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Who currently owns Jeffrey Epstein's Zorro Ranch property in New Mexico?
Executive summary
Public records and multiple news outlets report that Jeffrey Epstein’s Zorro Ranch in New Mexico was sold by the Epstein estate in August 2023 to a limited liability company named San Rafael Ranch LLC (also reported as San Rafael Ranch, LLC or San Rafael LLC); the sale price and the individuals behind that LLC have not been publicly disclosed in the reporting [1] [2] [3]. County assessor and deed records show the LLC as the recorded owner, and the estate’s attorney confirmed the sale with proceeds to be used to administer the estate and pay creditors [2] [1].
1. Who the deed names: a corporate buyer, not a person
Official county and assessor records and contemporaneous press reports list the buyer as San Rafael Ranch LLC (sometimes shortened to San Rafael LLC), and a new warranty deed was recorded in mid‑August 2023 showing the change in ownership from Cypress Inc. (the Epstein trust entity) to that LLC [2] [1] [3]. News organizations repeatedly cite those public records when describing who “owns” the property now: the registered limited liability company is the recorded owner [1] [4].
2. What the estate acknowledges: sale confirmed, price undisclosed
An attorney for the Epstein estate confirmed the ranch was sold and said proceeds would be used for estate administration and creditor payments; the estate and news reports state the purchase price and buyer identities remain confidential in public filings and reporting [2] [1]. Multiple outlets quote the estate’s confirmation while noting specific financial terms were not disclosed [2] [4].
3. Attempts to identify the real people behind the LLC
Reporting shows the LLC is newly registered and that journalists and local officials have not publicly identified the ultimate individual or group behind San Rafael Ranch LLC; some outlets and commentators describe the owner as “shrouded in secrecy” and note confidentiality around the sale [1] [5]. Investigations into deed irregularities at the property have occurred historically, and those past issues add to why reporters emphasize the opacity of ownership [6].
4. Local records and taxes: valuation disputes reveal an active owner
After the change in deed, the new owners (identified in records as the LLC) contested the county’s assessed value and sought tax relief, which produced court filings and media coverage naming San Rafael Ranch LLC as the party seeking a lower valuation — further evidence that the LLC, as recorded owner, is the active actor in property disputes [7] [8]. Santa Fe County’s Notice of Value and ensuing legal papers show the property’s assessed worth and the LLC’s engagement with local tax processes [7].
5. Why ownership is important and why secrecy matters
Zorro Ranch has been the subject of survivor testimony and state interest because alleged crimes are said to have occurred there; lawmakers later proposed a state-level probe into activities at the ranch, and that backdrop fuels public interest in who controls the property now [9] [10]. Journalists note the buyer’s anonymity—purchase through an LLC and nondisclosure of price—confers a level of privacy that frustrates survivors, advocates, and some public officials [1] [5].
6. Competing narratives and reporting limitations
Most mainstream outlets uniformly report the recorded owner is San Rafael Ranch LLC and that details about the LLC’s principals and the sale price were not disclosed; some commentary pieces and tabloids speculate the ultimate owners remain hidden or suggest political links, but those claims are not confirmed in the cited public records or mainstream reports [5] [11]. Available sources do not mention any definitive, publicly confirmed individual or group owning the ranch beyond the LLC named in deed and assessor records [1] [3].
7. What would resolve remaining questions (and what reporting has done)
To identify the human owners behind San Rafael Ranch LLC, reporters or investigators would need corporate records, disclosure by the LLC, court-ordered discovery (if litigation compels it), or statements from the estate detailing the buyer — none of which appear in current reporting; until such records surface, the deeded LLC remains the published owner in public filings and press coverage [2] [1]. Journalistic investigations have traced prior odd deeds and document problems at the property, but those prior probes produced evidence of deed fraud and transactional secrecy rather than a named buyer after the 2023 sale [6] [2].
Bottom line: Public records and contemporary reporting identify San Rafael Ranch LLC as the current owner recorded in Santa Fe County after an August 2023 sale by the Epstein estate, while the individuals behind that LLC and the exact purchase price remain undisclosed in the cited sources [1] [2] [3].