Messi Moved to Miami. So Did the Money.

Inter Miami fans cheering at a Major League Soccer match at Nu Stadium earlier this month.

Giorgio Viera/AFP/Getty Images

Walking around the Miami airport two weeks ago on a layover to South America, I witnessed Messi Mania in all its splendor. It seemed like everything in the airport was pink, the color of Inter Miami CF, the home soccer team, and the face of Messi was everywhere. His transfer to the US was the single most significant event in Major League Soccer’s history. Not that Miami didn’t already have an amazing foundation in sports.

• One of 11 cities to have teams from all the major leagues. NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL
• The MIAMI Hurricanes win the football national championship in 2026
• MIAMI selected to host World Cup games
• The Nu stadium, home to Inter Miami, is the centerpiece of $1 billon Miami Freedom Park project.

With the addition of Messi, the value of Inter Miami jumped to $1.45 billion in 2026 from $585 millon in 2022. That seems impossible, inconceivable. BUT, so does the wealth transfer that has come to Miami in the last 10 years.

• The number of millionaires in MIAMI has increased 94% frmo 2014 to 2026.
• 50 billionaires call MIAMI home, including Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Sergey Brin, and 47 others
• Corporations can’t get out of Chicago and NY/NJ fast enough.

Spending more time in Latin America over the last year than I had in my entire previous career, I don’t even ask families if they have an office in the US, because it’s always Miami. It is the absolute “go-to” for Latin companies and family offices looking for a toehold in the US. It’s like asking if a movie theater sells popcorn. Of course they do.

This unassuming tailwind of Latin capital has been blowing for decades. So much so that Miami has been named the “Capital of Latin America.”