Estefan: sold their guest estate at 1 Star Island Drive for $35 million in August 2021 and kept a larger estate on the island.
• Sean Combs: bought 1 Star Island Drive through a linked company in 2021, sold it for $55 million in July 2026, and still owns 2 Star Island Drive next door.
• Rick Ross: owns 37 Star Island Drive, bought for $35 million in 2023, and raised the balloon mortgage on it to $35 million in March 2026 with a further $10.7 million draw.
• Russell Weiner: paid $35.3 million in August 2025 for 43 Star Island Drive, the 11,104-square-foot house that had belonged to Rosie O'Donnell.
• Ken Griffin: spent nearly $150 million assembling land on the island and controls roughly 6.5 contiguous acres.
• Also reported as owners: Phillip and Patricia Frost, Anthony Hsieh, and Leonard Hochstein. Vlad Doronin and Shaquille O'Neal are former owners of 26 Star Island Drive.
• Entity ownership: several of these trades ran through LLCs, including Constellation Drive LLC and JFStar LLC, which is the normal privacy structure at this tier.

The buyer profile is privacy demand plus a wish to stay connected to Miami Beach, since Star Island sits inside the city rather than in a separate village. South Beach, Lincoln Road and the causeway ramp to downtown and Brickell are all minutes away.

Estate Specs, Measured From Reported Sales

Rather than quote a lot-size band nobody can check, here is what the reported trades actually describe. These four houses span the range a buyer will see.

• 26 Star Island Drive: 22,000 sq ft, six bedrooms and seven bathrooms, on 2.5 acres, with a pool, tennis court and dock.
• 37 Star Island Drive: 12,400 sq ft with six bedrooms, eight bathrooms, a pool deck and 100 feet of water frontage.
• 43 Star Island Drive: 11,104 sq ft with eight bedrooms on 1.1 acres, built in 1923, with a renovation planned to take it to roughly 15,000 sq ft.
• 1 Star Island Drive: nearly 8,000 sq ft with six bedrooms on a 1.3-acre lot, 240 feet of water frontage, pool, spa, dock and a guest house. The complex was built in 1940 and expanded in 1995.

What that tells you in plain terms: a Star Island house is typically between roughly 8,000 and 22,000 square feet on a lot of about one to two and a half acres, and the older 1920s to 1940s structures are the ones being expanded or rebuilt. My read after working this market is that the frontage number matters more than the building size, because frontage is the part you cannot add later.

Access, Security, and the Guarded Bridge

Star Island is reached by one bridge off the MacArthur Causeway, with a staffed guardhouse at the entrance. Every vehicle stops. A non-resident has to be on a homeowner's list before arriving, so there is no public access, no tour route and no walk-on entry. Because the island is inside the City of Miami Beach, policing is Miami Beach Police Department, which is a different model from Indian Creek Village, a separate municipality with its own force. I have not published call volume or response-time figures here, because I have no public dataset for this island that I can point you to.

• One vehicular entry: the Star Island Drive bridge, with a staffed gate.
• Municipal policing: Miami Beach Police Department, as with any Miami Beach neighborhood.
• Private estate security: layered on by individual owners at this price tier, not provided by the city.
• Water side: Biscayne Bay is open water, and owners dock at private docks on their own parcels.
• Vendors and crews: cleared through the homeowner, which is what makes a rebuild project a scheduling exercise as much as a construction one.

For comparison, see my Indian Creek Village guide on the dedicated police force model and my Bal Harbour guide on a public-access luxury market.

Carrying Cost: How I Model It, Without Made-Up Ranges

Earlier versions of this page carried tax, insurance, staffing and rebuild ranges I could not source. They are gone. Here is the honest version of how carrying cost gets figured on a Star Island file, and what I tell a client to do instead of trusting a band on a web page.

