Stephen Ross and Kenneth Himmel

For an industry that’s notoriously slow, Stephen Ross is moving at lightning speed in West Palm Beach, Fla.

Ross started Related Ross in 2024 after stepping down from Related Companies, the real estate behemoth he founded and trained on markets stretching from L.A. to New York. Since then, the developer has gone on a crusade to transform West Palm Beach into a top business hub.

Over the past year, the billionaire has secured more than $1.5 billion in construction debt. These loans involve some of Florida’s largest transactions, including $600 million for a waterfront condo development designed by RAMSA, and $772 million for two office buildings. 

The development and shopping spree seems to never stop. Since January 2026, Ross has bought units at a waterfront condo building, acquired a waterfront hotel for more than $170 million, obtained a $157 million construction loan for a 28-story condo tower, launched sales for another two-tower condo development, and joined another upcoming condo development.

Companies are taking note. High-profile finance firms J.P. Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Elliott Management, Point72 Asset Management and Millennium Management have signed office leases at Ross-owned properties. Earlier this year, Wells Fargo inked a 50,000-square-foot lease to relocate its wealth division from San Francisco to West Palm Beach.

To make sure these offices stay full and that qualified candidates abound, Ross successfully lobbied Vanderbilt University to open a $520 million satellite campus in West Palm Beach, though no construction has started. To entice more CEOs to move to the Sunshine State, he also seeded $10 million for a pro-Florida marketing campaign in February with fellow billionaire and Power 100 honoree Ken Griffin.

“In previous generations, there were a limited number of American cities where companies could access opportunity and build at scale,” Ross said while announcing the campaign. “That’s why I began my career building my businesses in those cities. But, to me, it’s clear that the next generation of companies belongs along Florida’s Gold Coast from West Palm Beach to Miami.”