This former Florida fishing village is becoming the Palm Beach of the Gulf Coast and a home to billionaires

Looks like this unassuming beach enclave is flexing its mussels.Once a modest fishing town known for its snowbird retirees, Naples, Florida has quietly reinvented itself as one of America’s most exclusive communities.

With its mix of Gulf-front mansions, cultural appeal and low-profile opulence, the city is drawing a steady tide of billionaires — and earning comparisons to Palm Beach in the process.“It’s a quiet enclave of luxury living,” Naples-based luxury realtor PJ Smith told the Daily Mail.“The famous, uber-wealthy live in Naples under the radar and they love it.”Over the past few years, Naples has experienced a wave of record-setting real estate deals.

Billionaire businessman David Hoffmann recently purchased an $85 million mansion originally built for a private owner.But that transaction was eclipsed by a $225 million off-market sale involving a 15-acre compound with three separate estates — a new high watermark for Florida’s housing market.In February 2024, a 17,000-plus-square-foot estate situated on 5 acres was listed for $295 million, earning the title as the most expensive home in America at the time.

But in January, the price of the home was reduced to $210 million, where it still remains on the market.As ultra-high-net-worth individuals continue to descend on the Gulf Coast, Naples has gained a reputation as the go-to destination for those seeking both glamour and anonymity.In 2024, U.S.

News & World Report named it the top place to live in the country, describing it as the “preferred retirement spot for the rich, powerful and cold-averse.”“It’s a very culturally interesting place, but it’s also very under the radar,” Angela Lutzi Dellatorè, a Naples luxury estate agent, told Daily Mail.“The whole world is your oyster right here.”High-profile names such as Judge Judy Sheindlin, Best Buy founder Richard Schulze and Papa John’s creator John Schnatter have all settled in the area.The city’s most elite neighb...