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EXCLUSIVE: New York and California are no longer just losing residents — they are losing an entire economic class.

As 2026 kicks off a fresh wave of “tax the rich” rhetoric in traditional financial hubs, top Florida developers tell Fox News Digital they are seeing a massive, permanent surge in capital migration. In just the last 60 days, two developers and one sales firm reported over $126 million in sales to buyers relocating from California and New York, signaling that the blue state exodus has moved from a temporary trickle to a flood of hundreds of millions of dollars.

“In our three projects… we saw over $60 million over the last 30 days, and I can tell you that in the last six months between the three projects combined, we sold over $200 million of product. We still see a lot of buyers coming from New York, California, New Jersey and Illinois. These are the main four markets,” BH Group CEO Isaac Toledano told Fox News Digital.

“We’re at roughly $50 million in Shoma Bay alone since the start of the year from New York and California buyers. What’s different now is the conviction,” Shoma Group CEO Masoud Shojaee also told Fox News Digital. “People aren’t just looking, they’re signing contracts, and that tells us this has staying power.”

FLORIDA CHAMBER C.E.O. SAYS HIGH-TAX STATES ARE IN A ‘DEATH SPIRAL’ AS $4M-AN-HOUR WEALTH MIGRATION ACCELERATES

“In just the first 60 days of 2026, we’ve already seen a significant increase in interest and activity at our condo projects. Based on this momentum, we anticipate total transactions this year will surpass 2025,” ISG World founder and CEO Craig Studnicky added, telling Fox News Digital they’ve seen $26 million in wealth migration from New York and California so far this year, up from $15 million the same time last year.

Between the three real estate companies, more than $126 million in sales has been completed from California and New York in 2026 so far. (Getty Images)

Based on these latest numbers, the three real estate tycoons agree that this isn’t just a slight uptick, but rather a compounding growth curve. And while Florida’s tax benefits have long been the hook for new residents, the catalysts for a new wave of high-net-worth individuals are the rise of socialist-leaning policies in New York and looming wealth taxes in California.

“We cannot ignore the fact that Mayor Mamdani, for the last few weeks, [has been] mentioning that they’re going to increase probably the real estate taxes and the wealth tax, and same in California,” Toledano said. “Here, everybody’s pushing that most likely we will see the real estate tax bills getting slashed… the mood here is completely different.”

“People are looking for simplicity… they wanna be confident. They wanna protect their business. They wanna have some clarity,” Shojaee added. “If there’s no predictability, if there is no trust, if there is no clarity, if there is no simplicity, the business is not gonna function. And that’s the issue that they have.”

The primary criticism of the Florida boom was that it was a pandemic anomaly. However, the 2026 data suggests this is a structural relocation of American wealth. Shojaee emphasized that when a CEO moves their home or headquarters, they aren’t coming for a vacation.

“If it was only just purchasing their real estate for the sake of purchasing real estate, yeah, I would say it could be a trend. But once you move your business and your wealth to Miami or Palm Beach or South Florida, that’s really permanent,” Shojaee said.

Studnicky backs this up with a dramatic shift in his own sales data, moving from part-time residents to full-time Floridians.

“Two-thirds of my U.S. sales before COVID were second homes,” Studnicky revealed. “That has completely [flipped]. Two-thirds are permanent residents.”

WALL STREET SOUTH EXPANSION: MANDARIN ORIENTAL ANCHORS NEW ‘BILLIONAIRE CORRIDOR’ IN WEST PALM BEACH

This influx of 24/7 business residents is forcing a fundamental redesign of Florida’s luxury landscape as developers are moving away from traditional resort amenities and toward infrastructure that supports a high-intensity professional life. For Studnicky, that means prioritizing the garage over the pool.

“When I sit with developers today… we talk about parking as much as we talk about the swimming pool,” Studnicky said. “Everyone’s coming with two cars, and they want to park their own cars… Parking’s become a big deal.”

