South Florida has quietly become one of the densest family office markets in the country — driven by zero state income tax, the Wall Street South migration, and a critical mass of financial infrastructure that didn't exist five years ago. This is the county-by-county breakdown of every identifiable family office in the region, which ones actually write startup checks, and what the migration trend means for founders trying to access this capital.
Based in Boca Raton and covering this ecosystem daily, I've compiled profiles of 30+ family offices across Palm Beach County, Miami-Dade, Broward, and Naples from SEC filings, directory data, and direct research. A critical caveat: most single-family offices never register publicly, so this list is necessarily incomplete. Sources are noted throughout — treat directory-sourced data as leads to verify, not audited facts.
Office count from direct research across Active Family Offices, Praxis Rock, Family Office Access, and SEC filings. Regional wealth estimate from Praxis Rock directory; treat as rough approximation. Tax savings estimate from Family Office Doctor analysis.
Palm Beach County: Boca Raton, Palm Beach, West Palm Beach
Palm Beach County is the epicenter of the South Florida family office migration. West Palm Beach is where the institutional money sits (Wells Fargo Wealth Management HQ, Bessemer Trust, Elliott Management), Palm Beach is where the old-money single-family offices cluster, and Boca Raton is emerging as the tech and innovation hub with D-Wave Quantum's HQ relocation and the BRiC innovation campus.
| Family Office | City | Founder / Family | Focus | Invests in Startups? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marc Bell Capital Partners | Boca Raton | Marc Bell (ex-Globix) | Space tech, hospitality, consumer, credit | Yes — active |
| BLD Holdings | Boca Raton | Barry Dorfman (physician) | Life sciences, tech, healthcare, RE | Likely |
| Ten Capital | Boca Raton | Undisclosed | Single-family office | Unknown |
| Kenneth E. Richards FO | Boca Raton | Kenneth E. Richards | Single-family office | Unknown |
| MFO Ventures | Delray Beach | Dr. Eric Moskow | Healthcare innovation/tech | Yes |
| Holden Family Offices | Delray Beach | Undisclosed | Multi-family office | Unknown |
| Gonzalez Family Office | Palm Beach | Undisclosed | Real estate, alternatives | Unlikely |
| North Ocean Group | Palm Beach | Undisclosed | Multi-family office | Unknown |
| Esko | Palm Beach | Founded 1989 | Portfolio mgmt, wealth preservation | Unlikely |
| Palm Beach Private FO | Palm Beach | Karla Rossetti Pippins | UHNW services, tax, succession | No — advisory |
Sources: Active Family Offices, Praxis Rock, Family Office Access directories. Startup investment status assessed from available disclosures and descriptions.
Miami-Dade: Miami, Miami Beach, Coral Gables, Aventura
Miami-Dade has the highest concentration of family offices in the region, with a mix of tech-focused direct investors and traditional wealth-management advisory shops. The most active startup investors are Bess Ventures, Raptor Group, and Ligo Partners.
| Family Office | City | Founder / Family | Focus | Invests in Startups? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bess Ventures | Miami Beach | Lane Bess (ex-Palo Alto Networks CEO) | Early-mid stage venture | Yes — very active |
| Raptor Group | Miami | Jim Pallotta | Tech, fintech, sports, healthcare | Yes — most active in region |
| Talisman Family Alliance | Miami | Multi-family alliance | Pre-seed, blockchain, co-investing | Yes — co-invest model |
| Ligo Partners | Miami | Undisclosed | Disruptive tech, tech debt, RE | Yes — most tech-focused |
| The Miami Family Office | Miami | Undisclosed | Direct only — RE + operating biz | Direct ops, not VC |
| M2A Family Office | Miami | Liebowitz Family | Hedge funds, PE, growth companies | Growth-stage |
| BigSur Partners | Miami | 5 anchor families | Wealth advisory, preservation | No — advisory |
| We Family Offices | Miami | Advisory MFO | Wealth management | No — advisory |
| Crystal Capital Partners | Miami | Undisclosed | PE, hedge funds, alternatives | Fund-of-funds |
| DTA Capital Advisors | Miami | Trevor Silver | Data/digital services, RE | Possible |
| Omnia Family Wealth | Aventura | Multi-family office | Wealth management | Advisory |
Broward County: Fort Lauderdale
Broward has fewer family offices than Miami-Dade or Palm Beach but hosts two of the most active startup investors in the region.
