Two Caribbean islands that belonged to financier Jeffrey Epstein hit the market for $125 million (R1.8 billion) last week, raising eyebrows in the small community of private island real estate brokers. | Fin24
." The proceeds will go toward resolving outstanding lawsuits against the estate and the regular costs of its operations, according to the That smaller, 72-acre island was purchased by Epstein in 1998 for $7.95 million. The larger island, Great St. James, covers more than 161 acres and is largely undeveloped. Epstein bought it in 2016 for $22.5 million.
"Take both islands together, his acquisition costs were approximately $30.5 million," Vladi says."Let’s say he did something here or there, so there’s $35 million into it. If you take the two islands together and ask $70 million, that might be possible.", a director at the real estate company Smiths Gore, who specializes in the Virgin Islands."But it sold not many years ago for $22.5 million, and it was on the market for quite a long time.
And that doesn’t include the spectre of Epstein himself, which Vladi says could do serious damage to the islands’s valuation."I would never want to go there with my wife and family and enjoy it," he says."It’s full of negative criminal energy, and it’s very difficult to sell." Indeed, the first step in accurately valuing the islands might be to consider how other Epstein properties have fared. A New York town house he once owned was initially priced at $88 million and