Toledano added that the level of scrutiny from new residents has reached an all-time high as they look meticulously for environments to best suit their lifestyle.

“The buyers [in] the last few years became more sophisticated. They want to know more about the location, more about the developer, more about the architect, the interior designer, they [are] paying for product. And they want to make sure that they’re getting the best of the best,” Toledano said.

“I think that if we will continue to see a couple of big financial firms moving to Florida, this will be a serious game changer.”

– Isaac Toledano

Concerns about the “Californication” or “New York-ifying” of Florida are overplayed, as the real estate experts argue that names like Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Page and Sergey Brin aren’t coming to “recreate what they left behind.”

“I’ve been living here for 32 years, that concern is overstating,” Studnicky said. “The folks that are moving here, they’re fiscally very conservative, and they’re deeply entrepreneurial and that entrepreneurial spirit. I’ve never seen it go alive anywhere as I do here in [South Florida].”

The ISG World founder added that President Donald Trump’s presence in Palm Beach also brings influence.

“Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach is the White House South. Donald Trump spends as much time at Mar-a-Lago as he actually does in the White House. In other words, his mere presence here is telling people… that this is a conservatively fiscal location, and it’s extremely safe.”

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As the “Wall Street South” matures, the question is no longer if Florida can compete with the traditional financial capitals of the world, but when it might surpass them. As Toledano puts it, the current boom is likely just the preamble. If the current trajectory holds, South Florida of 2030 won’t just be a refuge for high-tax state residents — it will be the new center of gravity for American capital.

“I believe this is an evolution. This is not a competition,” Shojaee added. “It’s a big possibility that happens… and we will see the wealth that is moving here and that they’d rather be here.”

READ MORE FROM FOX BUSINESS

As the 2026 World Baseball Classic unfolds across international venues, fans are quickly encountering one of the tournament’s most distinctive rules: the mercy rule, also known as the run-rule or slaughter rule. Unlike Major League Baseball, where games continue regardless of score differential, the WBC incorporates this provision to prevent excessively lopsided contests, protect pitching staffs and maintain competitive balance in early rounds.

The mercy rule applies strictly during pool play (first round) and the quarterfinals. A game ends early if one team leads by 15 or more runs after the completion of five innings or by 10 or more runs after seven innings. The threshold must be met at the end of a full inning — no mid-inning stoppages — and the trailing team must have completed the required frames. For example, if a team is ahead 15-0 after five innings, umpires call the game immediately, sparing further play.

This structure draws from international baseball norms set by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), which has long used run-ahead rules in global competitions. The WBC adopted similar guidelines starting with its inaugural 2006 tournament, adding the 15-run threshold after five innings to address potential blowouts in a short-pool format where teams play only a few games. The rule vanishes in the semifinals and championship, ensuring full nine-inning battles for the title regardless of margin.

The 2026 edition retains these thresholds unchanged from prior tournaments like 2023. Official MLB and WBC announcements confirm games follow the 2025 Official Baseball Rules with supplements, including the mercy provision for pool and quarterfinal stages. No adjustments were made for this cycle despite discussions on pitch counts, pitch clocks (15 seconds bases empty, 18 with runners) and other tweaks to align with modern MLB pacing.

The mercy rule serves multiple purposes. In a tournament featuring mismatched talent levels — powerhouse nations like Japan, the United States, Dominican Republic and Venezuela often face emerging programs — it prevents humiliation while conserving arms for later matchups. Pitcher usage limits (e.g., rest requirements after high-pitch outings) amplify the need to avoid drawn-out routs. It also ties into tiebreaker scenarios: run differential factors heavily when teams finish with identical records, so avoiding unnecessary runs can preserve standings positions.

Critics argue the rule detracts from prestige, especially when star-studded lineups face off. Yet supporters note it mirrors youth and amateur levels (e.g., Little League’s similar thresholds) and protects players in a high-stakes event where injuries or fatigue could impact club seasons. Past WBCs saw the rule invoked sparingly — often in mismatches involving qualifiers — but its presence adds strategic layers: teams may push early leads aggressively knowing mercy could shorten games.

