Jeffrey Epstein’s 8,000-acre New Mexico ranch lists for $27.5 Million
Zorro Ranch, which includes several homes and a private air strip, is the latest property to be unloaded by the late convicted sex offender’s estate
Check out what's clicking on FoxBusiness.com.
Zorro Ranch, a roughly 8,000-acre New Mexico property long owned by the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, is coming on the market for $27.5 million.
The ranch, which comes with a roughly 30,000-square-foot main home, an air strip and many other amenities, will be the latest in a string of valuable properties to be sold by Mr. Epstein’s estate following his death by suicide at a New York City correctional center in 2019 while awaiting charges of sex trafficking. Earlier this year, Mr. Epstein’s gilded Manhattan townhouse sold for $51 million, and his Palm Beach, Fla., compound sold for $18.5 million.
BILL COSBY RULING SHOULD BE USED TO FREE GHISLAINE MAXWELL, HER LAWYER SAYS
Proceeds from the sale of the ranch will go to his estate, "including as necessary to compensate claimants, tax authorities, and creditors," according to Sotheby’s International Realty, the firm handling the sale.
Mr. Epstein’s properties make up a significant portion of his hundreds of millions of dollars in assets, The Wall Street Journal has reported.
Daniel H. Weiner, an attorney acting on the estate’s behalf, said the value of the holdings had been pegged at approximately $210 million as of March 2021. A court approved the creation of the Epstein Victims’ Compensation Program in June 2020, and the estate has funded it to date with over $140 million to pay claims determinations, he said.
JEFFREY EPSTEIN ACCUSER SUES FOR $500M, ALLEGES SHE DEVELOPED BONE DISEASE FROM ATTACK
Mr. Epstein purchased Zorro Ranch, located about 35 miles from Santa Fe, in 1993. It comprises a patchwork of private and leased federal lands. In all, there are 7,575 deeded acres plus 423 acres of Bureau of Land Management-leased land, according to Sotheby’s.
The ranch was originally larger. New Mexico’s commissioner of public lands recently canceled a decadeslong lease Mr. Epstein had with the state for more than 1,000 acres of grazing land. That land might be available for lease by a new owner of the ranch.
The property also includes the many amenities built by Mr. Epstein: the main home, several other homes, a log cabin, a yurt, out buildings and a private air strip.
Designed by Alberto Pinto, the late Paris-based interior designer whose extravagant, Old World designs attracted a wealthy clientele including Middle Eastern royalty, the main house spans three levels with a large indoor pool, a gym, a living room and a library, according to Sotheby’s. From the many rooms facing east, there are views of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Cerro Pelon and the Galisteo Basin.
The ranch also includes a small village called "Ranch Central" with several smaller homes (a portion of one residence predates Mr. Epstein), studio casitas and garages. There is also a greenhouse, a private firehouse, a barn for heavy equipment, a seven-bay heated garage, a lodge, a log cabin, a yurt and a separate guesthouse. Equestrian facilities include an eight-stall barn with a tack room, an arena and an exterior gated horse run.
The grass airstrip runs roughly 4,400 feet and could potentially be expanded, according to the brokerage. There is also a hangar and a helipad.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Like many markets across the U.S., Santa Fe has experienced a surge in buyer interest in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Sotheby’s cited figures from the Santa Fe Association of Realtors showing that sales of properties for $2 million or more surged 143% in the first quarter of 2021 compared with the prior year.
Earlier this year, fashion designer Tom Ford found a buyer for his sprawling New Mexico ranch, last priced at $48 million, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The Zorro Ranch listing is being handled by the Neil Lyon Group at Sotheby’s.