Who Owns Epstein Island?

The islands were bought in 2023 by Stephen Deckoff, an American private equity financier, for a reported $60m — around half the asking price. He acquired both Little St James and Great St James in the US Virgin Islands from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate. A luxury resort was announced for 2025; as of 2026 it has not been built. No UK register is relevant to any of this. Ownership verified 6 September 2026.

Who owns Epstein Island today?

“Epstein Island” is not a place name. It refers to Little St James, a roughly 70-acre private island in the US Virgin Islands, and often to the adjacent and larger Great St James, which Epstein bought separately in 2016.

Both were sold in May 2023 to Stephen Deckoff, founder of the American investment firm Black Diamond Capital Management, and he remains the reported owner.

The sale was made by the estate, as part of winding up Epstein’s affairs and funding settlements with victims. Jeffrey Epstein died in custody in 2019; Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking in 2021. This page addresses only the ownership of the property.

Ultimate parent and corporate structure

Private islands are commonly held through companies rather than personally, and these were. Epstein held them through US Virgin Islands entities, and the purchase in 2023 was likewise made through a corporate vehicle rather than in an individual’s name.

There is no chain of the kind this site usually traces, because there is no operating business. The islands are real property, and the relevant record is a land registry, not a companies register.

Major shareholders or controlling persons

Stephen Deckoff is the individual reported as the buyer and beneficial owner. He is a private financier with no public listing, so there is no shareholder register to inspect and no disclosure obligation of the kind a listed company carries.

No other party has been reported as holding an interest. The estate’s connection ended with the sale.

Official records and evidence

This is worth being precise about, because the subject attracts a great deal of unreliable material.

Companies House holds nothing relevant. The islands are American territory and the parties are American; no UK filing establishes anything about them.

The authoritative records are the US Virgin Islands property and corporate registries — deeds recorded with the territory’s Office of the Lieutenant Governor, and entities registered there — together with the US federal court filings from the estate’s administration, which are public and which set out the sale as part of the settlement process.

Almost everything circulating about these islands online is not sourced to either. Photographs, flight records and claimed visitor lists have been widely republished, frequently without provenance and sometimes fabricated. A page about ownership can only report what the property and court records support, and this one does not go beyond that.

Ownership history and changes

• 1998 — Epstein buys Little St James, reported at around $7.95m.
• 2016 — buys neighbouring Great St James for a reported $18m.
• 2019 — Epstein dies in federal custody awaiting trial; the estate takes over.
• 2022 — the US Virgin Islands government settles its civil case against the estate for a reported $105m, with the islands’ sale part of the arrangements.
• May 2023 — both islands sold to Stephen Deckoff for a reported $60m, against a listing price reported at $125m and later $110m.

The discount is the notable commercial fact: property associated with serious crime is hard to sell, and these sold for roughly half what was asked.

Related companies and brands

Deckoff announced plans to develop a luxury resort, reported at the time as opening in 2025. As of 2026 no construction has been reported, with local reporting indicating limited progress on permitting.

Black Diamond Capital Management, the firm Deckoff founded, is a separate business and its investments are unrelated to the islands — a purchase by an individual is not a holding of the firm he founded, and the two should not be conflated.

The islands have no connection to any company or brand covered elsewhere on this site.