As the 2026 tournament progresses (with pool play underway and high-scoring early games prompting discussions), the mercy rule remains a key differentiator from MLB’s no-run-limit approach. Fans tracking games should watch for blowout alerts, as umpires enforce it promptly once criteria are met post-inning.

The provision underscores the WBC’s balance of elite competition and practical tournament management, ensuring shorter, more decisive outcomes in non-knockout phases while preserving drama for the final rounds.

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Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of ABX either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Seeking Alpha’s Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.

Up for a challenge? Test your knowledge on the biggest events in the investing world over the past week. Take the latest Seeking Alpha News Quiz and see how you stack up against the competition.

Good morning! Here’s the latest in trending:

Jobs Day: Don’t expect February’s nonfarm payrolls report to repeat January’s upside surprise.

AI feud: The Pentagon has designated Anthropic as a “supply chain risk,” prompting the startup behind Claude to challenge the label in court.

The response: History says the Fed is key to counter a recession from oil shocks, but any reaction to the Iran war will likely depend on duration.

Crude oil has officially topped $80 per barrel as the conflict in Iran continues to escalate. The WTI benchmark (CL1:COM) has surged 21% since closing at $67.02 just before the war commenced last Saturday amid increased risks to the global oil trade and the Strait of Hormuz. A fifth of the world’s oil and gas flows through the strategic waterway, but tanker traffic there has ground to a halt, with hundreds of ships trapped on each side of the critical chokepoint. China presses Iran for safe passage

Snapshot: The national average cost of gasoline has additionally climbed by 34 cents over the past week to $3.32 per gallon, according to AAA, erasing all of the savings seen since President Trump took office. “If they rise, they rise,” Trump declared in response to the spike in energy prices, saying “they’ll drop very rapidly when this is over” and the current campaign is “far more important than having gasoline prices go up a little bit.” For now, the bet is that a 4-to-5-week conflict will prove the spike is temporary, but emergency measures are being entertained if things get prolonged or prices spiral out of control. U.S. must have a role in choosing Iran’s next leader

The first plan announced by the administration is to provide insurance guarantees and U.S. Navy escorts for oil tankers and other vessels traveling through the Strait of Hormuz. Other options under consideration range from a federal gasoline tax holiday and higher ethanol blends to having the U.S. Treasury trade oil futures and drawing from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (which is hovering at 60% capacity after being heavily tapped by the Biden administration during the Ukraine war). Looking to ease global supply, the U.S. also just issued a 30-day waiver to India for purchasing crude from Russia. Shipping industry sees pledge to reopen Hormuz as only partial fix

Elsewhere: Oil is not the only commodity that has policymakers worried about an energy crunch. While the U.S. is largely insulated against natural gas disruptions due to its large domestic production, alarm bells are going off in Europe as prices jumped 70% over the past week. It comes as the highly import-dependent EU was about to phase in a ban on Russian LNG imports, while climate ambitions that saw the bloc pivot away from nuclear and coal might be a wake-up call for carbon credits and its broader emissions trading system. (6 comments)

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Today’s Markets

In Asia, Japan +0.6%. Hong Kong +1.7%. China +0.4%. India -1.4%.
In Europe, at midday, London -0.3%. Paris -0.5%. Frankfurt -0.2%.
Futures at 6:30, Dow -0.2%. S&P -0.3%. Nasdaq -0.4%. Crude +4% to $84.26. Gold +0.5% to $5,102.30. Bitcoin -3.5% to $70,565.
Ten-year Treasury Yield +3 bps to 4.17%.

On The Calendar

Companies reporting today include Embraer (EMBJ) and Tsakos Energy Navigation (TEN).

See the full earnings calendar on Seeking Alpha, as well as today’s economic calendar.

