Barry Sternlicht, the CEO of real estate behemoth Starwood Capital Group, has pinpointed a critical area of improvement for Miami on its journey to potentially usurping New York City's throne as the United States' financial epicenter: education.

In an interview with Bloomberg Television's David Westin, Sternlicht highlighted Miami's deficiency in private schooling as a significant impediment to its ability to attract the talent necessary to ascend to the next echelon.

"There are a lot of companies that would move down if they could get their employees’ kids into schools, which is impossible," Sternlicht lamented.

Indeed, the demand for coveted spots at Miami's elite private institutions such as Gulliver, Ransom Everglades, and Miami Country Day School has far outstripped availability. Reports from the New York Post suggest that affluent parents have resorted to offering five-figure donations on top of exorbitant tuition fees in a bid to secure admission for their children.

Sternlicht, who relocated Starwood from Greenwich, Connecticut, to Miami in 2018, emphasized the city's allure, underscored by his personal investment in a waterfront property off North Bay Road, purchased for $17 million in 2015.

Miami's appeal has been further underscored by the influx of high-profile personalities, including former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Citadel CEO Ken Griffin. Griffin, in particular, has catalyzed a migration of affluent professionals to the region since relocating his hedge fund from Chicago to Miami in 2022.

"They alone have decided they’re going to make Miami into the financial capital of the United States and they have the power to do that," Sternlicht asserted.

Despite concerns about overvalued real estate, Sternlicht remains bullish on Miami's prospects, citing the city's enduring allure and the unwavering attention it has garnered.

"I don’t think Miami has peaked," Sternlicht affirmed. "You just have to have stamina to stay with it.