• Property tax: pull the folio. The Miami-Dade Property Appraiser publishes the assessed value, the exemptions and the current millage for the exact parcel, and a recent sale usually resets the assessment upward over the following cycles. That reading is specific and free, and it beats any percentage estimate I could write here.
• Insurance: quote it before you go hard, not after. On waterfront Miami Beach the number turns on construction year, roof and window ratings, dock coverage and flood layers, which is exactly why a single range for the island would mislead you.
• Homeowner association: Star Island has one, and it funds the gate and shared grounds. Ask for the current budget and assessment in writing during due diligence rather than taking a figure off any website, mine included.
• Staff and grounds: a one to two acre waterfront estate runs on people. Build the number from the actual program you plan to run, not from a template.
• Rebuild path: Miami Beach permitting plus association review is a multi-year cycle. My advice on Star Island is to get a builder's written budget and schedule before you sign on a teardown, because the lot is the easy part.

For related methodology see my true cost of owning a Miami luxury home guide, and the LLC structuring guide for international buyers managing privacy and tax layers.

Star Island vs. Miami's Other Private Islands

Enclave	Housing type	Homes	Government	Access
Star Island	Single-family	About 30	City of Miami Beach neighborhood	One guarded bridge off the MacArthur Causeway
Indian Creek Village	Single-family	41	Separate municipality	One guarded bridge, own police force
Fisher Island	Condos and villas	About 800 units	Unincorporated Miami-Dade	Ferry only

Star Island wins on two things that matter to a specific buyer: it is inside Miami Beach, minutes from South Beach, and every parcel is waterfront with a dock. The trade-off against Indian Creek Village is policing and absolute seclusion, and the county record now sits there. The trade-off against Fisher Island is that you buy a house and run it yourself rather than buying into a condominium. See my Fisher Island guide, Indian Creek Village guide, and Key Biscayne luxury guide.

Investment Outlook: Scarcity, and One Live Value-Add Test

The structural case is simple: about 30 waterfront parcels, no remaining land, and a buyer pool that keeps arriving from higher-tax states. Florida has no state income tax and no inheritance tax, and a homesteaded estate gets the Save Our Homes assessment cap. What I will not do is publish an appreciation percentage for the island, because the reported trades are too few to support one. The test worth watching instead is 43 Star Island Drive: bought at $35.3 million in August 2025 with a stated plan to renovate and market above $100 million, per The Real Deal. Whatever that resale prints at will tell you more about Star Island value-add math than any index. For structuring, see my LLC structuring guide and my international tax guide.

How I Help Star Island Buyers and Sellers

Star Island transactions run on introductions and discretion. For buyers I work owners weighing liquidity, brokers holding private listings, and parcels under controlled marketing. For sellers I run private buyer outreach without forcing a public listing. Every file clears legal, financial and discretion checks before an introduction advances. I do not bring unvetted buyers to Star Island sellers, and I do not bring Star Island sellers to unvetted buyers.

"On Star Island the public listings are only part of the picture. The real inventory is held by owners weighing liquidity who will not list publicly. My job is to know who they are, what would move them, and which buyers they will actually meet. Trust and discretion come before the address."Gerardo Gonzalez, Licensed Real Estate Agent at Compass

Want a discreet introduction on Star Island or a private representation conversation? Reach out. I review credentials, scope and timeline before any introduction advances.

Key Takeaways

• Star Island no longer holds the Miami-Dade record. Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan closed 7 Indian Creek Island Road at $170 million on March 2, 2026, per The Real Deal, passing the $120 million Doronin sale that had held it since March 2025.
• Star Island's own reported high is still $120 million for 26 Star Island Drive, 22,000 sq ft on 2.5 acres, bought from Shaquille O'Neal in 2009 for $16 million, per The Real Deal.
• The most recent reported trade is $55 million at 1 Star Island Drive in July 2026, an off-market deal on a nearly 8,000 sq ft house with 240 feet of frontage, per The Real Deal.
• The island is about 30 homes on roughly 86 acres inside the City of Miami Beach, completed in 1922, with no undeveloped land left.
• On carrying cost, what I tell buyers is to pull the folio at the Miami-Dade Property Appraiser and get insurance quoted before going hard, because no published range for this island is worth trusting, including one I could write.

