Epstein’s Islands Sell to Finance Buyer Planning Luxury Resort
Stephen Deckoff agreed to pay $60 million for Little St. James and Great St. James in the US Virgin Islands.
A villa stands on Little St. James Island, one of the parcels previously owned by Jeffrey Epstein in the US Virgin Islands.
Photographer: Marco Bello/BloombergThe pair of Caribbean islands that belonged to Jeffrey Epstein, the former financier accused of sex trafficking, have sold to a buyer who plans to build a luxury resort that can break free of the land’s sordid past.
Stephen Deckoff, through his SD Investments, is buying Great St. James and Little St. James in the US Virgin Islands, according to a statement Wednesday. The properties sold for a combined price of $60 million, according to Bespoke Real Estate, which had the listing with the Modlin Group.
Epstein was accused of trafficking young women and underage girls on the islands, which locals called “Pedophile Island” and “Orgy Island.” The sale comes with a big discount from a March 2022 listing price of $125 million.
The US Virgin Islands will receive half the proceeds from the sale of Little St. James – where Epstein lived – as part of a settlement his estate reached with the government last year. The islands were priced at $30 million each, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified citing private details.