| Family Office | City | Founder / Family | Focus | Invests in Startups? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hudson Capital Group | Fort Lauderdale | Harris & Steve Hudson | PE, startups, RE (4,000+ units) | Yes |
| One One Five Group | Fort Lauderdale | Multiple entrepreneurs | Fintech, health-tech, biotech | Yes — seed to pre-IPO |
| SouthOcean Capital | Fort Lauderdale | David Horvitz | Multi-family apartments (~$642M) | No — RE only |
| Palisades Hudson Financial | Fort Lauderdale | Larry M. Elkin (since 1992) | Financial planning, estate | No — advisory |
Naples and Southwest Florida
Naples hosts a smaller but distinct cluster of family offices, anchored by the Collier family's Halstatt and Aviano Ventures' healthcare-tech thesis.
| Family Office | City | Founder / Family | Focus | Invests in Startups? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Halstatt | Naples | Collier Family (SW FL dynasty) | Broad assets, outsourced-CIO model | Institutional |
| Aviano Ventures | Naples | Janca Family | Healthcare IT, pharma, data analytics | Yes — up to $25M rev |
| Fifth Avenue Family Office | Naples | Cartwright & Price Jr. | Estate/legacy planning | No — advisory |
The migration trend: why family offices are moving south
The math is straightforward: Florida has no state income tax. A family office managing $500M generating 8-10% returns saves an estimated $4.5 million per year in state taxes by relocating from New York, per Family Office Doctor. That's before accounting for lower office costs, no estate tax, and lifestyle factors. The migration is now self-reinforcing — service providers are following clients, creating infrastructure that makes more relocations viable.
The evidence: Bessemer Trust expanded its Miami office from 15 to 28 advisors since 2024. Wilmington Trust opened a Palm Beach office in April 2026. Fiduciary Trust International expanded to West Palm Beach in 2023. The Bahnsen Group opened a West Palm Beach office in 2024. When a 117-year-old, $200B AUM firm like Bessemer Trust doubles its local headcount, that's not a trend — it's a structural shift.
For the full story on which major firms have relocated — Elliott Management, Citadel, Point72, Wells Fargo, and more — see our complete Wall Street South tracker. Track the broader South Florida capital ecosystem on our Money Map.
Key service providers for family offices in South Florida
Law firms: Gunster (Florida-headquartered, dedicated Family Office practice covering domicile, trust companies, investment committees), Jones Foster (West Palm Beach, 100+ years, trusts and estates), Pillsbury (Palm Beach, nationally ranked trusts and estates), Hodgson Russ (Palm Beach, estate and elder law).
Wealth managers / trust companies: Bessemer Trust (Miami, expanded to 28 advisors), Wilmington Trust (new Palm Beach office April 2026), Oxford Financial Group (Palm Beach family office services), CV Advisors (Miami family office advisory).
Accounting: Berkowitz Pollack Brant (Miami, dedicated Family Office Services group), Nowlen Holt & Miner (West Palm Beach, Family Office practice).
Family office events calendar in South Florida
South Florida now hosts a nearly year-round calendar of family office and alternative investment events:
| Event | When | Where | Audience |
|---|---|---|---|
| WSJ Invest Live | February | West Palm Beach | Institutional investors, family offices |
| iConnections Global Alts | February | Miami | Allocators, 1:1 structured meetings |
| Palm Beach SFO Forum | March | Palm Beach | 50 verified single-family offices only |
| FOX Family Capital Summit | March | The Breakers, PB | Family office principals |
| eMerge Americas | April | Miami Beach | 20,000+ tech + investors |
| Consensus (CoinDesk) | May | Miami Beach | 25,000+ crypto/web3 |
| GFOIS Miami | Rotating | Miami | Global family offices, 10th yr |
| FPA Summit | November | Palm Beach | Financial advisors |
| Wall Street South Experience | December 2 | Mizner Park, Boca | SoFl finance visionaries |
Bottom line: South Florida's family office ecosystem has reached a density that's self-sustaining — the service providers, event infrastructure, and deal-flow networks are all now local. For founders looking to access this capital, the direct-investing family offices to prioritize are Marc Bell Capital Partners and MFO Ventures in Palm Beach County, Bess Ventures and Raptor Group in Miami-Dade, and Hudson Capital Group and One One Five Group in Broward. The ones that are advisory-only or wealth-management-focused won't write startup checks regardless of how warm the introduction is. Track the full ecosystem on our South Florida Money Map and Miami VC Firms directory.
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