Who currently owns little saint james and the other epstein properties?
Executive summary
Public reporting and government releases show Jeffrey Epstein owned Little St. James and Great St. James until his death in 2019; those islands were sold after legal settlements and reporting identifies financier Stephen Deckoff as the buyer for about $60 million, with plans to convert the properties into a resort [1] [2] [3]. House Oversight Democrats recently released photos and video of Little St. James as part of ongoing probes and document disclosures tied to investigations and a Justice Department records release law [4] [5].
1. What Epstein owned: the islands and the record
Jeffrey Epstein owned two private islands in the U.S. Virgin Islands — Little St. James and Great St. James — and those properties figured centrally in civil and criminal inquiries into sexual abuse and trafficking tied to his estate [1] [6]. Material recently provided to Congress, including law-enforcement photographs and video taken in 2020, confirm conditions and layout of the estate and have been released publicly by House Oversight Committee Democrats to aid transparency in investigations [5] [4].
2. Who bought the islands after Epstein: the reporting on the sale
Multiple outlets report that financier Stephen Deckoff purchased Little St. James and Great St. James in a transaction valued at roughly $60 million, and that he has publicly discussed plans to develop the islands into a resort destination [2] [3]. Coverage describes Deckoff as hiring architects and engineers and aiming to rebrand the islands’ future use after the dark publicity surrounding Epstein’s ownership [2].
3. Legal and financial context behind transfer of title
News reports note the islands’ sale occurred amid a larger legal settlement — including a more than $100 million settlement reached by the U.S. Virgin Islands attorney general with Epstein’s estate — and the properties’ disposition was tied to estate and enforcement actions following Epstein’s death [6]. Detailed chain-of-title documents are not provided in the materials summarized here; available sources describe the buyer and sale price but do not reproduce deed copies or closing statements in full [2] [3].
4. Why Congress and investigators are still focused on ownership and records
House Democrats released images and video from Little St. James to Congress after receiving files from U.S. Virgin Islands authorities and banks, citing the need for transparency and to piece together Epstein’s network and activities; the disclosures arrived after federal legislative pressure to unseal Justice Department files [4] [7]. The Oversight Committee’s release is framed as part of a larger investigative effort that includes subpoenas to banks and other records requests [7] [8].
5. What’s clear — and what the available reporting does not say
Reporting clearly identifies Epstein as the longtime owner through 2019 and identifies Stephen Deckoff as a buyer reported to have paid about $60 million and proposing resort development [1] [2] [3]. Available sources do not mention granular details such as the exact legal vehicle of purchase, current developer subsidiaries, day‑to‑day management, redevelopment permits, or whether any restrictions or covenants tied to prior settlements remain attached to the title; those specifics are not found in current reporting provided here [2] [6].
6. Competing perspectives and implicit agendas in coverage
Mainstream outlets (New York Times, CNN, PBS, Guardian) focus on the islands’ role in Epstein’s criminality and on the significance of newly released images for victims and oversight [5] [4] [9] [6]. Business and local reporting emphasizes a transactional and development angle — buyer, price, resort plans — notably citing Deckoff’s statements about redevelopment [2] [3]. Some political framing exists: House Democrats released materials amid pressure on the executive branch to unseal files and ahead of deadlines, which suggests an institutional motive to sustain public scrutiny [4] [5]. The Daily Mail and tabloid outlets emphasize lurid detail and political implications [10].
7. What to watch next
Follow-up documents from the Justice Department, the U.S. Virgin Islands Attorney General, property records in the U.S. Virgin Islands land registry, and Oversight Committee releases will be decisive in confirming transaction mechanics, any ongoing legal encumbrances, and who now exercises operational control; those records were requested or compelled and may be released in the near term under recently passed law and committee subpoenas [4] [8] [7]. Current reporting identifies the buyer and price but leaves transactional and regulatory detail to be confirmed by official land and court filings [2] [6].
Limitations: this analysis uses only the provided reporting and government-release coverage; it does not rely on deed searches or independent title documents that are not included in the sources above [2] [6].