Roy Twite
CEO & Director

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to IMI’s 2025 Full Year Results Presentation. I am joined here today by our CFO, Luke Grant. Together, we will take you through another year of strong strategic and financial progress. And I would like to begin by thanking all of our people for their tremendous contribution.

The execution of our growth strategy is creating significant value for shareholders, and it was another strong performance in 2025. We have now delivered 5 consecutive years of mid-single-digit organic revenue growth and supported by the delivery of our financial framework, we are compounding earnings growth. We delivered 5% organic sales growth and 8% organic adjusted operating profit in 2025 and achieved a 20% operating margin for the first time.

It was another year of strong cash generation, and we are committed to deploying this capital for growth and to enhance shareholder returns. Organic investment is at record levels, and I am pleased to be announcing a GBP 500 million share buyback alongside a proposed 10% increase to the final dividend.

We expect to deliver our sixth consecutive year of mid-single-digit organic growth in 2026. And based on current market conditions, full year adjusted basic EPS is expected to be between 136p and 142p.

IMI has

Shohei Ohtani wasted no time asserting his dominance on the international stage, blasting a grand slam in the second inning to ignite Japan’s explosive offense in a commanding 13-0 victory over Chinese Taipei on Friday, March 6, 2026, at Tokyo Dome. The defending champions opened their 2026 World Baseball Classic Pool C campaign with a rout, showcasing the firepower that made them favorites to repeat as titleholders.

Ohtani, the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar serving as designated hitter (not pitching per team agreement), set the tone early. In the first inning, he doubled to right field off Taipei starter Hao-Chun Cheng. Then, in the second, with the bases loaded — thanks to singles by Munetaka Murakami, Shugo Maki and Sosuke Genda — Ohtani crushed a 2-1 curveball deep to right field for his grand slam. The shot gave Japan an immediate 4-0 lead and sparked a historic 10-run frame, the most runs scored in a single inning in WBC history.

The Dodgers two-way phenom finished 3-for-4 with five RBIs, adding a single later that drove in another run. His performance electrified the capacity crowd at Tokyo Dome, where fans waved Japanese flags and chanted his name throughout. The grand slam — a towering drive estimated at 368 feet — came amid high expectations for Ohtani, who helped Japan win the 2023 WBC with a dramatic final out against Mike Trout.

Japan’s offense exploded from there. Masataka Yoshida tripled home a run in the same inning, and additional hits from Seiya Suzuki, Kazuma Okamoto and others piled on. By the end of the second, Japan led 10-0. The barrage continued with more runs in later frames, including RBIs from Yuki Wakatsuki and others, pushing the total to 13. Chinese Taipei managed just three hits and no runs against a stingy Japanese pitching staff led by Yoshinobu Yamamoto and relievers.

The mercy rule loomed but was not invoked, as the game continued to full length despite the lopsided score. Japan’s pitching held Taipei scoreless, with strong relief work preserving the shutout. The victory improved Japan’s record to 1-0 in Pool C, while Chinese Taipei dropped to 0-2 after an earlier loss to Australia.

Ohtani’s grand slam highlighted his readiness for the tournament. Speaking pre-game, he emphasized a “less is more” approach for defending champions, focusing on execution over flash. His early heroics validated that mindset, putting pressure on Pool C rivals Australia, Korea and Czechia.

The win reinforces Japan’s status as a powerhouse, blending MLB stars like Ohtani, Yamamoto and Suzuki with NPB standouts. Chinese Taipei, despite a competitive roster, struggled against elite pitching and committed errors that fueled Japan’s rally.

As Pool C play continues, Japan eyes a strong run toward the quarterfinals. Ohtani’s milestone moment — his first grand slam in WBC play — sets a high bar for the defending champs in their quest for back-to-back titles.

The Tokyo Dome crowd’s energy and Ohtani’s star power made the opener a spectacle, reminding the baseball world why the WBC captivates globally. With Japan rolling early, the path to another championship looks promising.