In Miami and elsewhere, the wealthy are moving in increasingly private spheres, shelling out big money to bypass the indignities of public life

Masoud and Stephanie Shojaee ​boarding their private jet in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

By

Arian Campo-Flores

| Photography by Scott McIntyre for WSJ

Nov. 15, 2025 8:00 pm ET

Masoud and Stephanie Shojaee ​boarding their private jet in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

When developers Masoud and Stephanie Shojaee dined out recently, they headed to the members-only section of MILA restaurant in Miami Beach, Fla., where they were whisked to a table already bearing their favorite cocktails and chopsticks engraved with their names.

On a business trip to Dubai last month, the Shojaees exited their Bombardier Global jet and later stepped into a waiting Maybach that zipped them to a lavish hotel. They went through a private entrance that bypassed the lobby and took an elevator straight up to the Royal Suite, where a staffer checked them in and presented their butler.

“For me, luxury in this era is defined as time-saving and efficiency and service,” said Masoud Shojaee, the 65-year-old chief executive of Shoma Group, a residential and commercial developer.

The ultrawealthy are wielding their growing fortunes to glide through a rarefied realm unencumbered by the inconveniences of ordinary life. They don’t wait in lines. They don’t jostle with airport crowds or idle unnecessarily in traffic.

MILA restaurant in Miami Beach, Fla., has a members-only section, MILA MM, where guests can gather without the distraction of crowds.

Instead, an ecosystem of exclusive restaurants, clubs, resorts and other service providers delivers them customized and exquisite experiences as fast as possible. The spaces they inhabit are often private, carefully curated and populated by like-minded and similarly well-heeled peers.

The acquisitive power of the very rich is soaring. The net worth held by the top 0.1% of households in the U.S. reached $23.3 trillion in the second quarter this year, from $10.7 trillion a decade earlier, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. The amount held by the bottom 50% increased to $4.2 trillion from $900 billion over that period.

The Miami area provides a window into this world. Long a destination for wealthy elites from the Northeast, Europe and Latin America, it has become an even stronger magnet for the affluent in recent years, fostered by pandemic-era migration and the region’s emergence as a technology and finance hub.

“There’s been an explosion of wealth creators,” said Patrick Dwyer, a managing director at NewEdge Wealth, a wealth-management firm, in Miami. “Now they have enough money to live exactly how they want to live.”

Miami has become a stronger magnet for the affluent, ​driven by pandemic-era migration and ​its ​rise as a tech and finance hub.

A new service economy enables them to avoid everybody else if they want to. In the Bentley Residences condo tower under construction in Sunny Isles Beach, north of Miami, car elevators will deliver residents straight up to their homes and deposit vehicles in adjoining “sky garages,” avoiding the need to deal with parking valets and reception areas.

Units, whose prices start at about $6 million, will each feature a private pool perched on an expansive terrace. The building’s restaurant, available only to owners, will feature C-shaped booths arranged in a way to keep guests out of each other’s view.

“The ultimate luxury is privacy,” said Gil Dezer, the 50-year-old president of Dezer Development, who patented the car lift and dubbed it the Dezervator.

Dezer knows from experience. Several years ago, he traveled to Belize aboard his Gulfstream jet and took a helicopter to a private island resort with only seven villas, each set off from the others and equipped with its own plunge pool and dock. He spent his days lounging and swimming, occasionally ringing a butler to bring him a whisky.

“It feels like you have the place to yourself,” Dezer said.

Gil Dezer, president of Dezer Development, in front of his patented car lift earlier this year.

At his 50th birthday party earlier this year, Dezer hired artists including rappers Fat Joe and El Alfa to perform on the beach in front of his home—effectively turning a concert experience that is usually public into a private bash.

Those who can afford it sometimes rent an entire facility to have exclusive use of it. At Centner Wellness, a high-end holistic healing center in Miami that offers a host of treatments employing the latest technology, rich clients occasionally book the whole place for several days, said founder Leila Centner.

One family of about 10 people did that a few months ago, she said, turning the 15,000-square-foot center into their own wellness playground, at a cost of $150,000. Each had a tailored experience, from blood cleansing to cell rejuvenation to transcranial magnetic stimulation, with plenty of pampering in between.

Centner Wellness, a high-end holistic center in Miami ​using the latest technology, ​can be booked by the wealthy ​for tailored experience.

When the ultrawealthy choose to socialize, they often seek circles that are meticulously selected, said Gregory Pool, a managing director with NewEdge Wealth in Miami.

Faena Rose is a private social club in Miami Beach focused on art and culture, whose members are vetted by a committee and pay $15,000 initially and another $15,000 annually. They get VIP access to the beach club, spa and other amenities at the Faena Miami Beach hotel, and admission to roughly 80 cultural events a year, held in intimate settings for members only.

Those include dance performances by Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and recitals by the Metropolitan Opera.

“That level of access is really, really compelling,” said Pablo De Ritis, president of Faena Rose.

A newer variant: private dinner clubs, where members get haute cuisine, personalized service and the ability to secure a table whenever they want. ZZ’s Club in Miami—where Dezer is a member—features a Japanese restaurant, a sports bar and a cigar terrace. A “culinary concierge” can, with 48 hours’ notice, arrange any kind of dining experience members want, from a 12-course caviar feast to a re-creation of a memorable meal from a honeymoon.

Members​ enjoying din​ing and drinks at MILA MM in Miami Beach​ this month.

At ZZ’s Club in Miami, a ‘culinary concierge’ can ​tailor dining ​experience ​to members​’ wishes.

“The more personalized and the more seamless, and the less things you have to ask for…that’s what great service is,” said Jeff Zalaznick, co-founder of Major Food Group, which owns ZZ’s.

Masoud and Stephanie Shojaee frequent the members-only MILA MM—where they can enjoy each other’s company or that of friends without the distraction of crowds—and other curated social spaces. Last month, she sat in the front row for the Schiaparelli show at Paris Fashion Week, she said, and struck up a conversation with a woman next to her who was from one of the wealthiest families in Monaco. They hit it off and a week later, met at a sushi place in Paris together with their husbands.

In these settings, “the conversations for some reason, they just feel safer, and they feel deeper,” said Stephanie, 41, president of Shoma Group and a cast member of “The Real Housewives of Miami” show this year. “You hang out with people that are like-minded.”

The curation extends to the couple’s clothes shopping. They no longer go to high-end malls. Instead, Masoud gets a large suitcase of items from NB44, a members-only apparel brand, shipped to him every quarter, while Stephanie regularly receives racks of new collections from brands like Valentino and Christian Dior along with an alterationist to make any adjustments.

Masoud and Stephanie Shojaee during a meeting at Shoma Group, a residential and commercial developer.

Travel has always been a key feature of wealthy people’s lives, and more than ever they prioritize privacy, efficiency and customization, industry specialists say.

Lauren Beall, owner of Travel Couture in Miami Beach, specializes in arranging custom travel experiences for the ultrawealthy. She has booked private islands for clients and flown in Michelin-starred chefs, yoga instructors and performers.

One coveted offering is a suite above the Christian Dior flagship store in Paris that can be rented, and includes an after-hours shopping excursion and a private dinner at Monsieur Dior restaurant. An estate Beall has reserved in Scotland comes with private chefs, horses to explore the countryside and a helicopter to visit towns for the day.

“We’re into that exclusive access right now—things that other people can’t get,” Beall said. “There’s a huge price tag that goes with it.”

Write to Arian Campo-Flores at arian.campo-flores@wsj.com

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Appeared in the November 17, 2025, print edition as 'The Ultrarich Pay Big For Extreme Privacy'.

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