- Jeffrey Epstein’s seven-story New York City townhouse is hitting the market for $88 million, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.
- The sale will benefit his estate, which will be used to adjudicate the claims of his alleged victims.
- Epstein was arrested in July 2019 on suspicion of sex trafficking minors in his Manhattan and Florida homes from 2002 to 2005. On August 10, 2019, he was found dead in a Manhattan jail cell in an apparent suicide.
- Epstein reportedly decorated his Upper East Side mansion with bizarre items such as a stuffed black poodle.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Jeffrey Epstein once held a sprawling real estate portfolio – and his famed New York City townhouse is now hitting the market, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.
The seven-story Upper East Side townhouse has a listing price of $88 million. His Palm Beach estate was also listed, and his other properties worldwide are expected to follow. The sale of the properties will benefit Epstein’s estate, which is being used to adjudicate claims of his alleged victims.
Epstein was arrested in July 2019 on suspicion of sex trafficking minors in his Manhattan and Florida homes from 2002 to 2005. On August 10, 2019, he was found dead in a Manhattan jail cell in an apparent suicide.
Epstein’s Upper East Side mansion dates back to the 1930s, spans 28,000 square feet, and once housed a school. It was purchased in 1989 by the founder of L Brands, Les Wexner, for $13.2 million. Wexner then sold it in 1998 to the New York-based Nine East 71st Street Corporation (NES) for an undisclosed amount. In 2011, ownership of the property was transferred from NES to Maple Inc. for $0. Public records from 2011 show that Epstein held ownership of both NES and Maple Inc. at the time of the transfer.
According to the Journal, the property still contains much of Epstein's furniture, even though his "more personal belongings have been removed."
Investigators previously found "piles of cash," diamonds, and a Saudi Arabian passport with a fake name within a safe in the mansion - but those were far from his only personal effects. The townhouse was known to be decorated outlandishly. From framed eyeballs to a beach-themed dining room, Business Insider has compiled a list of the strangest ways Epstein reportedly decorated the home.
Framed eyeballs
In 2003, Jeffrey Epstein allowed a reporter from Vanity Fair to visit the home. Reporter Vicky Ward described the interior as a "high-walled, eclectic, imperious fantasy that seems to have no boundaries."
The entrance hallway, as noted by Ward, featured "row upon row of individually framed eyeballs." Epstein reportedly told Ward that they were made for injured soldiers and imported from England.
A giant sculpture of a naked African warrior
After she made her way through the entrance hallway, Ward described seeing a "twice-life-size sculpture of a naked African warrior."
A stuffed black poodle on top of a piano
Ward also described seeing a stuffed black poodle on top of a piano.
"No decorator would ever tell you to do that," Epstein told Ward. "But I want people to think what it means to stuff a dog."
Prosthetic breasts in the master bathroom
One of Jeffrey Epstein's alleged victims, Jennifer Araoz, has sued Epstein's estate, as reported by The New York Times.
The lawsuit states, as reported by The New York Times, that prosthetic breasts were mounted on a wall in the master bathroom, and that Epstein could look at or play with them while in the bathtub.
A "trophy room" with a stuffed giraffe
Araoz's lawsuit against Epstein also describes a "trophy room" filled with stuffed exotic animals, including a giraffe.
A stuffed tiger, but in a different room
Epstein's office apparently featured a stuffed tiger, too. A hedge fund trader who had previously been to the mansion provided photos of it in Epstein's office to the New York Post.
"The desk had to be one of the biggest desks I've ever seen, and that tiger just dwarfed it," the trader told the Post.
A painted mural of himself in prison
An array of paintings reportedly hung around the Manhattan home.
But one painting in particular, which hung on the second floor, portrayed Epstein behind barbed wire and between a guard station and a corrections officer, public relations specialist R. Couri Hay told The New York Times.
According to Hay, Epstein said that he had it painted because "there is always the possibility that could be me again."
R. Couri Hay viewed the mural after being invited to the home by Epstein around four months ago, according to The New York Times.
A peculiarly adorned chandelier
Inside the mansion, a life-size female doll reportedly hung from a chandelier, according to The New York Times.
A chessboard with each piece modeled after one of his staffers
One visitor told The New York Times that inside the mansion, at the end of the stairwell, there was a chessboard with custom figures. Each piece was reportedly modeled after one of his staffers.
Pictures of powerful people
Following Epstein's death, The New York Times reporter James B. Stewart described a 2018 interview he had conducted with Epstein in the financier's Upper East Side mansion.
As he made his way through the home, he recalled seeing photos of Epstein with powerful people including former President Bill Clinton and director Woody Allen.
"Displaying photos of celebrities who had been caught up in sex scandals of their own also struck me as odd," Stewart wrote.
Epstein also had a picture of Mohammad bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, according to Stewart.
A painting of Bill Clinton in a blue dress and heels
Law enforcement sources told the New York Post that Epstein had an oil painting of Bill Clinton in a blue dress hanging in the mansion.
In the painting, according to the Post, Bill Clinton is lounging on a chair in the oval office. He is also wearing red heels.