Quick Facts: Star Island

Homes on the island	About 30, all waterfront
Land area	Roughly 0.134 square miles, about 86 acres
Created	1922, dredged by the US Army Corps of Engineers
Government	Neighborhood of the City of Miami Beach
Highest reported island sale	$120,000,000, 26 Star Island Drive, March 2025
Most recent reported sale	$55,000,000, 1 Star Island Drive, July 2026
Miami-Dade county record	$170,000,000, Indian Creek Village, March 2026
Access	One staffed bridge off the MacArthur Causeway

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the $120 million Star Island sale still the Miami-Dade record in 2026?

No. Vlad Doronin's $120 million sale of 26 Star Island Drive in March 2025 held the Miami-Dade County record until March 2, 2026, when Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan closed on 7 Indian Creek Island Road for $170 million, per The Real Deal. The $120 million figure is still the highest price reported on Star Island itself.

How many homes are on Star Island?

The Real Deal puts Star Island at about 30 homes. The island is a neighborhood of the City of Miami Beach, completed in 1922 by the US Army Corps of Engineers, and covers roughly 0.134 square miles of land, or about 86 acres, per Wikipedia. Every parcel is waterfront and there is no undeveloped land left.

What did the most recent Star Island sale close at?

The most recent reported trade is 1 Star Island Drive, sold in July 2026 for $55 million by Sean Combs to JFStar LLC, an off-market deal financed with an $18.5 million mortgage from Axos Bank, per The Real Deal. The nearly 8,000-square-foot house sits on a 1.3-acre lot with 240 feet of water frontage.

How do you get onto Star Island in 2026?

One bridge off the MacArthur Causeway, and it is staffed. Every vehicle stops at the guardhouse, and a non-resident needs a homeowner to put them on the list before arriving. There is no public access, no tour route and no walk-on entry. Buyers view estates by appointment, escorted, and usually before anything is publicly marketed.

Who owns homes on Star Island?

The Real Deal has reported Gloria and Emilio Estefan, Sean Combs at 2 Star Island Drive, rapper Rick Ross at 37 Star Island Drive, billionaire Russell Weiner at 43 Star Island Drive, Phillip and Patricia Frost, Anthony Hsieh and Leonard Hochstein as owners. Ken Griffin spent nearly $150 million assembling land and controls about 6.5 contiguous acres.

How does Star Island compare to Indian Creek Village and Fisher Island?

Star Island is about 30 single-family homes inside the City of Miami Beach, reached by a guarded bridge. Indian Creek Village is 41 estates in its own municipality with its own police force, and it holds the $170 million county record. Fisher Island is condo-dominant at roughly 800 units with ferry-only access. Star Island leads on Miami Beach proximity.

Should I buy a finished Star Island estate or a teardown in 2026?

My advice is to price the rebuild path before you fall for the lot. Russell Weiner bought 43 Star Island Drive for $35.3 million in August 2025 and plans to market it above $100 million after renovation, per The Real Deal, which is the honest shape of the value-add case here. If you are not set up for a multi-year Miami Beach permit and construction cycle, buy finished.

About the author: Gerardo Gonzalez is a licensed real estate agent at Compass (License #3561753), specializing in South Florida luxury and pre-construction real estate. Luxury Dade Group at Compass. (305) 964-8614 | [email protected]

Related guides: Fisher Island luxury condos | Indian Creek Village luxury homes | South Beach luxury condos | Mid-Beach luxury condos | LLC structuring for foreign buyers | True cost of owning a Miami luxury condo | Foreign national Miami real estate guide | Q1 2026 Miami luxury market report