Billionaire Stephen Deckoff snaps up dead pedophile Jeffrey Epstein's two private islands for $60million - including one where he sexually abused children – to develop state of the art luxury resorts
- Jeffrey Epstein's infamous Caribbean islands finally have a new owner
- Private equity mogul Stephen Deckoff paid less than half of initial asking price
- Deckoff, who said he never met Epstein, has plans to develop a 25-room resort
Two private islands previously owned by pedophile Jeffrey Epstein have finally been snapped up by a billionaire after more than a year on the market.
Epstein's infamous Caribbean islands - one of which is dubbed 'Pedophile Island' - have been bought by billionaire Stephen Deckoff for $60million - less than half of their $125m initial asking price.
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.
Two private islands previously owned by pedophile Jeffrey Epstein have finally been bought after more than a year on the market
Little St. James (pictured) 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
Great St. James Island (above) is more than double the size of Little St James but is largely undeveloped
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.
In 2016, Epstein spent $18million on Great St. James Island, which once was popular with locals and tourists for its main attraction, the Christmas Cove nature preserve.
Virgin Islands prosecutors in 2020 accused Epstein of bringing girls as young as 11 to the islands and sexually assaulting them.
Mr Deckoff, who has lived in the US Virgin Islands since 2011, says that he never met Epstein and had not stepped foot onto his land until they were marketed following the financier's death.
Speaking about his acquisition of the islands, Mr Deckoff, who has a net worth of $3 billion according to Forbes, said: '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 made his fortune in private equity, progressing through several firms including Drexel Burnham Lambert, Bear Stearns and Kidder and Peabody & Co. before building Black Diamond Capital.
Mr Deckoff, who has lived in the US Virgin Islands since 2011, says that he never met Epstein (pictured) and had not stepped foot onto his land until they were marketed following the financier's death in 2019
In 2016, Epstein spent $18million Great St. James Island (above), which once was popular with locals and tourists for its main attraction, the Christmas Cove nature preserve
Government documents show that Little St. James Island, which sits on 70 acres of land located a little over a mile from St Thomas, was purchased by one of Epstein's companies in April 1998 for $7.95million
Pictured: Little St. James Island. Mr Deckoff has plans to turn the islands into a luxury resort
Facilities at Great St. James Island are seen in an aerial view in a picture taken in July 2019
Little St. James Island, one of the former properties of financier Jeffrey Epstein, is seen in an aerial view in July 2019
In a press release today, SD Investments LLC - a firm founded by Mr Deckoff - said that '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.'
Under the settlement announced by the Virgin Islands Department of Justice in December, half of the proceeds from the sale of Little St. James, 'the island on which Epstein resided and on which many of his crimes occurred', will be put in a trust to provide support for sexual abuse victims.
Epstein's estate also agreed to pay $105m to the US Virgin Islands to settle sex trafficking and child exploitation claims - and and another $450,000 payment 'to remediate environmental damage around Great St. James,' where Epstein 'razed the remains of centuries'-old historical structures of enslaved workers to make room for his development.'
Mr Deckoff is currently retaining architects and engineers to develop the resort - which he hopes will open in 2025.
Epstein threw parties for the rich and famous on Little St James, with celebrities from Prince Andrew to Stephen Hawking among his guests. Pictured: Jeffrey Epstein is massaged by his assistant Sarah Kellen at his private island
Ghislaine Maxwell is pictured having a meal at Epstein's mansion on Little St James Island
A picture released at Ghislaine Maxwell's trial show the idyllic island of Little St James with the sprawling Epstein mansion
LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, 55, went to Little St. James – which has been dubbed 'pedophile island' – on one occasion
Hoffman traveled to the island with Joi Ito (right) the then-MIT Media Lab director, who had asked Hoffman and Epstein to help raise funds for MIT. Documents also revealed that former Harvard University president Lawrence Summers (left) asked Epstein for $1million to fund an online poetry project for his wife
Oscar-winning movie director Woody Allen, attended dozens of dinners with his wife, Soon-Yi Previn, at Epstein's mansion and invited him to film screenings
Hoffman also reportedly planned to stay the night in Epstein's townhouse in December 2014, before planning to attend a 'breakfast party' with Epstein and Bill Gates
Former Barclays Boss Jes Staley pictured in 2020 in Davos, Switzerland. Staley is accused of abusing at least one victim himself, according to a court ruling shared late on Monday
Jes Staley (left) with Jeffrey Epstein in 2011. The picture was taken after Epstein was convicted of soliciting prostitution from underage girls in 2008
Jeffrey Epstein attends Launch of RADAR MAGAZINE at Hotel QT on 18 May 2005 in New York
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon (left) has agreed to testify about Epstein, while Google co-founder Larry Page (right) is being sought for questioning
Prince Andrew, who has denied all wrongdoing
Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein strolling in New York's Central Park
Bill Clinton
Maxwell and Epstein were lovers
Maxwell is now serving 20 years in federal prison
Dozens of documents relating to Jeffrey Epstein's associate are to be unsealed, a judge ruled today
Among those whose names are mentioned in the documents are billionaire hotel magnate Tom Pritzker, who objected to the unsealing.
Former Barclays and JP Morgan exec Jes Staley (pictured left) has been accused of being an operative in the late billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein's sex ring in a lawsuit
Staley quit Barclays in November 2021 after the bank's board said it was 'disappointed' with the outcome of a report into his links to convicted sex offender Epstein
Jes Staley (left) at Jeffrey Epstein's mansion in New York in 2011. Pictured (from left): Mr Staley; former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers; Epstein; Bill Gates, Microsoft's co-founder; and Boris Nikolic, who was the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's science adviser
No comments:
Post a Comment