Two islands owned by Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender, were sold to billionaire investor Stephen Deckoff on Thursday. The islands, Great St. James and Little St. James, had been abandoned since Epstein committed suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Deckoff purchased the islands for $60 million, which is approximately 50% less than the price listed by Epstein’s estate last year.
Deckoff plans to develop a luxury 25-room resort on the islands that will be operational by 2025, according to a press release. He said he is proud to call the US Virgin Islands home and is humbled by the opportunity to share its beauty with visitors while respecting its culture and history.
In a conversation with Forbes, Deckoff said he had never met Epstein and had never been to the islands before they went on the market. He is aware of the islands’ unsavory past, including Epstein’s use of the islands to sexually abuse teenage girls.
Epstein purchased Little St. James Island in 1998 for $7.95 million and later bought Great St. James Island for $20 million in 2016. Both islands were listed for $125 million last year. Little St. James has a villa-style compound, a library, a cinema hall, a detached bath house, and cabanas, while Great St. James is mostly undeveloped.
Epstein was accused of bringing girls as young as 11 to the islands and sexually assaulting them with his associates. He died of an apparent suicide in a Manhattan jail cell in August 2019, and the FBI later raided Little St. James, where he was believed to have his primary residence. Epstein’s girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, was found guilty of aiding him in the sex trafficking of young girls and was sentenced to prison for 20 years.
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