Little Saint James

Little Saint James is a small island (or islet) with an area of . It is part of the United States Virgin Islands, southeast of neighboring Great Saint James, both off the southern coast of the larger St. Thomas island and belonging to the subdistrict East End, St. Thomas. The Virgin Islands are mountain peaks rising from the Caribbean ocean floor. The trade winds (prevailing east-to-west winds near Earth's equator) dominate its climate and local weather, with stronger winds and less rain during winter. File:U.S. Virgin Islands Subdivisions.svg|Little Saint James is the smaller of the two islands in the southeast of nr. 2 of Saint Thomas. File:Little Saint James.png|A map of Little Saint James == History ==

Little St. James was part of the Danish West Indies. In 1917, Denmark sold them to the United States. Little St. James was included as one of the "adjacent islands" in the deal. Epstein's ownership Little St. James is a private island. In 1997, it was owned by venture capitalist Arch Cummin and was for sale for $10.5 million. In April 1998, a company called L.S.J. LLC purchased it for $7.95 million. Documents show that Jeffrey Epstein was the sole member of L.S.J. In 2019, the island was valued at $63,874,223. Little St. James was Epstein's primary residence, and he called the island "Little St. Jeff". The main house on the island was renovated by Edward Tuttle, a designer of the Aman Resorts. In 2005, Epstein hired the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority to install a combination power and fiber optic cable between St. Thomas and Little St. James, giving the island dedicated data and electric connections, which eliminated the need for generators. In 2008, Epstein's estate on Little St. James had 70 staff. According to a former staffer, Epstein insisted on discretion and confidentiality from his employees. In 2016, the Department of Planning and Natural Resources received complaints about Epstein, who had begun to clear land without a permit. == Visitors during Epstein's ownership ==

Victoria's Secret models were among the guests a former Epstein employee saw at his Little St. James residence, and billionaire Les Wexner visited the island at least once. Peter Mandelson spent a week on the island in 2004. Sergey Brin and his then fiancée, Anne Wojcicki, visited the island in 2007. In December 2012, Howard Lutnick, his wife and their children visited the island, where they had lunch with Epstein. Reid Hoffman and Joi Ito visited the island in November 2014, according to Epstein's records. Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak visited the island multiple times from 2014 to 2015. Jes Staley, the former head of Barclays, visited the island in 2015. In August 2025, the Department of Justice released a transcript of an interview between Maxwell and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche during which Maxwell said Naomi Campbell had probably visited Little Saint James at some point. In 2015, Epstein emailed friends of his alleged victim Virginia Giuffre, asking them to disprove supposed allegations by Giuffre that physicist Stephen Hawking participated in an "underage orgy" in the Virgin Islands. Epstein said he could "issue a reward” to them if they could "prove her allegations are false". The email implies it was written in response to a "new version" of the claim about Hawking. Neither Giuffre nor anyone else has ever publicly accused Hawking of sexual misconduct. == Allegations under Epstein's ownership ==

In a 2014 affidavit, Giuffre alleged that in the early 2000s, as an 18-year-old, she had sex with Epstein and then-Prince Andrew in an orgy, with eight other girls who "appeared to be under the age of 18" and did not speak English. Buckingham Palace denied the allegation. A lawyer for Epstein called Giuffre's allegations of orgies "old and discredited". Giuffre also made controversial allegations that Bill Clinton and Al Gore had visited the island. In 2011, she told Daily Mail reporter Sharon Churcher that Ghislaine Maxwell "went to pick up Bill in a huge black helicopter that Jeffrey had bought her" and "I used to get frightened flying with her but Bill had the Secret Service with him and I remember him talking about what a good job she did". In a declassified 2011 email, Epstein wrote: "[T]hese stories are complete an[d] utter fantasy, I don't know and have never met Al gore, Clinton was never on the island". Alan Dershowitz argued Giuffre's story was improbable, as the Secret Service would not allow Maxwell, "then a novice helicopter pilot", to fly a former president. A 2017 Freedom of Information Act request for Secret Service records found no evidence that Clinton had visited Little St. James. A spokesperson for Clinton has denied he ever visited the island. In a 2016 deposition, Sarah Ransome said she visited Little Saint James with Epstein in 2007, Ransome said she had an argument with Epstein and Maxwell about her weight, causing her to attempt to swim off the island, before Epstein assembled a search party to bring her back. In a 2021 interview with NPR, she said her attempt to swim off the island was "after I'd been raped three times and after Ghislaine had taken my food away". In her 2021 book, Ransome writes that she attempted to swim off the island after Ghislaine "snatched away" her dinner and replaced it with cucumbers and tomatoes. Little Saint James has been given numerous nicknames in the media, such as "Isle of Babes", "Island of Sin", and "Epstein Island". According to a 2019 Vanity Fair article, two unidentified locals on St. Thomas said they saw Epstein board his plane in 2019 with girls "who appeared to be under the age of consent". == Aftermath and new ownership ==

