It could be said that Bad Bunny is living the American dream. Raised in rural Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio has worked his way up to his current iconic status. The son of a truck driver who bagged groceries to get through school is now living in homes worthy of Architectural Digest.
Bad Bunny is clear that his heart remains in Puerto Rico. His 2025 Puerto Rico residency, a 31-date concert series that provided a strong boost for the Puerto Rican economy, has been described as “a love letter to the island and its people.”
When he is not on tour, Bad Bunny appears to live stateside. According to Architectural Digest, the Latin superstar has homes on both coasts. In 2023, he put down roots in Los Angeles with a $8.8 million purchase of a Hollywood Hills home. Soon after, in January of 2024, Bad Bunny reportedly bought an “LA Hideaway” from Ariana Grande for $8.3 million.
Also in 2023, the iconic singer signed the lease on a West Chelsea penthouse. At $150,000 per month, the home was reportedly the most expensive rental apartment in New York City.
Bad Bunny is one of many who have moved stateside from Puerto Rico in an influx that reached a crescendo in the aftermath Hurricane Maria in 2016. As a result of decades of migration, beginning prominently in the 1950s as many Puerto Ricans fled to New York for greater economic opportunities and then in subsequent waves, there are almost twice as many people of Puerto Rican heritage living stateside today as in Puerto Rico, roughly 3 million in the U.S. territory and almost 6 million in states.
Reasons given for this migration have varied, but the trend is clear. People appear to prefer the benefits of living in a state over living in a U.S. territory. Seen through the lens of Puerto Rico’s political status and the ongoing push for full democratic rights in the U.S. and around the world, it is often said that people are voting for statehood with their feet.
