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Jeffrey Epstein’s Islands Have a Buyer


Jeffrey Epstein’s infamous islands will have a new owner.

Billionaire investor Stephen Deckoff has reportedly bought Epstein’s two private Caribbean islands, including the island where he sexually abused children, for $60 million.

According to reports, Deckoff plans to build a state-of-the-art 25-room luxury resort.

Deckoff purchased the islands for less than half the initial $125 million asking price.

Daily Mail reported:

Mr Deckoff, the founder of private equity firm Black Diamond Capital Management, has announced plans to develop a state of the art luxury 25-room resort on the land in the US Virgin Islands.

The two private islands, known as Great St. James and Little St. James, first hit the market as a package deal for $125m in March 2021, but this was cut to $55m a piece – or $110m for the pair.

Little St. James is the infamous island where Epstein – who died in a Manhattan jail in 2019 aged 66 – built his lavish compound to host orgies and traffic underage girls.

Government documents show that Little St. James Island, which sits on 70 acres of land located a little over a mile from St Thomas – a tropical island near Puerto Rico – was purchased by one of Epstein’s companies in April 1998 for $7.95million.

Nearby Great St. James, through roughly twice as big at 160-plus acres, is largely undeveloped, and Epstein purchased it primarily to keep tourists away from his hideaway.

SD Investments provided further details of Deckoff’s plans for the islands in this press release:

SD Investments LLC, an investment firm led by renowned entrepreneur and investor Stephen Deckoff, today announced the acquisition of Great St. James and Little St. James islands (the “islands”) in the United States Virgin Islands.

Mr. Deckoff plans to develop a state-of-the-art, five-star, world-class luxury 25-room resort that will help bolster tourism, create jobs, and spur economic development in the region, while respecting and preserving the important environment of the islands.

As the Founder and Managing Principal of Black Diamond Capital Management, Mr. Deckoff has built a successful career crafting and executing plans to turn distressed situations into successful enterprises, across numerous companies and industries. As a resident of the U.S. Virgin Islands since 2011, he has supported the area’s economic development, particularly after back-to-back hurricanes in 2017 shuttered several of the territories’ resorts and businesses.

“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 befitting its natural grace and beauty,” Mr. Deckoff said. “There is simply no place in the world as special as the U.S. Virgin Islands and I am humbled by the opportunity to share its splendor with visitors in a manner that will provide economic benefits to the region while respecting its culture, history and natural beauty. I very much look forward to working with the U.S. Virgin Islands to make this dream a reality.”

Mr. Deckoff is in the process of retaining architects and engineers to develop the resort on the islands, which is anticipated to open in 2025.

The islands were formerly owned by the late Jeffrey Epstein. A significant portion of the sale proceeds are being paid to the Government of the U.S. Virgin Islands under a previously announced settlement agreement between the government and Mr. Epstein’s estate.



 

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