In August 2019, after Epstein's death, FBI agents searched his Little St. James residence. In his will and testament (a nine-page pour-over will), signed two days before his death, all of Epstein's holdings were transferred into the "1953 Trust", 1953 being the year of Epstein's birth. In March 2022, Little St. James and neighboring Great Saint James were listed at $125 million. A lawyer for Epstein's estate said money obtained from the sale would be used to settle lawsuits. Bespoke Real Estate, the agency jointly overseeing the sale, said that further information on the listing was available only to prospective buyers. In May 2023, billionaire Stephen Deckoff, under his firm SD Investments, announced the acquisition of Great St. James and Little St. James for $60 million. == Epstein's buildings ==

In 1997, the island had a main house, three guest cottages, a caretaker's cottage, a private desalination system, a helipad, and a dock. The renovation concluded sometime after March 2003 Besides the main residence, there are four additional residences. Epstein's cabana Epstein's personal residence on the island was a stone-walled cabana with a turquoise ceiling, one of many cabanas on the island. Locals say the dome was blown away during Hurricane Maria in 2017. The purpose of the actual construction is unclear, and it deviates in substantial ways from the plans for the grand piano container that Epstein's architects submitted for approval in 2010. Footage captured by Tyler Oliveira, an American content creator who sneaked onto the island in 2023, shows that the building and surrounding area had been painted white. File:EFTA00002941-Temple - Striking blue and white striped building with arched doors stands on a coastal terrace surrounded by palm trees and red-striped pavement under a bright sky.jpg|alt= File:EFTA00002940-Temple - Blue-and-white striped building with a red-and-white labyrinth in front set against a tropical backdrop of palm trees and the ocean under a bright sky.jpg File:EFTA00002942-Temple - Blue and white striped building with an arched window and palm trees stands on a tiled patio under a bright sky.jpg Interior Baron described the interior as having one large room with two levels. The ground floor was tall and another on a slightly raised platform, which was accessed by a single step. The flooring looked wooden and was covered by a large Oriental rug. He recalls a grey sofa to his right, against the eastern wall. Directly ahead of him was a dark wood desk of about long. Behind it were several columns of floor-to-ceiling bookcases. To his left, against the western wall, was a small black grand piano. Baron's notes describe the piano as having been manufactured by the Rudolph Wurlitzer Company. Above the piano hung a portrait of Epstein and a Pope. Baron could not confirm which Pope it was. File:EFTA00002962-Temple - Room under renovation with exposed walls wooden floor and a partially installed ceiling.jpg|Interior File:USVI IMG 5454 - Grand room under renovation with ornate wood shelves and striped walls features a detailed ceiling fresco still visible above the scaffolding.jpg File:EFTA00002961-Temple - Grand wooden bookcase with ornate columns stands in a room under renovation its shelves empty and surroundings stripped of decor.jpg File:EFTA00002952-Temple - Room under renovation with exposed wood paneling a partially installed bed and stacked yellow metal frames on the floor.jpg File:EFTA00002945-Temple - Room with ornate marble-patterned walls and a dark wooden floor featuring a window and partially restored ceiling.jpg File:USVI IMG 5455 - Vibrant mural depicts the celestial sphere with constellations and mythological figures against a dark blue backdrop.jpg|Ceiling mural Maintenance and logistics • Helipad buildings – Two small structures with blue roofs next to the island's helicopter landing pad. • Maintenance facilities / office – Two structures (Maintenance One and Two); Maintenance One features "sally port" type doors, while Maintenance Two has a white exterior with several sets of double doors. • Sheds – Two single-story sheds with green-blue metal-like exteriors southwest of the Main Residence. • Dock House – A small roofed structure at the end of a wooden dock. == Gallery ==

File:USVI IMG 5437 - Lush green hillside slopes down to a calm bay with palm trees and a white gazebo overlooking the ocean under a cloudy sky.jpg|Lagoon and the Temple on the hill, also the highest point of the island File:USVI IMG 5435 - Coastal path lined with palm trees leads to a stone building overlooking turquoise waters under a bright sky.jpg File:USVI IMG 5399 - Paved path with blue wave patterns leads to a sandy beach framed by palm trees and turquoise water with distant islands under a cloudy sky.jpg|Walkway towards the beach area from helipad File:USVI IMG 5394 - Rocky shoreline meets turquoise water under an overcast sky with a wooden pier and palm trees in the distance.jpg|Rocky shoreline and the dock File:USVI IMG 5370 - Tropical paradise framed by palm fronds with lush green hills and a serene beach visible through the dense foliage.jpg|View towards the dock and the pool house File:USVI IMG 5365 - Serene outdoor pool area with stone tiles palm trees and buildings featuring vibrant blue roofs under a cloudy sky.jpg|Buildings of the main area. Four guest houses on the left. File:USVI IMG 9221 Redacted page1 - Grand study room with ornate patterned armchairs bookshelves and a large blackboard all set under a bright painted ceiling.jpg|The interior of the Epstein's Cabana with a desk and a blackboard File:USVI IMG 5356 - Lush green lawn slopes down to a stone-paved walkway overlooking the turquoise sea and distant islands under an overcast sky.jpg|A view from the Main Residence deck area File:USVI IMG 5280 - Lush green lawn stretches beneath tall palm trees leading to a stone-walled building with a vibrant blue roof overlooking the ocean.jpg File:USVI IMG 5410 - Serene coastal patio with palm trees stone walls and a private pool overlooking the ocean.jpg|A view from the pool house towards the temple == See also ==