Jeff Bezos announces ‘emotional decision’ to relocate to Miami from Seattle

‘I want to be close to my parents’

Jeff Bezos has revealed that he is planning on relocating to Miami, Florida, from Seattle, Washington.

On 2 November, the Amazon founder, 59, posted an announcement on Instagram that said he was planning to return to Miami on a more permanent basis. In the post, Bezos featured a clip from his early days of building Amazon in 1994, before it became the juggernaut it is today.

“Seattle has been my home since 1994 when I started Amazon out of my garage,” the billionaire started the caption, noting that his father, Miguel Bezos, had been behind the camera. “My parents [Miguel and Jacklyn] have always been my biggest supporters. They recently moved back to Miami, the place we lived when I was younger (Miami Palmetto High class of ’82 — GO Panthers!).”

He added to his followers the reason behind his upcoming move: “I want to be close to my parents, and [fiancée] Lauren [Sanchez] and I love Miami.”

Bezos noted that his aerospace company Blue Origin is planning on shifting operations gradually to Florida’s Cape Canaveral, the home of the Kennedy Space Center, the centre of the United States human space program.

The billionaire continued to stress that he’s loved the past few decades he’s spent in Seattle, and that the city will always be near and dear to his heart no matter where he goes.

“I’ve lived in Seattle longer than I’ve lived anywhere else and have so many amazing memories here,” he concluded. “As exciting as the move is, it’s an emotional decision for me. Seattle, you will always have a piece of my heart.”

In the clip, Bezos could be seen giving a tour of his Seattle home’s office space, surrounded by stray papers and books, a giant whiteboard, fax machines, and two desks with computers. As the camera panned across the office, he joked to his father: “That’s about it. It doesn’t take long to tour the offices of Amazon.com.”

According to Bloomberg, the tech entrepreneur’s upcoming big move comes on the heels of his September purchase of a seven-bedroom mansion on a man-made private island in Biscayne Bay for $79m. But that wasn’t the only property in the area that he purchased - in June, he bought a neighbouring home for $68m. Both properties combined take up to 1.8 acres on the small Florida island.

The real estate purchases followed Bezos’ May proposal to longtime girlfriend Lauren Sanchez.

“Her friends are thrilled Jeff finally popped the question,” a source told People at the time. “They have been talking about it for a long time. All of her friends say this is her dream come true.”

Since the engagement, the happy couple has been vacationing on board Bezos’ massive $500m yacht named Koru, which means loop or coil in Māori and symbolises new beginnings. According to Boat International, the yacht is reportedly believed to be the largest sailing yacht in the world, featuring three towering masts, and several decks.