Perhaps In Anticipation Of His $1 Billion Catalog Windfall, The Weeknd Buys $55 Million Triangular Waterfront Estate In Tax-Free Florida

In late August, rumors swirled claiming that The Weeknd was in talks to raise $1 billion in cash using his music catalog royalties as collateral. You know how artists like Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen have sold their catalogs for hundreds of millions? In those cases, they sold everything — the rights, the royalties, the control. Once the check cleared, they no longer owned their songs. The Weeknd's plan is different. He's reportedly looking for someone who will give him $1 billion today without requiring him to sell a single note.

David Bowie did something similar back in 1997, though on a much smaller scale. He used his catalog to back a $55 million bond issue that became known as the "Bowie Bonds."

There's been no confirmation that The Weeknd has secured his billion-dollar deal yet, but perhaps in anticipation of a future windfall, he just bought a spectacular new mansion in tax-friendly Florida.

$130 Million Reasons To Leave California

The Canadian-born singer, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, has been living in the tax-unfriendly state of California since 2017. That year, he paid $18 million for an estate in the Los Angeles suburb of Hidden Hills, which he later sold to Madonna in 2021 for $20 million. In 2019, he doubled down on his California real estate portfolio with a $21 million penthouse near Beverly Hills, only to sell that unit at a $2 million loss in 2023.

Then came his biggest real estate move yet. In August 2021, The Weeknd paid an astonishing $70 million for an estate in Bel-Air. The 33,000-square-foot property, purchased in an off-market deal, sits on 1.6 acres overlooking the Bel-Air Country Club. The estate includes an indoor pool, gym, sports court, movie theater, music studio, and a resort-style outdoor pool.

Considering California's nation-leading income tax rate of 13%, it would be financially prudent for The Weeknd to relocate to a state like Florida, which has no income tax. If he were to raise $1 billion from his catalog while living in California, he'd owe roughly $130 million to the state. In Florida, his tax bill would be exactly zero.

However, it's not as simple as buying a house, spending a few months there, and declaring yourself a Floridian. California's tax authorities — formally known as the Franchise Tax Board, or FTB — are notoriously aggressive about pursuing former residents who suddenly claim to have moved out of state. If The Weeknd happens to be reading this, here's some friendly advice: move to Florida, actually live there for well over a year, and then raise that $1 billion. The FTB has a long history of chasing down wealthy Californians who try to escape its grasp. The FTB could still claim a 13% cut, arguing that the catalog was built while he was a California resident. Or, at the very least, it could request a partial cut by considering The Weeknd a partial California resident. Either way, a fight with the FTB can be costly and annoying. Better to do it right from scratch.

***Update/Correction***

After we published this article, a reader who did not supply his or her name sent us some feedback, which, if accurate, changes much of what we have in the above section. I can't 100% confirm or deny this feedback, but it does sound like the person knows what he or she is talking about, so I'll just include it here for your info:

"Whether he issues actual bonds or just borrows the $1B, there would not be any taxes owed on the money he raised against his catalog. It would just be business as usual, paying taxes on the income generated to satisfy the repayment terms of the bonds. In fact, the interest incurred to service the bonds or debt would likely be tax-deductible. So moving to FL would be smart, as it would likely take him 10-15 years to service the bonds, but he would easily be able to establish FL as his tax home without fear of penalty to CA, because you don't pay taxes on borrowed money, including the issuance of bonds."

$55 Million Florida Estate

That brings us to The Weeknd's new Florida mansion. Property records and multiple reports indicate that he recently purchased a spectacular waterfront estate in Coral Gables for roughly $55 million. The exact purchase price is not yet known. Its most recent listing price was $54.9 million.

The 14,000-square-foot contemporary home was previously owned by investor Steven Lempera, who had bought it in 2020 at an online auction for $27.8 million — a steep discount from its original $68 million asking price. Lempera later listed it for nearly $50 million, and The Weeknd appears to have paid close to that number in the deal.

The house sits on a dramatic V-shaped lot with water on both sides and includes a private dock large enough to accommodate a 200-foot mega-yacht. The nine-bedroom estate is sleek and modern, with soaring ceilings, a grand double staircase, vast open entertaining spaces, a gym, an office, and a resort-style pool decorated with intricate coral-patterned tile mosaics that shimmer through the water. The property was sold fully furnished, with interiors done largely in crisp white tones accented by vibrant shades of blue.

Originally designed for entertaining on a massive scale, the home also includes multiple dining areas, expansive outdoor terraces, and floor-to-ceiling glass walls that overlook Biscayne Bay. Real estate agents involved in the prior sale noted that it's among the largest and most visually distinctive homes in Coral Gables — an area long favored by ultra-wealthy buyers for its proximity to Miami while retaining a quiet, residential atmosphere. Here is a video tour from a year ago: