Epstein's private island to be turned into luxury resort after £47million sale

04 January 2024 , 17:30

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Jeffrey Epstein’s private island is to be turned into a luxury resort (Image: TNS)

Jeffrey Epstein ’s private island - often labelled 'Paedophile Island' - is set to be turned into a luxury resort after being purchased for $60million (£47million).

The sprawling 75-acre estate in the US Virgin Islands was officially called Little Saint James but was given the disturbing second name as it was often frequented with young girls and A-list celebrities. Epstein was accused of grooming and raping underage girls at the property, which he purchased in 1998 for $7.95 million (about £5 million at the time). He later added the much larger 165-acre Great St James island in 2016 for a reported $22.5 million (£14million).

Following Epstein's death in prison in 2019, both Caribbean islands were put up for sale in 2022 and after more than a year on the market were purchased by Stephen Deckoff, founder of private equity firm Black Diamond Capital Management. Deckoff paid $60million (£47million) for both the islands, less than half of the initial asking price.

Deckoff, who has a net worth of $3.2billion according to Forbes, plans to develop a 25-room luxury resort on the property. It's hoped the resort will be open by 2025. In an interview with Forbes in May last year, the billionaire revealed he had never met Epstein and never set foot on the islands until they were put up for sale.

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Epstein was accused of grooming and raping underage girls at Little Saint James in the US Virgin Islands (Corbis via Getty Images)

The private islands were sold following Epstein's death in 2019 (Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)

“I’ve been proud to call the U.S. Virgin Islands home for more than a decade and am tremendously pleased to be able to bring the area a world-class destination benefitting its natural grace and beauty,” Deckoff said. “I very much look forward to working with the U.S. Virgin Islands to make this dream a reality.”

Little St. James was the island where Epstein lived for almost two decades but the other island, Great St. James, is less developed. Before he died in 2019, Epstein was accused of grooming and raping underage girls at the sprawling property in the US Virgin Islands after flying them in on a private jet dubbed the "Lolita Express".

Accessible by private plane or boat, the private island features a stone mansion, two guest houses, a swimming pool, temple, helipad, sundial, and sweeping views of the crystal clear sea. It also boasts a gas station, private dock, gym and tiki hut.

A view of Epstein's isalnd from the Caribbean sea (Lawton/Splash News)

With the help of friend and fixer Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein trafficked many young girls to the island, where they were sexually abused. On Wednesday, the names of more than 170 of Epstein's associates, friends or victims were made public following a US judge’s order last month.

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Michael Jackson, Prince Andrew and Leonardo DiCaprio are some of the big names on there along with politicians Bill Clinton and Donald Trump. The people named in the records include many of Epstein’s accusers, members of his staff who told their stories to tabloid newspapers, people who served as witnesses at Maxwell’s trial, people who were mentioned in passing during depositions but aren’t accused of anything salacious, and people who investigated Epstein, including prosecutors, a journalist and a police detective.

Jeffery Epstein's estate on Little Saint James Island (AP)

The people listed were those named as associates of Epstein's and there is no suggestion those listed either knew about his crimes or participated in any criminal behaviour. The files released include a transcript of videotaped evidence given under oath as part of Virginia Giuffre’s civil claim in the US in 2015.

During her interview, Maxwell claimed she could only recall Prince Andrew on Epstein’s island once. Andrew stepped down from public life after the furore over his friendship with Epstein and paid millions to settle a civil sexual assault case to Ms Giuffre. He has continually denied sexual assault and the settlement was not an admission of guilt.

Asked whether any girls under the age of 18 were present on that one occasion, Maxwell replied: “There were no girls on the island at all. No girls, no women, other than the staff who work at the house. Girls meaning, I assume you are asking underage, but there was nobody female outside of the cooks and the cleaners.”

Sam Truelove