Rick Ross is leaning hard into waterfront living on Star Island, and the price tag is catching up. The rapper has increased the mortgage on his Miami Beach estate to roughly $35 million, after a fresh round of financing hit county records this month. The move layers more debt onto a roughly 12,400-square-foot mansion he picked up in 2023, adding another eye-popping number to an island already crowded with billionaire budgets.
According to county filings cited by The Real Deal, Ross, whose legal name is William Leonard Roberts II, secured about $10.7 million in additional financing, pushing the principal on his balloon mortgage to about $35 million. The records list an affiliate of Brickell-based Vaster as the lender. That firm previously issued a $20 million loan in 2023 and another $4.3 million in July 2024, both structured around a 50 percent loan-to-value ratio. The latest bump is just the newest tweak in a series of financing moves tied to the property, the outlet reports.
Inside the Star Island Spread
Ross’s place at 37 Star Island Drive is very much built for showing off. The waterfront estate sits on nearly an acre and includes multiple terraces, a pool deck with a summer kitchen, and a 40-foot dock. Public listing information shows the home traded for $35 million in August 2023, with interior space clocking in at roughly 12,374 to 12,400 square feet, six bedrooms, and multiple baths. A Compass listing documents the sale and includes marketing photos of the home. With 100 feet of Biscayne Bay frontage and an entertainer-ready layout, it ranked among South Florida’s marquee closings of 2023.
Star Island’s Big-Money Wave Rolls On
Ross is hardly the only one playing in rarefied air on Star Island. The enclave keeps rewriting the local record books: in March 2025, a nearby estate reportedly sold for $120 million, underscoring the island’s scarcity appeal, according to Realtor.com. A string of high- and mid-eight-figure trades has helped cement Star Island as Miami Beach’s deepest-pocket address and offers a clear backdrop for why some owners refinance or pull equity when the numbers climb.
Ross, who launched Maybach Music Group in 2009, has been steadily stacking up luxury real estate well beyond Miami, and this new loan simply becomes another highly visible line on his balance sheet. The filings do not disclose how he plans to use the extra funds, but the move is now etched into the public record for one of the city’s most watched waterfront properties at 37 Star Island Drive.
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