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Who currently owns Jeffrey Epstein's Little Saint James and how was ownership transferred?
Executive summary
As of the reporting in these sources, Little Saint James and the neighboring Great Saint James were sold in May 2023 to financier Stephen Deckoff for a combined reported price of $60 million; proceeds were tied to a prior $105 million settlement between Epstein’s estate and the U.S. Virgin Islands government (purchase and proceeds reported by Forbes, NPR, CNBC and others) [1] [2] [3] [4].
1. The buyer named: Stephen Deckoff, a U.S. financier
Multiple outlets identify Stephen Deckoff—the founder of Black Diamond Capital Management and a longtime U.S. Virgin Islands resident—as the purchaser of both Little St. James and Great St. James. Forbes and NPR reported Deckoff acquired the islands and planned to develop them into a luxury resort, with Deckoff confirming the purchase through his SD Investments vehicle [1] [2].
2. The purchase price and the deal’s headline numbers
Reporting consistently gives a $60 million sale price for the two islands together, a steep discount from an earlier $110–125 million asking figure cited in some listings. Coverage ties that sale price to the 2022–2023 legal settlement in which Epstein’s estate agreed to pay roughly $105 million to the U.S. Virgin Islands; some reports note that proceeds from any sale would be routed in part to satisfy that settlement [4] [3] [1].
3. How ownership was transferred—estate sale after Epstein’s death
The available reporting frames the transfer as an estate sale conducted after Jeffrey Epstein’s 2019 death: the islands were put on the market in 2022 as part of disposition of Epstein’s assets, and the buyer purchased them from entities controlling Epstein’s holdings (reporting explains the estate settlement and subsequent sale) [1] [3] [4]. Specific deed records, chain‑of‑title documents, or exact legal instruments (e.g., which LLC or trustee executed the conveyance) are not described in the provided articles; those details are not found in current reporting supplied here [1] [3].
4. What Deckoff said and what he planned to do
Deckoff has been quoted or described as intending to redevelop the islands into a luxury resort—reports mention recruiting architects and engineers and projecting an opening timeline around 2025 for a 25‑room high‑end resort. Some pieces also note local division: proponents welcome investment and jobs, while others feel the islands should remain memorials to victims [1] [2] [5].
5. Legal and financial context: settlement with the U.S. Virgin Islands
Reporting highlights that Denise George, the U.S. Virgin Islands’ attorney general at the time, pursued claims against Epstein’s estate resulting in a roughly $105 million settlement; news outlets say proceeds from island sales would go toward satisfying that settlement. Coverage links the sale and its proceeds to that legal resolution, but the specific allocation mechanics (how much from Deckoff’s payment went to which parties and by which legal instrument) are not fully documented in the cited summaries [4] [3] [1].
6. Discrepancies, unanswered questions, and limits of the reporting
Sources agree on the buyer (Deckoff) and headline price ($60 million) but differ on small background figures (listing prices reported as $110m–$125m) and on projected timelines for redevelopment (some references to 2025 openings) [1] [2] [6]. No source in the provided set supplies the exact recorded deed transfer, the name of the seller entity on the public deed, closing date details, escrow paperwork, or how regulatory approvals (local permitting) were handled; those specifics are not found in current reporting [1] [3] [5].
7. Competing perspectives and implicit agendas in coverage
Business outlets (Forbes, CNBC, Fortune) emphasize the buyer’s development plans and economic framing—Deckoff as an investor remaking an asset for tourism—while regional and investigative pieces stress the islands’ history as sites of alleged crimes and the moral/commemorative debate among locals [1] [2] [4] [5]. Some pieces emphasize the sale as restitution for the Virgin Islands (linking it to the $105m settlement), which aligns with the territorial government’s agenda to secure redress; developer statements promote economic renewal and tourism [3] [4] [2].
8. Short guide to primary documents you would need to confirm remaining gaps
To fully trace the legal transfer beyond press reporting, obtain: the recorded deed[7] for Little St. James and Great St. James from the U.S. Virgin Islands Recorder of Deeds; the purchase and sale agreement and settlement allocation tables from Epstein’s estate filings; and the court order implementing the $105m settlement. These documents are not provided in the current reporting and therefore are necessary to answer title‑chain and proceeds allocation questions that press summaries leave open (not found in current reporting) [1] [3].
Conclusion: The supplied reporting identifies Stephen Deckoff as the buyer of Little Saint James (and Great Saint James) for $60 million in a post‑Epstein estate sale tied to a $105 million settlement with the U.S. Virgin Islands; the articles describe redevelopment plans but do not provide deed‑level transfer documents or full accounting of proceeds distribution [1] [2] [3] [4].